Zomato takes back green uniform for veg fleet amid row

Zomato has reversed its decision to use a green uniform for those delivering food to vegetarians under the new service and stated that all of its delivery partners will continue to wear red in the face of criticism over its introduction of a "pure veg" fleet.

"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," Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal tweeted this morning.

Customers who select the 'pure veg' option, according to Mr Goyal, can see on the mobile app that the'veg only' fleet is delivering their purchases.

"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 days... our rider's physical safety is of paramount importance to us," he added.

"We now realise that even some of our customers could get into trouble with their landlords, and that would not be a nice if that happened because of us," Mr Goyal said in the post.

Additionally, he expressed gratitude to social media for bringing these issues to light after yesterday's announcement of the "pure veg" service.

"You made us understand the unintended consequences of this rollout. All the love, and all the brickbats were all so useful - and helped us get to this optimal point. We are always listening, without unnecessary ego, or pride. We look forward to continue serving you," he said.

Yesterday, the introduction of the "pure veg" service and the distinct colour code caused a major uproar on social media, with some people accusing it of being a modern-day caste system. Others had noted that in apartment buildings where vegetarians predominate, this would result in a restriction on the admission of red-uniform delivery partners. They said that this would cause difficulties for customers who purchase non-vegetarian meals. Additionally, some users brought out the possibility that tenants purchasing non-vegetarian cuisine could run into issues, especially in areas where it is not recommended.

Mr Goyal had stated yesterday that customer feedback was taken into consideration while deciding to launch the "pure veg" option.

"India has the largest percentage of vegetarians in the world, and one of the most important feedback we've gotten from them is that they are very particular about how their food is cooked, and how their food is handled," he had said.

He had stated that Zomato would only work with eateries that serve vegetarian meals for this service and that no non-vegetarian packets would be handled by the delivery partners.

"But why did we need to separate the fleets? Because despite everyone's best efforts, sometimes the food spills into the delivery boxes. In those cases, the smell of the previous order travels to the next order and may lead to the next order smelling of the previous order. For this reason, we had to separate the fleet for veg orders," the Zomato CEO explained. He emphasised that regardless of a person's caste or religion, the "pure veg" service only meets their dietary preferences. However, Mr Goyal had stated that if there are unfavourable social effects, they will "roll back" the service "in a heartbeat".

"We understand our social responsibility due to this change, and we will not back down from solving it when the need arises. Please note that this Pure Veg Mode, or the Pure Veg Fleet doesn't serve or alienate any religious, or political preference," he had said.