'Order's at your door in 6 minutes': US entrepreneur finds Swiggy, Blinkit better than Uber Eats, leaves Internet divided

James Blunt, a US-based entrepreneur, sparked a wide-ranging debate on X after he praised India’s ultra-fast delivery network, calling it far more efficient than anything he has experienced in the United States or anywhere else. During a recent trip to India, Blunt said he was surprised when Swiggy and Blinkit delivered an order to him in just 6 minutes.

Blunt wrote that every time he visits India, the delivery speed of these quick commerce platforms stands out. He compared it to delivery timelines in the US, where an Uber Eats order “routinely takes an hour.” For him, the efficiency gap is mind-blowing. 

Blunt said in a post on X, "Every time I visit India, same as when I travel across Europe or the Middle East, there’s one thing that always stands out: the delivery speed is insane in India. @Swiggy, @letsblinkit… You order something, and it’s at your door in 6 MINUTES. I was blown away! Meanwhile, in the US, an Uber Eats order routinely takes an hour. The efficiency gap is insane. What could be the reason?"

 

 

 

 

His post left the Internet divided, with some praising the speed of delivery and others flagging how the gig workers engaged in these superfast deliveries often put their own safety at risk. Some users also mentioned that the tight clustering of restaurants, dark stores, and residential areas helps companies dispatch riders at a faster pace than most Western cities. 

A user commented, “Insanely cheap, readily available labor and exploitation friendly regulations. At least true for India. Also it holds only in big cities in India. Not broadly.” 

“I think a big part of it is density. Cities in India are so packed that a delivery guy is always just a few minutes away," a second user weighed in. A third user said, "That’s because we have laws and ordinances. Indians will run each other over just to get down the road."

Some, however, said that this was possible because the government has nothing to do with the quick commerce sector as of yet. 

One user commented, “Government didn't intervene in the industry, so it was efficient. Indian government is already taking notice of the efficiency and is quickly fixing the problem. Soon labour code will destroy the efficiency and restore normalcy. Come back in a year.”