Zomato Launches "Pure Veg Mode", CEO Steps Out To Deliver Orders

Food-delivery platform Zomato has launched a "Pure Veg Mode" for customers who have a 100 per cent vegetarian dietary preference. The "pure" vegetarian food would be delivered by the newly-launched "Pure Veg Fleet". The new fleet would sport a green uniform and delivery box in contrast to Zomato's trademark red t-shirts and bags. "India has the largest percentage of vegetarians in the world, and one of the most important feedback we've gotten from them is that they are very particular about how their food is cooked, and how their food is handled," Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal posted on X. The "Pure Veg Mode" has been launched, Mr Goyal said, "to solve their dietary preferences".

Mr Goyal was even seen stepping out "to deliver some pure veg orders" in a photo he shared on X.

The latest mode will consist of restaurants that serve only vegetarian food and will be rolled out in a phased manner across the country in the next few weeks. "This means that a non-veg meal, or even a veg meal served by a non-veg restaurant will never go inside the green delivery box meant for our Pure Veg Fleet," he said.

The announcement has drawn mixed reactions on social media. Several praised the new marketing technique - "No One Understands Marketing and PR Better Than Zomato," wrote one user - while several criticised the move as discriminatory - "This is deeply disturbing because now many housing societies will just ban the entry of red-shirted Zomato delivery persons," wrote another.

Some even claimed they deleted the app from their phone over the "casteist and criminal" move.

Deepinder Goyal, however, insisted that the new move "doesn't serve or alienate any religious, or political preference".

Zomato is also planning to add more specialised fleets for special customer needs in the future. "For example, there's a special cake delivery fleet coming up with hydraulic balancers which prevent your cake from getting smudged during delivery." Mr Goyal said.