Zomato Unveils 'Food Rescue' Initiative to Reclaim Cancelled Orders

On Sunday, Zomato introduced a groundbreaking feature called "Food Rescue," aimed at reducing waste and reclaiming value from cancelled orders. This initiative targets the roughly 4 lakh (400,000) orders that are cancelled on the platform each month for various reasons.

How 'Food Rescue' Works

With "Food Rescue," orders cancelled by one customer will appear on the Zomato app for nearby customers to claim. Those within a 3 km radius of the delivery partner carrying the cancelled order can access these meals at significantly discounted prices. Deepinder Goyal, CEO of Zomato, shared that this option would be available only for a brief time to ensure the food’s freshness and that only untampered, sealed meals will be eligible for rescue.

Availability for Nearby Customers Only

To maintain quality and avoid potential issues, the original customer and those in their immediate vicinity won’t see the rescued meal option. This ensures that nearby users who may not have initially ordered the meal can claim it without any logistical challenges. By restricting visibility to a short radius, Zomato ensures the food remains fresh and reaches the new customer quickly.

Fair Redistribution of Payments

Zomato has structured the Food Rescue feature to ensure that revenue from the re-purchased order is redistributed to the original customer, the restaurant partner, and the delivery partner. The company stated that it will not keep any profits from these transactions, retaining only the government-mandated taxes. According to CEO Goyal, if the initial order was paid for online, the original customer will receive a portion of the new payment. This approach provides a fair compensation model that benefits everyone involved.

Exclusions to Maintain Quality

Certain types of food are not eligible for the Food Rescue program. Items highly sensitive to temperature or distance, like ice creams, shakes, and other perishable items, won’t be included. This decision safeguards the quality of food being delivered, ensuring that customers receive meals that maintain the standards Zomato and its restaurant partners uphold.

Restaurant Partners Benefit from Food Rescue

In cases of a claimed cancelled order, restaurant partners will be compensated twice – they will receive payment for the original order and a share from the new customer’s payment if the meal is re-claimed. This system creates additional revenue opportunities for restaurant partners and enables them to benefit from the feature without extra effort. Restaurants also have control over their participation in Food Rescue, with a simple option to opt in or out directly through their control panels.

High Participation from Restaurant Partners

According to Zomato, around 99.9% of its restaurant partners are enthusiastic about joining Food Rescue. This high level of support from restaurant partners indicates that the program could become a valuable tool for the platform in reducing waste and maximizing profits for restaurants and delivery partners alike.

Fair Compensation for Delivery Partners

Delivery partners are not overlooked in Zomato’s Food Rescue feature. They will be paid for the full delivery journey, starting from the original order’s pickup to the new customer’s drop-off location. This ensures that delivery partners receive fair compensation for their additional efforts and provides an added layer of reliability in the feature.

Zomato's Strategy to Reduce Food Waste and Drive Efficiency

The Food Rescue initiative positions Zomato as a pioneer in tackling the problem of food waste within the food delivery ecosystem. The platform’s unique solution repurposes cancelled meals, creating an eco-friendly and economically beneficial option for customers, restaurants, and delivery partners alike.