In a bid to tackle food wastage, Zomato has introduced a new feature called “Food Rescue,” which allows nearby customers to claim canceled orders at a discounted price. Zomato Co-Founder and CEO, Deepinder Goyal, announced the initiative on LinkedIn, explaining how the feature works to redistribute food that might otherwise go to waste.
Under the new “Food Rescue” feature, canceled orders will appear on the Zomato homepage for users in close proximity, allowing them to purchase the items at what the company calls an “unbeatable price.” Customers can receive these orders swiftly in their original, untampered packaging. Zomato emphasized that no refunds are provided to the original customer for cancellations, although they are charged a cancellation fee equivalent to 100% of the order amount.
Deepinder Goyal clarified that Zomato would not retain any proceeds from these re-sold orders, aside from required government taxes. Instead, the new customer’s payment will be split between the original customer (if the original payment was made online) and the restaurant partner.
Restaurants that participate in the Food Rescue program will be compensated for the canceled order and will also receive a share of the payment from the new customer if the order is claimed. Additionally, delivery partners will be fully compensated for the complete trip, ensuring fair pay for their efforts to deliver these orders.
Most restaurant partners have chosen to participate in the program, with an easy opt-out option available through their control panels. However, Zomato noted that this feature would only apply to orders that can maintain freshness during quick delivery and would exclude items sensitive to distance or temperature, such as ice creams, shakes, smoothies, and perishable goods.
