Swiggy, India’s leading online food delivery platform is revolutionizing the way users choose their meals with the launch of an industry-first ‘WhatToEat’ feature. Recognizing that food cravings are closely tied to emotions, and that an abundance of choices can hinder decision-making, Swiggy aims to simplify the selection process by offering personalized recommendations tailored to users’ current moods, location, order history, the time of the day and other preferences.
With a vast array of restaurants, eateries, and food items available, Swiggy’s WhatToEat feature enhances the traditional food-ordering journey by introducing the crucial element of discovering food through emotions. Users can now indicate what they are craving by selecting from a range of mood bubbles on the app. Leveraging advanced AI techniques and Swiggy’s in-house data science platform, WhatToEat provides users with highly relevant recommendations. For example, if a customer has a preference for coffee and some desserts, WhatToEat is likely to suggest a delectable Tiramisu cake among the top options. The feature also provides transparency by informing users of the rationale behind each recommendation, whether it’s based on their order history, local trends, or popularity among other Swiggy users. To streamline the decision-making process, WhatToEat presents users with ten personalized recommendations for each order, cutting through the overwhelming number of choices.
“We understand that ordering food is not a transaction but an expression of one’s emotions, and a way to alleviate one’s mood,” says Rohit Kapoor, CEO of Food Marketplace, Swiggy. “Many times, people simply do not want to go through the process of browsing through multiple options and pondering over them. Wouldn’t it be nice to instead have sharp recommendations attuned to how they feel and what they crave? That’s exactly what we are trying to do with WhatToEat. It is for customers for whom food is a feeling or an emotion, and not merely a dish or a restaurant.”
Initial feedback from customers suggests that the WhatToEat feature is helping simplify the food dilemma of users. Here’s what some of the other users have to say about the feature.
Ayesha, who moved from Bhopal to Bengaluru to work with an e-commerce firm and is now a regular Swiggy user, says, “After a tiring day at work, I often do not have the energy or the inclination to spend a long time deciding what I want to eat. Thankfully, Swiggy’s WhatToEat feature makes my decision-making simpler and quicker. Most of all, I love that it shows me recommendations based on what I want rather than what’s on offer.”
