Zomato’s Next: Inter-City Food Delivery, Logistics Nightmare Or Masterstroke?

How does the service work?

Under this initiative, the company has listed several restaurants in different cities from where customers can order their food like any other regular zomato count.

The company said all the food would be packaged by the restaurant and then refrigerated before being sent via air or road to reach customers the next day. However, some orders may take more than a day to reach customers.

Unfortunately, the services are not yet available to all users.

Zomato spokesperson told Ink42 That intercity delivery is still in the early stages of testing. “This is a customer request based on an experiment that we received in the recent past. We are delighted to add Indians for the most celebrated cuisine, synonymous with cities onboarded as part of the Intercity Legends offering. It is too early for us to share any details,” the spokesperson said.

How successful can the enterprise be?

Zomato is infamous for launching such initiatives in style and then wrapping up without any formality. Such uses include grocery delivery and nutraceuticals, which have bombed in the past. Looking at its history, it remains to be seen whether the company actually delivers on its promise considering the fact that it is quite an ambitious project.

On the upside, the services are slated to launch next month, and given that this is the festive season, the experiment could attract some traction.

But it also has a negative aspect.

Inc42’s report states that it had ordered 1 kg of biryani from Hyderabad to test how the initiative worked. That said, our order was priced at INR 700 which includes taxes, cost of dish (INR 280) and cost of delivery and shipping (INR 350). The final price for the same order placed within Hyderabad city was INR 350. So essentially, customers will have to pay around 2X for certain items depending on the recipes. (For first time customers, the company is also offering a discount of Rs 200 for the customer’s first intercity order and further discount for bulk orders)

Now, given that the food will arrive the next day or even later, you are actually paying 2X the price for food that is ‘not fresh at all’.

Meanwhile, sending food via Air Cargo for Zomato will be much more than delivering the same parcel locally on a two-wheeler a few kilometers away.

In addition, the cost of transporting food from the airport to the home will be high for many customers – Zomato will also need finishing stations or distribution centers for these parcels in high-volume cities.

So, what’s your take, will it be a nightmare or a masterstroke?

first article