Here's how Instamart went viral for serving Pani Puri in a water gun for Holi

A Holi campaign by Swiggy Instamart sought to generate buzz around its range of high-powered water guns by turning a familiar street-food experience into a playful festival activation. It is a festival widely associated with playful water fights and colourful celebrations in India.

The brand staged an unusual pani puri stall where water guns were used in place of traditional serving methods, creating a culturally relevant yet unexpected moment designed to capture attention online and spark conversations around Holi celebrations and quick commerce convenience.

Category introduction

The Indian quick commerce industry, estimated at over Rs 64,000 crore (USD 7.8 billion) in 2025, is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 142% from FY22 to FY25 (CareEdge). Furthermore, the Indian quick commerce market is poised to hit $57 billion by 2030 on rising demand beyond metros (Morgan Stanley). And it's not just the volume of orders that's growing - the average basket size is increasing too, as more consumers turn to QC for planned purchases, not just last-minute needs.

The industry is witnessing unprecedented growth driven by urban convenience, evolving consumer expectations, and technological innovation. Q-commerce platforms are redefining last-mile delivery by offering groceries, essentials, festive products, electronics, and even high-value items like gold and smartphones within minutes, blending speed with reliability.

Brand introduction 

Launched in August 2020, Instamart is a quick commerce platform. Present in over 100 cities, the platform uses Swiggy’s technology and delivery fleet to bring groceries and other daily essentials to the doorsteps of Indians.

Marketing objective

Drive hype-led awareness and consideration for the platform's heavy-duty Holi water guns, an upgrade from basic pickharis, while positioning the platform’s water guns as the coolest Holi essential this year.

Summary

With the Holi Campaign, the platform wanted to push its assortment - the Holi guns to upgrade consumers’ Holi experience, a large assortment, and instant delivery. Targeting Gen-Z and early jobbers, people who look at Holi from the lens of carefree fun, nostalgic chaos, flatmate battles, among many other fun things, the ones who are always on the lookout to buy something interesting and fun with their adult money, the platform chose to get their attention with an unexpected usage of water guns by a Panipuri vendor grabbing eyeballs.

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Problem statement/Objective 

The platform needed a way to launch its range of imported, combat-style Spyra water guns, bringing their power to life in a way that felt culturally familiar and unmistakably internet-worthy.

Brief

The mandate was to showcase the sheer impact and power of the water guns in a way that moved beyond feature-led communication or standard billboard launches. The aim was to build hype-driven awareness and position these heavy-duty Holi pichkaris as the coolest must-have of the season, instantly delivered to your doorstep.

The focus was on delivering the message through an experience, creating a high-impact moment that felt cool, memorable, and impossible to ignore.

Creative idea

The activation was designed to embed the water gun brand into the local Holi festivities through a magic of its own, using the water guns to dispense pani directly into the customer’s mouth rather than into the puri, showcasing the product’s precision in a way that felt fun and culturally familiar. 

Adding to the experience, the pani puri vendor broke from convention, replacing traditional takes with a futuristic, Gen-Z persona that brought the theme to life on the ground.

Challenges

Breaking through the clutter of traditional Holi marketing that floods every feed during the festive season.

Making water guns look cool for a local desi crowd deeply obsessed with the classic pichkari.

Ensuring seamless coordination and effective execution within these limitations was critical to the success of the activation.​​​​​​​​​​​​

Execution 

The campaign spread organically as meme pages picked it up and ran with the humour, food vloggers rushed to cover the stall and share their experience, and LinkedIn creators used it as a case study in brand activations done right, making it a campaign that resonated across different corners of the internet.

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Results 

Social metrics: Seven million reach, 300k engagement 

10x growth in impressions on the water gun category, considering the pre-campaign to campaign period

36x growth in units sold, considering the pre-campaign to campaign period

CMO quotes

Mayur Hola, Head of Brand, Swiggy, said, “Holi isn’t a day. It’s a build-up. A mood. A little bit of madness that kicks in weeks before the first splash of colour. We just chose to show up early. At Instamart, we’re seeing a clear shift from last-minute gulaal runs to planned, premium play. Holi isn’t just for kids anymore; it’s for kidults who are upgrading to high-performance water blasters and turning it into a full-blown celebration. So instead of simply announcing a product, we staged a moment. When you put something as iconic as pani puri together with a precision water blaster, you don’t get a demo; you get madness.  That’s what excites us. Quick commerce today isn’t just about speed. It’s about showing up in culture, sparking conversation, and creating stories that travel far beyond the cart.”