Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Zomato's introduction of a 'PURE veg' service and the subsequent backlash it has faced, many have criticized the move as 'discriminatory.'
The initiative, which aimed to cater specifically to vegetarian consumers, sparked a heated debate regarding inclusivity and fairness within the online food delivery industry.
Viral Ad Mocks Zomato's 'PURE Veg' Move
Now, a new 'sarcastic ad' has emerged on social media, getting viral attention, as it imagines the potential response of Zomato's competitor, Swiggy, to the contentious development.
The new advertisement shared by Nilesh Trivedi, Founder of Snow Mountain AI, showcases Swiggy's stance on the matter. In the ad, a delivery person is depicted at the customer's doorstep with the order, while other figures armed with sticks cast wary glances.
The new 'sarcastic ad' imagining Swiggy's response to Zomato's 'PURE veg' controversy has been titled "Eviction-safe food delivery."
In a statement, the ad asserts, "In Indian Neighbourhoods, your dietary preferences are best kept private."
"Our delivery fleet doesn't leak your private habits to the world. You also save some money as we don't have to pay for the life insurance of our delivery staff against possible mob lynching," it added.
Swiggy Reacts to Viral Sarcastic Ad Featuring Its Name
"Swiggy, on its official social media platform X, reacted to the viral sarcastic ad featuring its name with a post stating, "We came across a fake ad this morning regarding a recent controversy. If it isn't obvious, this is NOT an ad by Swiggy. It was neither created by us nor anybody affiliated with Swiggy."
"Kindly refrain from circulating or attributing it to Swiggy," it added.
Reposting Swiggy's post, Nilesh Trivedi, who shared the post, wrote, "Looks like many people circulated the image while cropping out my "/s" sarcasm tag."
Zomato Pure Veg Fleet
Zomato's CEO, Deepinder Goyal, announced yesterday (March 19) the company's decision to launch a 'pure veg' service, responding to customer feedback. This service will exclusively partner with restaurants serving vegetarian food, ensuring that delivery partners handling these orders will not carry any non-vegetarian items.
Zomato Faces Backlash Over Introduction of 'PURE Veg' Mode
However, following criticism for introducing separate uniforms for vegetarian and non-vegetarian delivery fleets, Zomato swiftly addressed these concerns on Wednesday. Orders placed through the vegetarian mode will now be delivered by riders in the company's traditional red uniform. Goyal highlighted the importance of the riders' physical safety, especially after social media users expressed worries about potential discrimination against those delivering non-vegetarian meals, given the introduction of a green uniform for the pure veg mode.
Goyal clarified the company's stance, stating, "While maintaining a separate fleet for vegetarians, we've decided to eliminate the physical distinction on the ground by using the color green. All our riders - both from our regular fleet and our vegetarian fleet - will now don the familiar red uniform."
