Pearl Rhea Peris, General Manager – Design Solutions, joined Swiggy seven years ago to perfect the art of food photography. Today, she builds automation solutions that scale across India.
When Pearl started as a Creative Catalogue Manager in 2018, her focus was simple: Coordinate shoots and make the food look straight out of a magazine. What began as tactical creative work quickly evolved into something much larger. Managing operations crept into her day-to-day work, then processes, which eventually led her to build systems that needed to function at scale. The jump from creative shoots to building operational systems wasn’t on any roadmap, but roles at Swiggy have a way of outpacing expectations. Here is Pearl’s dramatic, chaotic, and very Swiggy journey.
Tell us about the beginning of your Swiggy ride. What was your role when you joined the company? How has that changed over the years?
I joined Swiggy as a Creative Catalogue Manager, coordinating food shoots and ensuring burgers didn’t look sad, and french fries sat at the perfect 45-degree angle. Soon, somewhere between one shoot and the next, my role evolved. Suddenly, I wasn’t just managing creative angles anymore – I was managing operations, scale, processes, and decisions that made me pause and reflect on how much had changed. It’s been a dynamic journey, and honestly, it’s the kind of madness I’ve come to love.
How was your Swiggy interview experience?
It did not feel like I was being tested in the traditional sense; rather, it felt like chatting with a group of smart people who were genuinely interested in what I bring to the table. Swiggy felt ambitious and people-first, and that perception held up even after I joined and continues to be so now.
Looking back, what would you say has been the best moment of your tenure at Swiggy?
I have had many memorable moments at work, but developing the Self-Shoot app for restaurant partners (Shootezy) and creating automation templates for ad banners truly stand out. This project went particularly smoothly, thanks to strong team collaboration, and it was incredibly satisfying to see them being successfully used across India. Moments like these remind me why the work matters.
What is your favourite part of the job?
My team, without a doubt. When we start working on a brief, we work through tight timelines with stakeholders, handle revisions and subjective feedback, celebrate small wins, and somehow still manage to deliver something genuinely strong. It’s demanding, but there’s a rhythm to it that makes it work.
During the process, I’ve also learnt that ‘jugaad’ is a legitimate problem-solving approach. No matter how complex the challenge, someone on the team will find a way to solve it, often just in time before the deadline. It’s taught me to trust the process and the people around me.
Swiggy is fast-paced. How does the team cope with the speed?
At Swiggy, teamwork really does make the dream work. The speed of things works in our favour because we move together, like a sports team. We prioritise, communicate clearly, and focus on what matters for the customer. And on hectic days, a good laugh or a Google Meet session goes a long way.
What advice would you give the day-one version of yourself at Swiggy?
Firstly, breathe and relax as working at Swiggy is all about pace, knowing when to sprint, when to run full speed and when to stop. Secondly, ask questions shamelessly, and trust your gut with everything you do. Finally, confusion isn’t a flaw; everyone is figuring it out as they go about it.
How has your role, the work culture at Swiggy given you the flexibility to continue exploring your passion?
The trust that Swiggy shows in its employees gives me the flexibility to pursue my passion for knitting. The autonomy to plan and manage my time and work really impacts everything positively, leaving me room to practice my creative reset — knitting and crocheting. There’s something calming about counting stitches while work moves at full speed, and slowing down with yarn actually helps me show up sharper at work.
What’s one Swiggy value you resonate with the most and why?
I resonate with ‘Customer Comes First’, because nothing keeps you grounded more than knowing there’s a real person at the end of everything we do. It pushes me to think beyond tasks and timelines and focus on the impact we’re creating.
What’s the best feedback/advice you’ve received in the last year, and how did it influence your work or even your knitting and crocheting passion?
In the past year, someone at Swiggy told me, “Not everything needs to be urgent, and not everything needs to be fixed by you”. That advice has stuck with me, and it now helps me work even more efficiently. I’ve been using the same advice in how I approach knitting. You can’t rush a stitch; you just have to stay consistent and enjoy the process even when you mess up.
