Is Zomato's 10-minute delivery plan viable?

Experts say that this model might work only in grocery space

- UMA KANNAN & ARSHAD KHAN

FOOD aggregator Zomato’s plan to roll out a 10-minute food delivery feature continues to remain a debated topic, as delivery personnel, the restaurant community and industry leaders in the ultra fast delivery space TNIE spoke to raised safety concerns and called it a difficult service to succeed.

“It is very difficult to deliver in 10 minutes. Most of the time, delivery in a 1 km radius takes 15 minutes due to traffic. This may also lead to road safety concerns among us if we are asked to meet the stipulated time period,” said Arun Tomar, a delivery partner with Zomato for the last 3 years. Tomar grosses around R900 a day. He said rising petrol and food prices is a big concern, as it takes away ₹300-350 of daily earnings, leaving him with a net income of ₹550-600 on most days.

Umesh Dibakar, another Zomato delivery partner, said that delivery in 10 minutes, especially during peak hours, is very difficult. “It all boils down to restaurants, and how much time they are taking to hand over the order. If we receive the order in no time and delivery is just a few blocks away, then this system might work,”said Dibakar. He, however, added that, going by the past and current experience, most food places, which include quick service restaurants, handover the parcel to us in 5-10 minutes. This alone makes the model unviable.

Likewise, a store manager of a large biryani chain and a momos chain, sounded skeptical when asked about the 10-minute delivery offering. Both have similar things to say. “Heating, proper packaging and successful handling take 4-5 minutes. Can the delivery boy deliver the food in the remaining 5 minutes? Highly doubtful.”