A new service launched by Zomato – known as ‘Pure Veg Mode’ – was announced by the company’s CEO and founder, Deepinder Goyal. Taking into account India’s significantly large vegetarian population, the announcement was made after considering the feedback from its customer base who were concerned about the manner in which food is cooked and handled at restaurants. The new upgrade, which will also have its separate fleet of delivery partners dedicated to transporting the ‘pure veg’ food cooked at vegetarian-only restaurants, will also be handling exclusive orders from eateries classified in the category.
As part of the launch, special emphasis was placed on how any kind of non-vegetarian meal will not be placed inside the delivery box dedicated to these pure vegetarian deliveries. Concerns about cross-contamination expressed by the delivery app’s customer base drove the brand to dedicate this new upgrade to those who wouldn’t have to worry about the same anymore. As part of the marketing campaign for the service, the CEO himself was seen delivering vegetarian food alongside the assigned delivery partners for the orders placed through the mode.
Although the recent development does not intend to alienate or leverage religious or political beliefs as per Goyal, the ‘Pure Veg Mode’ is set to be launched in phases throughout the country over the course of the next few weeks. Plans are also underway to launch specialised fleets that cater to specific kinds of dietary preferences – with a cake delivery fleet in progress. This special fleet, it is said, will be equipped with hydraulic balancers to ensure that the confections aren’t smudged or damaged during the course of the delivery. Although the reception for the announcement was met with mixed reviews on social media, many have also pointed out that the riders wearing special green uniforms was unnecessary.
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The ongoing debate – which stems from a perception versus quantitative analysis of on-ground information – states that while a mere 30% of the populace considers themselves to be vegetarian, a whopping 75% of Indians consume eggs, or even meat dishes during special occasions. Studies conducted by the National Family Health Survey in 2015-16 stated that 78% percent of women and 70% of men consume meat or eggs as part of their daily diets. Moreover, new research that was conducted in 2018 also highlighted that almost 29% of vegetarian population can be classified by inflated estimations – which is a result of many under-reporting meat consumption and over-reporting following a vegetarian diet. That said, how this new upgrade will be received on-ground remains to be seen.