Grapes unexpectedly emerged as one of the most searched items on Swiggy Instamart, with the quick-commerce platform revealing that searches jumped 78 times as New Year’s Eve celebrations peaked.
The spike was highlighted by Instamart itself in a post on X, where the brand humorously wrote: “grapes searches are up by 78x. agar grapes out of stock dikhe toh hairaan mat hona”, along with an image of an Instamart employee eating grapes under a table — a direct nod to a viral New Year ritual dominating social media timelines.
grapes searches are up by 78x. agar grapes out of stock dikhe toh hairaan mat hona 👍 pic.twitter.com/cmBxLrX01E
— Instamart (@instamart_it) December 31, 2025
The New Year grape ritual explained
The trend is rooted in the Spanish tradition Las Doce Uvas de la Suerte, where people eat 12 grapes at midnight, one for each month of the coming year, to invite good luck and prosperity.
In its modern, internet-driven version — especially popular among Gen Z — the ritual has evolved:
People sit under a table at midnight, eat 12 grapes in quick succession, and make wishes related to love, luck, or success. Short-form videos and memes around this practice exploded across Instagram Reels and X in the final hours of December 31.
How social media translated into instant demand
As the ritual went viral just hours before the New Year countdown, last-minute shoppers turned to quick-commerce platforms instead of traditional stores. Instamart’s tweet not only acknowledged the demand surge but also became part of the trend itself, further amplifying interest.
Several users online joked that if grapes were unavailable on apps, it was not a supply issue — it was the internet collectively manifesting luck at the same time.
A snapshot of real-time culture and commerce
The 78x surge underlines how viral cultural moments now directly influence buying behaviour, especially on instant-delivery platforms. From festive snacks to lucky fruits, New Year’s Eve once again showed how social media trends can move demand in real time — sometimes for the most unexpected items.
