Zomato has delisted multiple “potentially fraudulent” restaurants from its platform after users flagged suspicious single-dish eateries.
The foodtech major took swift action, investigating restaurants with limited menus that may have listed prohibited items.
Zomato finds restaurants using names ‘Naughty strawberry’
“We have identified all such restaurants that were potentially fraudulent and have delisted them from our platform,” Zomato stated on X. The company found that these restaurants used generic food names like “Naughty strawberry” and “Merry Berry” to evade detection.
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Zomato has strengthened its fraud checks to prevent similar incidents. The company reiterated its policy, requiring all listed restaurants to have an FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) licence. It also blocks items like alcohol, cigarettes, and vapes from being listed.
Zomato leads food delivery market
The crackdown follows a user’s complaint on X about multiple restaurants in Chandigarh offering single dishes at high prices with nonexistent addresses. The user tagged local police, saying, “Something really shady is cooking on @zomato.” After attempting to order, the user’s order was automatically cancelled, and the restaurant appeared closed.
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Meanwhile, the food tech major’s action comes amid its market dominance. According to Motilal Oswal, Zomato leads the food delivery market with a 58% share, ahead of Swiggy‘s 42%. Zomato-owned Blinkit dominates quick commerce with a 46% market share.
