Zoop | Food Delivery Solution in Trains

• ByStartupStory     |    March 14, 2021

“Online train food ordering and delivery services in India by Zoop are actively contributing towards modernization of Indian Railways, especially when it comes to food on trains. Zoop lets you enjoy an exotic range of delicious food delivered right at passenger’s seats during train journey.”-Puneet Sharma, Co-founder, CEO of Zoop  in an insightful interview with;StartupStory Media

Completing graduation in Commerce from Delhi and MBA from Indore, Puneet was already contemplating to open a restaurant in the food loving city of Indore with special focus on famous North-Indian cuisines.

“While traveling between Delhi and Indore, food was one thing that was quite tough for us to arrange. I used to call up my relatives who were staying in between those two places to provide me with the meals.”- Puneet Sharma

All these thoughts got connected and with his prior experience in Sales and Marketing from different reputable companies and Startups, Puneet thought to come up with a solution by creating an online ordering platform for people traveling on trains and launched Zoop in 2016.

“We created Zoop so that people don’t have to worry about meals while traveling and can order from different cities they are crossing by.”- Puneet

Affordable and Delicious Food While Traveling

Zoop is an online food ordering platform delivering delicious and affordable food straight at customers’ seats. Within a short time, they became a reliable aggregator in IRCTC e-catering and our association with various popular food joints and restaurants in various locations of the country ensured tasty food delivery in trains.

“Online train food ordering and delivery services in India by Zoop are actively contributing towards modernization of Indian Railways, especially when it comes to food on trains. Zoop lets you enjoy an exotic range of delicious food delivered right at passenger’s seats during train journey.”- Puneet

Puneet also added that ordering food from Zoop requires just a few simple steps where one needs to log in to the site zoopindia.com, enter their PNR number or train details, choose their food item and place the order. One can also call at 8010802222 to place their food order on trains. Or else, download the android Zoop app.

Overcoming the Challenges

They were in a dilemma as the work they were planning to scale was neither right nor wrong in terms of government rules and regulations. Therefore, they were constantly in touch with Indian Railways Catering and Tourism corporation (IRCTC) where these kinds of useful services can get acknowledged.

“We were not acting as a restaurant on the stations, our purpose was to connect the passengers with the restaurants by creating a common digital platform. IRCTC was incredibly supportive, and in 2016 when they came up with e-catering policy, we immediately qualified and became an authorized aggregator and started scaling our services.”- Puneet

Another obstacle that they faced during their venture was to make people aware about the availability of these useful services of ordering food while traveling by train and getting it delivered at their seat / berth, but slowly they are also overcoming that.

Current Status and Future Plans

Zoop’s entire motto was to build the right technology, system and processes and make every transaction efficient and economical before scaling and start spending money on marketing.

“From the last 3-4 years we are completely devoted towards making the right processes because unlike other food delivery brands where orders are mostly booked for immediate deliveries, at Zoop, customers can place orders as per their journey plan for a specific day and time in advance. In short, we have pre-ordering system which enables our customers to place orders upto 2 months in advance for placing your order. So, we had to bring in automated process and come up with an advanced intelligent technology where all orders can complete their journey smoothly.”- Puneet

Currently Zoop is adding many small features so that the entire system of online railway food delivery can be made swifter and more advantageous. While working upon this they also realized something more and shared during the course of their interview session with Startup Story Media.

“Passengers’ needs are not only limited to food while traveling, and start even from before, during or post their journey. Say for example the need for conveyance, accommodation, meals after reaching their destination can be one of those and we would definitely try to solve all these connected needs too. So, in the near future we will be providing our services both in the food as well as travel industry.”- tells Puneet to Startup Story Media

Recently Zoop has also introduced regular passenger information services starting from PNR status check to timetable and coach position etc. Zoop is also planning to add options to order famous city specialties at various stations during train travel to make journeys more memorable and exciting for passengers.

Motivation Behind

“Coming from a non-business family, starting something of your own from scratch which also adds a lot of value to the society is a big motivator. Moreover, during the journey when so many people also start believing and contributing to your initiative, you automatically start feeling more positive and full of energy to carry on making it reach the apex of success.”- Puneet

Founder’s Message

“One should definitely evaluate what they are doing, monitor their steps, and if they come to the conclusion that their idea is right, then they need to remain patient and persistent towards achieving it.”-Puneet

Along with this creating a learning culture where people can learn and grow and work as a team with collective motive is also important for any business to grow and expand.

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