Zomato: India’s Leading Food Aggregator & Delivery Platform

Zomato, stylized as ZOMATO, is an Indian restaurant aggregator and online food ordering platform owned by Eternal Limited. Founded in 2008 by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah, Zomato provides restaurant information, menus, user reviews, and food delivery services across more than 1,000 cities in India (as of 2023).

Zomato competes with Swiggy in the food delivery and hyperlocal commerce space.

Trade name	zomato
Formerly	FoodieBay (2008–2010)
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Online food ordering, Q-commerce
Founded	July 2008; 16 years ago
Founders	Deepinder Goyal Pankaj Chaddah
Headquarters	Gurugram, Haryana, India
Area served	India
Key people	Deepinder Goyal (CEO & MD)
Services	Food delivery Table reservation
Parent	Eternal Limited
Website	zomato.com

Corporate Evolution

Until February 2025, the parent company of Zomato was known as Zomato Limited before rebranding to Eternal Limited.

History

Early Years (2015–2020)

Launch of Food Delivery

In 2015, Zomato introduced its food delivery service in India. Initially, it partnered with logistics firms such as Delhivery and Grab to handle deliveries for restaurants that lacked in-house delivery operations.

Introduction of Zomato Book

In January 2016, Zomato launched its table reservation feature, Zomato Book, allowing users to book restaurant tables through its app.

Zomato Gold Membership

In February 2017, the company introduced Zomato Gold, a premium subscription plan offering exclusive discounts and deals at partner restaurants.

Expansion into Events: Zomaland

In December 2018, Zomato launched Zomaland, an annual multi-city food and entertainment carnival that featured top restaurants, live performances, and interactive experiences.

International Operations

In March 2019, Eternal Limited sold Zomato’s UAE food delivery business to Talabat, marking a shift in the company’s global strategy.

Growth & Expansion (2020s)

Adaptation During COVID-19

With the rise of online grocery demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Zomato launched Zomato Market in April 2020, offering grocery deliveries in 80+ Indian cities. The platform also introduced contactless dining at its partner restaurants to enhance safety.

Alcohol Delivery & Subsequent Shutdown

In May 2020, Zomato began delivering alcohol in West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Odisha after receiving approval from local governments. However, in April 2021, it exited alcohol delivery due to poor unit economics and scalability concerns.

10-Minute Food Delivery: Zomato Instant

In April 2022, Zomato launched a pilot program for 10-minute food delivery called Zomato Instant in Gurgaon.

Intercity Food Delivery

In August 2022, Zomato introduced Intercity Legends, a service allowing users in Delhi NCR to order iconic dishes from restaurants in other cities with delivery within a few days.

Multi-Restaurant Ordering Feature

In June 2023, Zomato rolled out a feature enabling customers to build carts from up to four restaurants and place a combined order.

Security Breaches

2015 Data Leak

On June 4, 2015, an Indian security researcher hacked Zomato’s website, exposing the data of 62.5 million users. The company quickly fixed the vulnerability within 48 hours.

2017 Data Breach

On May 18, 2017, a security blog, Hack Read, reported that 17 million Zomato user records had been stolen, including email addresses and password hashes. Although no payment data was compromised, Zomato resolved the issue by engaging with the hacker, who later removed the stolen information from the dark web after Zomato agreed to start a bug bounty program.

Feeding India: Zomato’s Social Initiative

Establishment and Mission

Feeding India, a nonprofit organization founded in 2014 by Ankit Kawatra, works to provide free meals to underprivileged communities with the help of volunteers. Zomato acquired Feeding India in July 2019 and significantly expanded its reach.

Impact and Growth

As of May 2022, Zomato Feeding India was serving over 200,000 meals daily under its Daily Feeding Program.

Fundraising Concerts

To raise awareness about malnutrition in India, Feeding India has organized large-scale benefit concerts:

2022 – Post Malone headlined the event in Mumbai.

2024 – Dua Lipa  performed at another fundraiser, drawing global attention to the cause.

2025 – Plans are underway to host another major artist to further Feeding India's initiatives.

Future Plans

Zomato continues to innovate in the food-tech sector, focusing on drone-based deliveries, AI-driven restaurant recommendations, and expanding its cloud kitchen network. The company is also working on sustainability initiatives to reduce food wastage and carbon footprints in delivery operations.

References