Zomato Scraps Green Uniform for Veg Service Fleet Amid Safety Concerns

• ByStartupStory     |    March 20, 2024

In response to safety concerns raised by its founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal, Zomato has made a significant decision regarding its new vegetarian food delivery service, Pure Veg Mode. The food delivery giant announced on Wednesday that it will be discontinuing the use of green uniforms to distinguish its delivery partners for vegetarian orders. Instead, all delivery personnel, including those serving vegetarian meals, will now don the company’s trademark red uniform.

Founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal addressed the issue in a statement, stating, “While we are going to continue to have a fleet for vegetarians, we have decided to remove the on-ground segregation of this fleet on the ground using the color green. All our riders — both our regular fleet, and our fleet for vegetarians, will wear the color red.”

This decision comes just a day after Zomato unveiled its ‘Pure Veg Mode’ service, aimed at delivering from restaurants exclusively serving pure vegetarian food in India. The initial plan included delivery partners wearing green uniforms and carrying food in green delivery boxes, a move that sparked concerns over safety and potential misunderstandings.

Goyal further clarified, “Our rider’s physical safety is of paramount importance to us. We now realize that even some of our customers could get into trouble with their landlords, and that would not be a nice thing if that happened because of us.”

Despite Zomato’s assurance that the app will indicate when vegetarian orders are being served by the dedicated veg-only fleet, the decision has been met with mixed reactions online. The company had previously stated that the launch of the Pure Veg Mode service was in response to feedback from vegetarians nationwide, but the move has faced criticism from various quarters.

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