Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal announced on Wednesday that all delivery riders employed by the food delivery giant, including those on the regular and 'Pure Veg Fleet', would now be outfitted in the colour red. This decision comes in the wake of significant online discourse surrounding the introduction of the 'all-veg' service, with many expressing criticism of the initiative.
"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 colour green. All our riders — both our regular fleet, and our fleet for vegetarians, will wear the colour red," Goyal wrote on X, giving an update on the company's pure veg fleet.
"This means that the fleet meant for vegetarian orders will not be identifiable on the ground (but will show on the app that your veg orders will be served by the veg only fleet). This will ensure that our red uniform delivery partners are not incorrectly associated with non-veg food, and blocked by any RWAs or societies during any special daysâ€æ our rider’s physical safety is of paramount importance to us," he added.
Zomato's 'Pure Veg Fleet' initiative draws flak
Introduced on Tuesday (March 19), Zomato's new 'Pure Veg Fleet' caters to customers with a 100% vegetarian dietary preference. As part of this service, delivery riders were initially required to don a green uniform. The Pure Veg Mode feature on the app offers a selection of restaurants that exclusively serve pure vegetarian cuisine, with all non-vegetarian options excluded from the listings.
What did Zomato CEO said?
Zomato Founder Goyal had cited feedback from vegetarian customers as the reason for the launch of the new service and informed that the online food delivery platform is also introducing a "Pure Veg Fleet" in India for customers who follow a 100 per cent vegetarian diet. He shared that "Pure Veg Mode" includes a selection of restaurants serving exclusively vegetarian food, excluding any establishments offering non-vegetarian items. He clarified that this mode doesn't cater to or exclude any religious or political preferences. However, the Zomato CEO was slammed by a section of users online for the move.
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