Back to red: Zomato rolls back green uniform for pure veg fleet amid controversy

New Delhi: Following the online backlash over the introduction of the 'Pure Veg Mode' service, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal on Wednesday said the food delivery platform has decided to the newly introduced green uniform.

"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 posted on X, formerly Twitter, this morning.

“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 (resident welfare associations) or (housing) societies during any special days… our riders’ physical safety is of paramount importance to us. We now realise that even some of our customers could get into trouble with their landlords, and that would not be a nice thing if that happened because of us.

"Thanks everyone for talking about this last night. You made us understand the unintended consequences of this rollout,” he posted.

In a detailed post shared late at night on X, Goyal addressed concerns about potential restrictions on Zomato's regular fleet by some societies and RWAs. "Some societies and RWAs may not permit our regular fleet anymore. We'll monitor this closely and collaborate with these entities to prevent such occurrences. We acknowledge the social responsibility inherent in this change and are committed to resolving any issues that arise," he assured.

Goyal clarified that the "Pure Veg Mode" does not discriminate based on religious or political preferences. He explained the rationale behind segregating the fleets, citing concerns about food spillage affecting subsequent orders. "The need to separate fleets arose from the occasional spillage of food into delivery boxes, leading to odour transfer between orders. This compelled us to segregate fleets for veg orders," Goyal explained.

He emphasised that the 'new service caters solely to dietary preferences, irrespective of religious or caste affiliations, and delivery partners' participation in the new fleet will not be influenced by their dietary choices'.

The Zomato co-founder introduced the "Pure Veg Mode" service on Tuesday in response to feedback from vegetarian customers. This initiative includes the launch of a "Pure Veg Fleet" in India catering exclusively to customers adhering to a 100 per cent vegetarian diet.