Uber Eats released its Cravings Report 2025, offering a snapshot of how individuals ordered food, groceries, and everyday essentials. Rice and curry emerged as the most searched items on the platform, with specialty rice dishes, including fried rice, ranking ahead of biryani. Beyond ordering habits, the data also reflects the platform’s reach. In 2025, Uber Eats expanded into six new cities: Anuradhapura, Jaffna, Matale, Matara, Hikkaduwa, and Puttalam. But Colombo remains its largest market, followed by Kandy and Galle.
Upon examining the data, the report noted that “Make it spicy” ranked as the most common delivery instruction, applicable to both main meals and snack orders. The preference applied even to dishes typically served at a hot temperature. As one example, the report shows that Mixed and Spicy Wood Apple ranked highest among achcharu orders, pointing to a preference for spicier variants.
The report also points to short eats remaining a staple of ordering habits in 2025. Chicken Chinese Rolls ranked as the most ordered item in the category, followed by Fish Chinese Rolls and Chicken Samosa. Meanwhile, all five of the most ordered desserts were chocolate-based, led by Chocolate Lava Cake, followed by Chocolate Doughnuts, Eclairs, and Muffins. Finally, in beverages, iced coffee ranked as the most ordered item on UberEats.
According to the report, grocery orders on UberEats leaned towards everyday essentials. Milk, onions, bread, and coconut topped shopping carts on the app. Non-food purchases also featured prominently, with sanitary napkins ranking highest, followed by tissues and household cleaning products. Gifting patterns showed a similar tilt. For every two bouquets ordered for Mother’s Day, three were sent on Valentine’s Day, indicating stronger demand around romantic occasions.
The report shows how customers used the app over the year, noting that “Customers tipped delivery partners a total of Rs55 million over the year.” Alongside this, the data captured standout moments. One user in Colombo placed 466 orders from the same restaurant, while another recorded Rs200,000 in membership savings within a single month. Group ordering also scaled up, with the largest cart involving 128 participants. Pizza remained the preferred choice for large groups, with one order reaching 24 pizzas.