After backlash, Zomato pulls green uniform for Pure Veg Fleet

After food delivery service, Zomato, received widespread backlash over its introduction of new "Pure Veg Mode" service, CEO Deepinder Goyal on Wednesday withdrew the new feature saying all its riders will continue to wear red.

Zomato on Tuesday introduced the "Pure Veg Mode" service strictly for vegetarian customers in India, to be delivered by a "Pure Veg Fleet". 

Soon after, netizens questioned the move, saying some societies and RWAs may not allow Zomato's regular fleet to enter on the basis of the red-green color segregation.

"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 color green. All our riders -- both our regular fleet, and our fleet for vegetarians, will wear the color red," Goyal said in an update post on X.

He explained that the fleet meant for vegetarian orders would not be identifiable on the ground but would show on the Zomato app and reassured customers that their veg orders would be served by the Veg Only fleet.

Goyal said this will ensure that Zomato's red uniform delivery partners are not incorrectly associated with non-veg food, and blocked by any RWAs or societies during any special days. He also acknowledged that the safety of riders is of paramount importance.

"We now realize 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,” Goyal said in the long post on X.

He further thanked people for pointing out their concerns, saying, "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".

Zomato had announced the launch of a "Pure Veg Mode" service on Tuesday to strictly cater to customers who have pure vegetarian dietary preferences.

In an earlier post on X, Goyal said that India has the highest percentage of vegetarians globally, and the new feature was launched based on their feedback.