Zomato, a major player in the foodtech industry, has recently inked an agreement with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to provide pre-ordered meal supply and delivery services in a pilot program.
Initially, the initiative will be launched as a proof of concept (PoC), allowing train passengers to reserve meals through IRCTC’s e-catering portal. In the initial phase, this service will be accessible at five railway stations: New Delhi, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Lucknow, and Varanasi.
“IRCTC has tied up with M/s. Zomato Limited for supply and delivery of preordered meals through IRCTC’s E-catering portal as a Proof of Concept (PoC) in the first phase at five Railway stations i.e. New Delhi, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi,” said IRCTC in a regulatory filing with the BSE.
This new service will allow Zomato to broaden its range of offerings and access the growing market of railway passengers in India.
Conversely, this move will enable IRCTC to diversify the array of food choices available to passengers.
According to Statista, the annual railway passenger traffic in the country stood at approximately 352 crore in FY22. This presents a highly lucrative opportunity for Zomato, even if only a fraction of the total travelers opt to pre-order meals through the foodtech platform.
This new offering arrives as the prominent foodtech company has been swiftly introducing fresh services and intensifying efforts to enhance profitability. Just this month, the startup led by Deepinder Goyal expanded into the logistics sector by introducing a fast delivery service for merchants.
Read More: Foodtech giant Zomato diversifies into logistics with new Xtreme app
In a recent announcement, the foodtech industry leader also disclosed the schedule for its forthcoming food and live entertainment festival, Zomaland, which is set to kick off on November 4. The festival will take place in eight cities, including Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and more.
During the first quarter of FY24, Zomato achieved its first profitable quarter, recording a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 2 Cr, as opposed to a net loss of INR 186 Cr in Q1 FY23. Additionally, revenues from operations surged to INR 2,416 Cr for the quarter ending in June 2023, compared to INR 1,413.9 Cr in Q1 FY23.
Read More: Zomato turns profitable in Q1 FY24, reports INR 2 Cr consolidated PAT
The foodtech industry leader has recently closed down several of its international subsidiaries, redirecting its efforts towards expanding its Indian operations. Simultaneously, it has implemented artificial intelligence (AI) and introduced a platform fee ranging from INR 2 to INR 3 to bolster its revenue.
While a funding scarcity impacts the Indian startup environment, Zomato’s recent streak of favorable developments has led to a surge in the company’s stock prices. The foodtech industry leader’s shares have gained almost 92% in year-to-date (YTD) trading, and its present market capitalization is INR 98,004 Cr ($11.7 Bn).
On Tuesday, October 17th, Zomato achieved a new 52-week high of INR 114.10 in intraday trading on the BSE. It concluded the day with a 2.15% increase, closing at INR 113.90 on the BSE.