Zomato Introduces India's First "Large Order Fleet" For Group Catering

Zomato's Chief Executive Officer Deepinder Goyal announced the launch of a "large fleet order", a first in India. The new fleet will handle group or party events for a gathering of up to 50 people. The feature will have "an all electric fleet." Mr Goyal wrote on X, "Today, we are excited to introduce India's first large order fleet, designed to handle all your large (group/party/event) orders with ease. This is an all electric fleet, designed specifically to serve orders for a gathering of upto 50 people."

He added that earlier large orders were handled by multiple delivery partners and the customer experience was not what the company aspired for. "Such large orders were earlier served by multiple regular fleet delivery partners, and the customer experience wasn't what we really aspired for. These new vehicles should solve most of the problems our customers face while placing large orders on Zomato," he added.

"Having said that, these vehicles are still 'work in progress', and we are in the process of adding important enhancements to them - like cooling compartments, and hot boxes with temperature control - to ensure everything arrives just the way you like," Mr Goyal explained about the fleet.

The Zomato Chief said that they "don't build products and services to make money. We make money to build better products and services, so we can serve our communities better. This is one of such endeavours."

In March, Zomato announced the launch of the "Pure Veg Mode" service for customers who have a 100 per cent vegetarian dietary preference. Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal had said that the fleet would wear a green uniform and delivery box in contrast to Zomato's trademark red t-shirts and bags. However, it faced a backlash online from a section of people, and the company rolled back its decision to change the uniform colour under the new service. 

Many accused the food delivery app of modern-day casteism which could cause inconvenience to those ordering non-vegetarian food. Additionally, several users also brought up the possibility that tenants ordering non-vegetarian food may run into issues with their landlords.