NRAI Urges Restaurants to Enhance Loyalty Programs with the Return of Zomato Gold
- ByStartupStory | January 31, 2023
NRAI, Industry body National Restaurants Association of India, has reportedly started sending advisories to restaurants to step up their own loyalty programmes with the return of Zomato’s loyalty programme– Zomato Gold. Currently, the NRAI has more than 500,000 member restaurants across the country.
Kabir Suri, president of NRAI, stated “We are still negotiating with them (Zomato Gold) on certain terms. Until that’s not completed, our members will wait for the outcome,”
Last week, Zomato launched its loyalty program Zomato Gold, replacing the previous Pro Plus membership which was discontinued in August 2022. Zomato Gold has been launched with an introductory price of ₹149 for three months.
Zomato said during its Q2 earnings call ““We are, as we speak, working on creating something which is more differentiated, we believe, at least, and to perhaps make sure that we get the benefit of customer loyalty without really losing a lot of money. So I would request you to please wait and watch for that and we will come back with some loyalty programme construct soon in the market,”
There are several benefits for Zomato Gold users. Food delivery to such users is free provided the restaurant falls within 10 kilometers distance and the order is above INR 199. Further, Zomato is offering a ‘no delay guarantee’ to Gold subscribers as well.
Riyaaz Amlani, managing director at Impresario Handmade Restaurants, which runs Social, Smoke House Deli and Salt Water Cafe said they will not come onboard for Zomato Gold unless the terms benefit restaurant partners. “We have urged all restaurant companies to take forward their own loyalty programmes,” Amlani said.
Rohit Aggarwal, director at Lite Bite Foods, which runs Punjab Grill, Artful Baker and YouMee chains, also said that they are not using Zomato Gold. Lite Bite Foods is planning to either launch individual brand loyalty programmes or a collective one.
the food delivery platforms have been in loggerheads with NRAI for some time now. In September this year, the NRAI urged Zomato and Swiggy’s partner restaurants to make an ‘informed decision’ on Zomato Pay and Swiggy Diner as the offerings could ‘adversely impact’ the overall restaurant industry in the long run.
In 2019, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) launched a campaign called #Logout against Zomato Gold, as its restaurant partners were frustrated with the high commission fees and large discounts offered to Zomato Gold subscribers. As a result, the Competition Commission of India launched an investigation into anti-competitive practices by food delivery platforms in April 2022, following a complaint by the NRAI.
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