Zomato's 10-Minute Food Delivery Model Faces Flak From Social Media Users

CEO Deepinder Goyal said the service would rely on a densely located network of food ‘finishing stations’, which will house bestseller items and use a sophisticated demand prediction algorithm

In a response, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said, "We will start with a clarification ... we do not put any pressure on delivery partners." Image: Getty

New Delhi: Social media users have criticised online food-delivery firm Zomato's new plan to launch a 10-minute food delivery service.

The online food aggregator is witnessing a backlash on social media for this as some users say this new model will raise road-safety risks for delivery partners, according to a report by Reuters.

The new service model is known as Zomato Instant.

According to Zomato's CEO Deepinder Goyal, the new service model would rely on a densely located area of food ‘finishing stations’, which will house bestseller items from restaurants and use a sophisticated demand prediction algorithm.

In a late night post on Monday, Goyal tweeted his formula.

"Nobody in the world has so far delivered hot and fresh food in under 10 minutes at scale," Goyal wrote on LinkedIn and Twitter. "We were eager to be the first."

Announcement: 10 minute food delivery is coming soon on Zomato.

Food quality – 10/10
Delivery partner safety – 10/10
Delivery time – 10 minutes

Here’s how Zomato Instant will achieve the impossible while ensuring delivery partner safety – https://t.co/oKs3UylPHh pic.twitter.com/JYCNFgMRQz

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) March 21, 2022

The announcement by Zomato sparked a flurry of responses within hours. Lok Sabha MP Karti P Chidambaram also questioned the business model, while executives raised concerns about rider safety on Indian roads.

In his tweet, Karti P Chidambaram wrote: "This is absurd! It's going to put undue pressure on the delivery personnel."

Zomato, however, did not respond to requests by Reuters for comments.

Many on social media urged a rethink, saying food can wait as even ambulances in India take longer to reach patients. Some on LinkedIn questioned the need for such a model.

Gunjan Rastogi, a researcher at India's RSB Insights & Analytics, wrote, "I don't want to eat food that someone has brought to me while keeping his life at risk," wrote.

Zomato founder has sought to reassure various stakeholders who were outraged with its plans to deliver food in 10 minutes. In his announcement on Monday, Goyal said, "We will start with a clarification ... we do not put any pressure on delivery partners."

After it failed to convince many, he issued another tweet on Tuesday stressing that delivery will be "safe" for riders who will face no penalties, urging people to understand the model "before the outrage".

Quick commerce grocery start-ups in India have been growing and they are in direct competition with SoftBank-backed Blinkit and rival Zepto, which is expanding rapidly. 

In January, Reuters reported delivery bikers said they faced pressure to meet deadlines, which often led to speeding, for fear of being rebuked by store managers.

Some critics have mentioned that risks are too high on Indian roads. City roads are riddled with potholes and motorists violate traffic laws. According to the World Bank, India witnesses a road accident death every four minutes and crashes kill about 150,000 people each year.

However, many customers have been hooked to quick commerce grocery services to meet their instant shopping needs.

Sonu Sekharan, one LinkedIn user, however, has welcomed the 10-minute model by Zomato. "I would be happy to get my food in 10 minutes," he said.