The ongoing FIFA World Cup was expected to keep Indians awake past midnight and into early morning hours due to the odd-hour timings of the matches being played in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
While this is happening as expected, the football World Cup is also making Indians order food online well beyond the ‘normal hours’.
Delivery platforms as well as restaurants have reported a surge in late-night orders, with football fans feasting on burgers, pizzas, French fries, and beverages during matches.
Most of the FIFA World Cup matches are being telecast live in India, starting 12.30 am. Only a handful of matches are available before the midnight slots, like 9.30 pm or 10.30 pm.
Swiggy Food marketplace has released data which shows that between June 11 (the day the World Cup kicked off) and June 24, a majority of the late-night orders came between 11 pm and 12 midnight.
Pizzas, burgers and garlic breadsticks dominated these online orders.
Among cities, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai led with the highest late-night orders during the football live matches. Surat, Thiruvananthapuram and Patna led the race in emerging markets.
The single-highest order in the country during this period came from Chandigarh, where a customer placed an order worth Rs 16,444.
A McDonald’s India official was reported as saying in media reports that burger, fries, and beverage combos have been in high demand during match hours.
To capitalise on the football fan frenzy, McDonald’s India has also launched shareable Mini Ball Meals for two people featuring burgers, fries and soft drinks. The Rs 299 meal also includes a Coke x McDonald’s collectable mini football.
The football World Cup has now entered the knockout stage, and excitement is set to grow further. Food chains and outlets are banking on the growing fan engagement to serve their customers with the food they love.