Zomato, a food supply service, has introduced a programme dubbed “Intercity Legends” that enables customers to purchase food from well-known stores and eateries in other cities. Service is currently available in Gurugram and South Delhi. The residents of these locations will be able to eat tunday kebabs made in Lucknow, mouth-watering rosogollas from Kolkata, and spicy and delicious biryani from Hyderabad.
Users of the most recent version of the Zomato app in Gurugram and South Delhi can browse the “Intercity Legends” option and order well-known dishes from specific restaurants in other cities. According to Zomato, the food will arrive the very following day. The freshly made meals will be packaged by Zomato “in disposable and shielded packaging to keep it secure during the transport.”
Modern mobile refrigeration machinery will be used to process the packaged food. Food won’t be frozen, and the prepared meal won’t have any preservatives. The projected delivery time for this fresh food delivery method is at least a day. When clients get their orders, they may reheat them using a microwave, a skillet, or an air fryer, just like any other preserved meal.
How is the service operated?
As part of the programme, the organization has provided a list of eateries in various cities from which customers may place regular Zomato orders for food. According to the restaurant, every food will be packaged, chilled, and transported by air or road to clients the following day. Nevertheless, delivery of some purchases to clients can exceed a day. Unfortunately, not all users can currently access the services.
A Zomato spokesperson told Inc42 that intercity delivery is still in the initial stages of being experimented with. “It’s an experimentation basis customer requests we had garnered in recent times. We are glad to be connecting Indians all over, to the most legendary food, synonymous with the cities onboarded as a part of the Intercity Legends offering. It’s too early for us to share any details,” the spokesperson said.
According to the Inc42 story, the company ordered 1 kilogramme of Hyderabadi dum biryani to test the initiative’s functionality. According to the statement, the purchase cost was Rs. 700, which incorporates levies, and the pricing of the dish, i.e.Rs. 280, and the delivery costs and transportation is Rs. 350. The ultimate cost of the identical order placed within Hyderabad was INR 350. Customers would pay nearly twice as much for some goods based on the servings. Importantly, Zomato also provides a coupon of Rs. 200 for a customer’s first intercity order and an additional discount for large orders.
How likely is the initiative to succeed?
Zomato notoriously launches such campaigns in flair before being abruptly abandoned. These efforts have failed in the past and include food delivery and nutraceuticals. Given its past performance, it remains to be seen if the corporation can fulfil its commitments given the project’s ambitious nature.
