Foodtech Players Accept Restaurant Body Concerns, But Zomato Gold Still An Issue

After several rounds of meetings and public protests, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) and food service aggregators (FSAs) Zomato and Swiggy have finally reached a common denominator. Food delivery companies will accommodate the demands of restaurant partners, the restaurant body said.

Senior officials of Zomato and Swiggy met NRAI members on August 29 to resume discussions regarding the distress of the restaurant owners listed on the platform. Both companies have sorted out deep discounting, high and uneven commission charges, data hiding and mandatory bundling of services like fleet delivery, marketing, etc.

The companies have reached an ‘in-principle agreement’ to resolve issues. Another meeting will be organised in the second week of September to discuss the resolution steps further and reach a concrete agreement.

The statement also highlighted Swiggy’s “constructive approach” claiming that the company understood the viewpoints and has promised to come up with an actionable plan in the next meeting.

However, Zomato disclosed its plan to roll out home delivery for Zomato Gold. NRAI did express their concerns regarding the same. Zomato will be examining the issue and will be suggesting changes in the next meeting.

Aftermath Of #Logout Campaign

Zomato and Swiggy have already come under the scanner of various restaurant associations for their policies and deep discounting over the last few months. The protest turned serious, earlier this month, after over than 300 restaurants started a #LogOut campaign protesting Zomato’s Gold programme which gives heavy discounts on food and drinks to diners.

Restaurants listed on these platforms started raising concerns as heavy discounting was eating into their profits.

Eventually, other partner restaurants joined in the protest and nearly 2500-3000 restaurants have logged out of these applications since the protest started on August 14. NRAI, a restaurateurs body with 5 Lakh members, had backed the campaign and raised concern regarding the policies and business structure of these platforms.

Other associations like the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) also joined in bringing Swiggy into the picture by focusing on deliveries as well. Both the associations have written to the foodtech players about their concerns.