When the heat kicks in, India’s shopping cart tells a very familiar story-and Instamart’s Summer Trends 2026 report captures it perfectly.

At the top sits an unexpected hero: curd. From plain dahi to flavoured options, six of the top ten ordered items belong to the curd category, comfortably beating cold drinks and even ice cream. Fresh fruits like watermelon and muskmelon are also seeing a seasonal surge.

Then comes the nightly pattern-ice cream orders peak sharply at 9 pm, with demand rising steadily between 6 pm and 9 pm. Family packs dominate, and chocolate remains the undisputed favourite, accounting for 28% of orders.

City trends add an interesting twist. Bengaluru leads with a 14% share of ice cream orders, followed by Mumbai and Hyderabad. Yet, smaller cities like Central Goa, Thrissur, and Manipal show higher orders per user-proving that appetite often scales with lifestyle, not size.

Mango demand is expanding beyond metros, with Kozhikode and Madurai leading growth. Beverage trends are equally strong-jeera masala soda surged 900%, cold coffee nearly 700%, while traditional drinks like buttermilk and lassi continue to hold their ground.

Overall, India’s summer consumption blends routine comfort with weather-driven cravings-where dahi cools the day, and ice cream owns the night.