Zomato to launch two new initiatives to boost revenues

Restaurant search and listings service provider, Zomato is working on a couple of initiatives to increase its profitability, reports Livemint.

The new initiatives - Zomato Red and Zomato Infrastructure Services will be rolled out between February and June 2017 and the company expects to double its revenues for the next three years, according to co-founder and chief executive Deepinder Goyal.

Speaking to the publication, Goyal said that Zomato is expected to reach annual sales of $50-60 million by March 2017, largely on the back of strong online delivery business and table reservation segment.

Zomato Red is a membership feature which will allow consumers to buy a yearly/semi-annual subscription through which they will get exclusive offers. It will be first rolled out in Dubai and Lisbon (Portugal) starting January and will be introduced in India by March.

The second in line is Zomato Infrastructure Services that will see the food-tech company set up pop-up kitchen spaces in locations where users don’t have access to a good dining experience. Restaurants and iconic brands will then be invited to use this kitchen space to prepare and deliver food exclusively via Zomato.

The Mint report states that the investment, which will be in the range of $2-3 million, will go towards the kitchen infrastructure and last mile delivery and Zomato will charge restaurants a commission fee for orders taken through these kitchens. This initiative will first be tested in Gurgaon.

Both these new initiatives should give Zomato a much-needed push against fast growing food delivery startup, Swiggy that recently raised Rs 100 crore led by US-based venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners.