The food habits of people in India have changed over the years and now one can order the food they love in seconds. Although it is very easy to have food delivered to your home, there are times when many of us cancel the “ordered food” without thinking that it can lead to food loss because the food never reaches anyone. Noticing this food wastage, Zomato, which is India’s leading food delivery giant, has introduced a new feature on its mobile app called ‘Food Rescue’, which can help people find food at a discounted price, a move that could significantly reduce food wastage. spending This strategic move by Zomato addresses one of the biggest challenges facing not only restaurants and consumers, but the company itself.
The company’s CEO Deepinder Goyal took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce the feature and wrote that “Despite a strict refund and cancellation policy, more than 4 lakh perfectly good orders are canceled on Zomato for various reasons. customers”. He further shared that “the canceled order will appear in the app for customers within a 3km radius of the delivery partner fulfilling the order. And to ensure freshness, the claim option will only be available for a few minutes.”
The company assured that the dishes will be delivered in the original packaging to ensure quality and hygiene. For example, ice cream and milkshakes – not very fresh products – cannot be allowed in this function, as their freshness can deteriorate very quickly and become dangerous for the entire food safety system.
Benefits for consumers and restaurants
The Food Saver feature will not only help reduce waste, but also increase the amount of food available to consumers. Customers will be able to buy fresh, untouched dishes at discounted prices, and canceled orders will be an opportunity to dine on a budget.
This benefits the restaurants as they receive a percentage of the profit made from the sale of the dish through resale. This not only gives them back the lost amount but also allows them to use the cooked food. A strategy that leads to both the restaurant industry and its customers turning the wasteful scenario into a win-win situation.
Positive impact on delivery partners
One of the lesser-known benefits of Food Rescue is that it takes the economic pressure off delivery partners as they receive full payment for these canceled trips. More importantly, if the order is requested by another customer, the delivery person receives an additional fee to fulfill the delivery. This helps the survival of the delivery staff, which turns a missed trip into a successful trip.
Food waste affects all people in the world and causes huge economic and environmental losses. “Saving Food” ensures that this problem is solved through responsible consumption and less burden on landfills.
We do not encourage canceling orders on Zomato because it leads to wasting a huge amount of food.
Despite the strict and no-refund cancellation policy, more than 4 lakh perfectly good orders are canceled on Zomato due to various reasons by customers… pic.twitter.com/fGFQQNgzGJ
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) November 10, 2024
Reports show that India wastes around 67 million tonnes of food every year. An amount capable of feeding millions of malnourished people could help reduce hunger in the country. Although Zomato is very small in providing canceled food to the needy, it has taken a pioneering step towards larger food security initiatives. It also leaves a strong message that such waste reduces sustainable food practices and resources are put to use rather than idle.
Zomato’s Food Rescue feature is a promising start reducing food waste while preserving the interests of all involved: restaurants, delivery partners and consumers. And it is this potential that shows how technological solutions can solve complex social problems and pave the way for other companies to replicate this practice. In particular, this innovation could mark Zomato as a leader in the food delivery industry in setting benchmarks as it encourages other companies to be more proactive in controlling food waste.
In this way, the innovation shows that business and community solutions can work together when profitability is pursued hand in hand with social responsibility.
(Images courtesy of iStock)
