Swiggy identifies ‘mystery’ horse-rider from viral video

Well-known Indian food aggregator Swiggy has cleared up that a man driving a horse in the recent viral movie is not one of its shipping executives.

It showed the man galloping on a rain-soaked road in Mumbai city carrying a handbag with Swiggy’s logo.

It generated a range of responses, from gratitude of the man’s dedication to his work to criticism to get Swiggy.

But Swiggy said that the horse-rider was a teenager who had “borrowed” a delivery bag.

The company had launched a “horse-hunt” and announced a reward to trace the person after the video went virus-like .

On Weekend, it said in the tongue-in-cheek statement that will “both man and animal had been identified”.

Swiggy said Sushant, 17, was not the employee but “a typical teenager who seem to borrows things plus forgets to return them”.

“In this situation, what he lent was the Swiggy delivery bag, ” it added.

The business described Sushant as a “horse couturier” – someone who decks upward horses for wedding ceremony processions, a common custom made in many parts of India. The borrowed bag, it said, included an embroidered hang and some accessories for your animal.

Before Swiggy’s statement, many social media marketing users had discussed the unknown male’s identity for days. A few called for the man to become rewarded for his services – Mumbai is in the midst of a fierce monsoon season, with heavy rains lashing the town last week.

It also revived the conversation about the working conditions of shipping riders, who usually travel at breakneck speed to deliver foods. Many of them opt for the gig economy out of desperation and are hugely underpaid and overworked.

This may have motivated Swiggy to release its search for the particular rider – it had announced a reward for the first person “who can give intel about our unintentional brand ambassador”.

On Sunday, Swiggy said that “a young man named Avi” and his friend – who also shot the viral video from their vehicle – had stated the reward.

The company also appeared to be leaning into the unforeseen popularity of the movie. Some social media customers shared screenshots saying that Swiggy had changed the rider’s symbol on its app to a man on the horse.