Midnight India: Potato Chips To Red Bull — What The Nation Craves After 11 PM
The undisputed heavyweight champion of the late-night hustle wasn't a high-tech gadget or a wellness juice, it was the humble potato.
Data from the 2025 edition of 'How India Instamarted' report gives a sneak-peek into what India's late-night fixes were. As the clock strikes midnight, a fascinating shift occurred.
The "sensible" grocery lists of the morning melt away, replaced by a neon-lit cravings. The undisputed heavyweight champion of the late-night hustle wasn't a high-tech gadget or a wellness juice, it was the humble potato.
Specifically, masala-flavoured chips claimed the number 1 spot for late-night orders in nine of the top ten cities, according to the report.
But India’s midnight spirit isn't just salty, it’s highly caffeinated and surprisingly ambitious. In the city of dreams, one Mumbai account took the phrase "giving you wings" to a literal extreme, shelling out a jaw-dropping Rs 16.3 lakh on Red Bull Sugar Free.
Not to be outdone in the snack department, a Bengaluru resident proved their devotion to the "slurp" by spending Rs 4.36 lakh on noodles alone.
But the story of 2025 isn't just about the 1 a.m. munchies. The data reveals a powerful shift where convenience has graduated from emergency milk runs to high-stake luxury.
The year saw mind-boggling single-cart splurges that redefined "quick commerce." A gadget enthusiast in Hyderabad clocked the biggest single cart of the year at Rs 4.3 lakh for three iPhone 17s, while a Bengaluru user balanced their high-tech thirst with a Rs 1.7 lakh iPhone paired with a Rs 178 lime soda.
From a 1 kg silver brick delivered during Diwali to a 400% surge in gold orders on Dhanteras, Indians now trust their 10-minute delivery partners with their family heirlooms as much as their eggs.
The real growth story, however, moved beyond the metros. Rajkot recorded a staggering 10 times the year-on-year growth, while health and wellness categories exploded in cities like Bhopal with 16 times the growth.
Whether it was the Kochi user who ordered curry leaves 368 times a year or the Noida "gym-bro" buying 1,343 protein items, in 2025, every cart told a story of a shift. Some were crunchy, some were creamy, and a few were plated in 24K gold, but all of them arrived before the craving faded.
