Zomato recently launched its ‘Pure Veg’ fleet to serve veg customers from only pure veg restaurants. Food aggregators have played a significant part in increasing the sales of restaurants in India. Nearly one-third of the listed restaurants receive revenue from Zomato and Swiggy. The Indian vegetarian food market itself is significant, valued at US$ 1,372.3 million in 2*2 and expected to reach US$ 2,756.6 million by 2030.
While the move was smart in terms of monetary value, this announcement quickly turned the netizens into Zomato’s brand color, angry Red! The brand faced heavy backlash as many shared their unhappiness with the launch on social media. People were quick to jump to the conclusion that this mode was casteist. Many called it the ‘Segregation of 2024’.
The only valid criticism of the model was privacy concerns for food orders. No one wants their nosy and judging neighbor to know their food preference. The delivery staff was going to have a different uniform which was colored green. Which was also a bad move for brand image and marketing considering the brand color has always been red with white. This was solved by the company as they announced that they would not be moving forward with the separate uniform.
Founder Deepinder Goyal clarified that the decision was made based on a survey, where the majority said they wanted a separate model for vegetarian delivery.
We unfortunately live in a world where the news no longer forms an opinion of a citizen but the top comments or tweets do. While there is overflowing criticism for this mode there are also multiple positive aspects of it. One just needs to switch their lens.
India ranks top in the world for the vegetarian population. According to a TOI report, about 40% of the Indian population identifies as vegetarian. The reasons for this vary from religion to ethics to health to environmental consciousness.
While the model is satisfactory for 40% of the veg population, it will also be highly beneficial for the ‘seasonally vegetarian population’. India is perhaps the only country with people who turn vegetarian for some days in a week or for the entirety of festivals. This is a ground-breaking idea for such a market.
Deepinder Goyal clarified by saying, “It’s the principle of nonviolence rather than anything to do with religion or caste.” The idea behind the initiative was rational and thoughtful for the target audience. It prevents the cross-contamination or simply mixing up of aromas. Furthermore, it removes any doubts in the minds of the consumers.
While this complies with spiritual, dietary, and environmental concerns, it also could help expand the brand to a new demographic. Zomato was already highly popular among Generation Y and Z, now it also appeals to Generation X. The CEO tweeted how several youngsters messaged him saying, “Now my parents can also use Zomato”.
This was a big opportunity in the Indian market that many giants were sleeping on. This will allow the brand to be unique and differentiate itself from the competitors. Zomato is a king in the field of marketing already but this launch requires the brand to go an extra mile to defend their motive behind this and improve the image. Their future marketing of this can either make or break this specific initiative.
Overall the move was strategic and well targeted for the Indian consumers. Deepinder Goyal is nothing short of a mastermind announcing this just before the Indian Navratri festival which includes giving up non vegetarianism as people fast for nine days.
Zomato has touched-bases of literally every segment with the addition of Blinkit into their vertical. It is one of the success stories in the Indian Startup race, hitting a profitability of 138 crores INR with effective pricing. With the addition of ‘Zomato Pure Veg’, they can surely conquer this market.