Deepinder Goyal, founder and CEO of Zomato, came out with a detailed clarification less than 24 hours after he announced that the online food delivery service provider plans to deliver food to its customers in record 10 minutes, following the footsteps of grocery delivery companies. The founder stressed that the new plan is just as safe for delivery agents as the 30-minute plan.
Zomato Instant will be launched in Gurgaon next month with four stations, Deepinder Goyal had announced, adding that the company will not penalise delivery agents for late deliveries. He also added that quality, hygiene, delivery partner safety and packaging will not be compromised.
However, the announcement triggered a huge backlash online, with many pointing out that waiting for 30 minutes for good food should not be a problem at all and that the express delivery service puts the safety of delivery agents at stake.
“10-minute delivery is as safe for our delivery partners as 30-minute delivery,” Goyal tweeted on Tuesday amid the negative feedback.
Responding to questions from social media users, Goyal listed a few dishes that Zomato thinks can be delivered as part of the 10-minute plan. "Bread Omelette, Poha, Coffee, Chai, Biryani, Momos, etc," he said when a journalist asked him to cite examples of food items that customers can expect in 10 minutes.
"Yes, we will also serve you Maggi through our 10 minute food stations," he said in another tweet.
The 10-minute delivery will be for specific nearby locations, applicable to food items that are popular and standardised, he said, adding that delivery agents will not be penalised for late deliveries. There will be no incentives for on-time (10 minutes or 30 minutes) deliveries, he said.
“We continue to educate our delivery partners on road safety, and provide accidental/life insurance as well,” says a Zomato card that Goyal shared.
Zomato will house bestseller items - some 20-30 dishes across its finishing stations from the partner restaurants based on predictability.
It also claims that following the 10-minute model, the prices of the items will also get reduced.
Read: 'Completely unnecessary': Twitter unhappy with Zomato's 10-minute food delivery promise
The development happens at a time when Zomato is aggressively investing in food-tech and robotics startups. Last week it announced a $5 million investment in robotics company Mukunda Foods which designs and manufactures smart robotic equipment to automate food preparation for restaurants.
Before that, it invested in ad-tech firm Adonmo and B2B software platform UrbanPiper Technology as part of its larger plan to deploy $1 billion across startups.
Last week, it also extended a debt of $150 million to rescue cash-strapped quick commerce startup Blinkit.
Moneycontrol was the first to report that Zomato would invest around $100 million in the online grocer.
Blinkit last raised $100 million from Zomato in a round that gave the company a unicorn status.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
