Zomato, the popular food delivery service, has launched a new feature called ‘Food Rescue’ to help cut down on food waste. This feature allows nearby customers to purchase canceled orders at a discounted price, ensuring that excess food gets used instead of being thrown away.
Why ‘Food Rescue’ Was Created
Zomato’s data shows that over 400,000 food orders are canceled every month for various reasons. Despite existing efforts to minimize cancellations, significant food waste continues to be a problem. Deepinder Goyal, Zomato’s co-founder and CEO, shared on social media that the company wants to find better ways to use canceled meals and reduce waste. The new feature aims to redirect these meals to customers who can enjoy them, while also helping restaurants and delivery partners.
How the ‘Food Rescue’ Feature Works
The ‘Food Rescue’ feature notifies customers within a 3 km radius of the delivery partner carrying a canceled order. This notification gives them the chance to buy the meal at a lower price and receive it in minutes, still in its original, untampered packaging. To ensure food freshness, customers only have a short time to claim these orders.
However, some foods, like ice creams and shakes, are excluded from the program because they are too perishable.
Important Details and Payment Structure
One interesting part of the ‘Food Rescue’ feature is that it won’t notify customers who are closest to the original recipient. This measure is in place to avoid any confusion or complications. Customers who claim the meal will pay a reduced price. If the original customer paid online, they will receive a share of the payment, along with the restaurant. Zomato will not take any of these payments, except for the taxes required by the government.
To check if a canceled order is available, customers can refresh the Zomato home page where the option will show up automatically if there is food to be rescued.
Benefits for Restaurants and Delivery Partners
Zomato said that 99.9% of its restaurant partners have agreed to participate in the ‘Food Rescue’ program. This means restaurants will get full payment for any canceled orders and a share of the money when the meal is resold. This is a small incentive for them to continue providing meals that may end up being resold.
For delivery partners, Zomato will cover their full compensation for both the original and the redirected trips. This ensures delivery partners do not lose out when orders are rerouted to new customers.
A Part of Zomato’s Larger Strategy
The ‘Food Rescue’ feature is part of Zomato’s broader strategy to offer better service and more value to its users. Over the past year, Zomato has introduced several new features, including “Brand Packs” for discount offers and an option to view full order history.
In April, Zomato also tested a paid priority delivery feature, allowing customers to get their food faster for a fee. Additionally, the company piloted a “pay later” feature, letting customers delay payments until their food arrives.
With ‘Food Rescue,’ Zomato is taking another step toward sustainable practices in the food delivery industry while also enhancing user experience. This feature benefits restaurants, delivery partners, and, most importantly, helps minimize food waste.
