Dabbawallahs get competition -
But some caterers are moving away from the dabbawallahs in favour of private delivery vans.
Maqsood Patel, co-founder of Foodizm, another online meal delivery firm, said his company was increasingly opting for a concierge service to ferry lunches to their "elite" clientele.
"They deliver the meals right to the customers' desks, whereas the dabbawallahs often drop them at the front gate and you have to go downstairs to look for your meal," Patel told AFP.
"Also, since they travel by train there can be a three or four-hour gap from the time a dabbawallah collects the meal to the time it's delivered.
"Obviously with the food travelling in the heat something like a salad can go a little bit off," he added.