Hats Off To Zomato Who Have Pulled Off Another Coup

While with one hand online food giant Zomato is in talks to look for funding, with the other hand it has announced that it will be investing in three Indian food delivery and logistics companies.

To aid its delivery feature, Zomato has just announced that it will be investing undisclosed sums in the Gurgaon based delivery company Pickingo, the Mumbai based Grab and logistics firm Delhivery.

“We have unequivocally the largest restaurant base in India and and we will work closely with Pickingo, Grab, and Delhivery to improve the last-mile delivery experience for users placing orders online on Zomato. So far, restaurants have been delivering on their own, but with this partnership, we will also be able to target restaurants across the country that don’t otherwise deliver. We are also launching our online ordering service in Dubai, Australia, and South Africa later this month. Along similar lines, we are also in conversation with hyperlocal logistics firms in other countries to ensure that we are able to provide a seamless and quality experience to our users there,” said Zomato’s founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal.

Similarly,  Rahul Gill, the CEO of Pickingo said “This investment will not only infuse funds into the company but will also allow us to scale rapidly with Zomato’s online ordering business, while also leveraging Zomato’s strong relationship with restaurants across the country. We have already started working together to deliver from select restaurants in New Delhi, and we look forward to taking this partnership further.”

Meet The Companies

Started in November 2014, Pickingo now has a team of over three hundred and a presence in six cities. It is a hyperlocal delivery service that operates with the motto “#LeaveItToUS.”

The Mumbai based Grab operates on a similar principle, advertising itself as a “hyperlocal logistics service that enables merchants to deliver their products to consumers within minutes.” Clients are able to use Grab’s platform to ensure deliveries in under thirty minutes and monitor the status of their deliveries in real time. Grab already has some major food brands as their clients including Pizza Hut, Mainland China and Faasos.

Zomato will be able to use these platforms to ensure a more seamless delivery process. It will also be able to use them to aid restaurants that do not already offer delivery options or have delivery services in place.

Delhivery will help Zomato in a similar way; Delhivery presently has a presence in and handles logistics in 175 cities. Through them, Zomato will be able to organise the logistics involved in food delivery.

Meanwhile…

Some reports say that Zomato is in talks with Singapore’s Temasek Holdings to secure fresh funding between $60-80 million. 

Presumably, should they secure the funding, Zomato will pour the money into its delivery ventures as well as to expand into other countries.