Zomato launches 'Food Rescue' service to curb food waste

In a bid to reduce food waste, Zomato has introduced Food Rescue, a new service that allows users to book food orders cancelled by others at a lower price. As part of the new service, cancelled orders will pop up on the app's screen for customers trying to book an order within a radius of 3km of the delivery partner carrying the order. Customers can book the order for themselves without having to pay the original amount.

“The top concern for us, the restaurant industry, and even the customers who cancel these orders, is to somehow save the food from going to waste,” said Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal, stressing that the platform sees over 4 lakh “perfectly good orders” getting cancelled for various reasons despite strict policies, including the zero-refund policy.

How does Food Rescue work?

After a customer cancels an order, it goes up for grabs for other customers trying to book a food order. The app will show a pop-up with the order content and a discounted price to customers within a 3km radium of the delivery partner carrying the order. Zomato says the pop-up will stay on the app for a few minutes, so if a customer does not want it, it can be offered to others – all in a bid to “ensure freshness.” The cancelled order will not be shown to the customer who cancelled, alongside others from the same vicinity, however.

Once a customer grabs the cancelled order for themselves and pays for it, the amount goes to the original customer through an online mode and to the restaurant. “Zomato will not keep any proceeds (except the required government taxes),” said the company in a blog post. The Food Rescue service is not applicable to distance-sensitive foods such as ice-creams, shakes, and other certain perishable items. Zomato said it will also factor in a customer's food choice, so that vegetarians do not see non-vegetarian orders.