Foodtech major Zomato has introduced ‘Food Rescue’, a feature that lets users buy cancelled food orders from nearby areas to help reduce food waste.
Food Rescue allows users to buy within 3km
The company posted in a blog, approximately 4 lakh food orders are cancelled monthly on its platform. To combat this, Food Rescue allows users within a 3km radius of a cancelled order to purchase the food at a discounted price.
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“The amount paid by the new customer will be shared with the original customer (if they made online payment), and with the restaurant partner. Zomato will not keep any proceeds (except the required government taxes),” Zomato said.
Further, the company mentioned that orders with items like ice creams, shakes, and smoothies, which are sensitive to temperature and distance, won’t be offered under Food Rescue. This is one of many new features launched by Blinkit‘s parent company in recent months. Zomato also recently introduced group orders, cash on delivery, and a schedule order feature.
Besides regular updates to its food delivery platform, Deepinder Goyal led company bought Paytm’s events and movies ticketing companies, Wasteland Entertainment Private Limited and Orbgen Technologies Private Limited, for INR 2,048 Cr in an all-cash deal in late August.
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Zomato denies violation claimed by CCI
Meanwhile, in an exchange filing on Sunday (November 10), Zomato denied a news report claiming that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) found it violating competition laws. Zomato stated that while the antitrust body asked its investigative arm to investigate potential competition law violations in 2022, the CCI has not issued any further orders, and there have been no notable events. This statement follows a Reuters report claiming that the CCI found Zomato and its competitor Swiggy in violation of competition laws.
Due to strong growth in its quick commerce business Blinkit, Zomato’s net profit jumped 389% to INR 176 Cr in the September quarter (Q2) of FY25, up from INR 36 Cr in the same period last year. Operating revenue increased by 68.5%, reaching INR 4,799 Cr in the reported quarter, compared to INR 2,848 Cr in Q2 FY24.
With increasing competition in the quick commerce market, Zomato received board approval to raise INR 8,500 Cr through a qualified institutional placement (QIP).
