How restaurateurs view Zomato's 10-minute delivery plan

“In 10min delivery, I cannot assure if my food will come cooked or uncooked. For a healthy lifestyle and as a customer, I want my food to be well prepared and I won’t accept pre-cooked food to eat,” shared Harangad Singh, Chef and Co-founder at Parat and Me-awww who is running a cloud-kitchen venture since September 2019 on Zomato’s latest announcement of delivering food in just 10 minutes.

And, this is not it, the similar kind of remark has come from both restaurant owners, chefs and even the customers who doubt this decision of 10-minute food delivery both in terms of its quality and hygiene.

“It’s a very relative term in this case. As an entrepreneur running India’s one of the largest food aggregator & food delivery companies, I am sure Deepinder has thoughtfully strategized it considering its practicality. But often a concept comes with its own share of risks till it meets the public review. And in this case, Zomato has asserted several aspects on the practicality of the 10 min delivery which people are totally oblivious to,” added Debaditya Chaudhury, Managing Director of Chowman, Oudh 1590 & Chapter 2 by pointing that such aspects include delivery in close proximity within not more than a maximum radius of 2 Kms, as well as delivering only 10-20 items per restaurant as per the demands of the people. In that case, what he has thought is super progressive. But then there’s an anti-climax.

The restaurateurs also shared that considering his statement where he claims not to compromise on food quality, provide fresh and sterile food in 10 mins, this delivery system is almost next to impossible. Although basic food items like readymade food, bakeries and sweets can be delivered, even quick meals require a bare minimum time for preparation, packaging, sterilization followed by the delivery. In that case, the practicality is put into question.

“Experiential and high quality production delivery brands take on average 15 minutes to dispatch. Also for a 10 minute delivery, the kitchens should be in stragtegic geographic locations to reach the guests in time so this is also a thing to be considered,” added Rishabh Dang, Co-founder and Director at Currynama by Seven Seas.

How this will dilute the whole flavour?

“Yes, the chances are high. As long as we are unaware of what the “standardized items” are as per Zomato’s statement, there’s a high chance of diluting the flavors, causing a lot of flaws in fast packaging. Moreover, there is always a questionability of this system during rush hours,” added Chaudhury who also operate a cloud-kitchen brand in Kolkata and parts of Bengaluru.

In general, a normal food item takes 15-20 minutes to get cooked plus 15-20 minutes delivery time if we really want our food to get delivered in a hygienic, wholesome manner.

“I believe in 10min you cannot deliver the freshness,” added Singh who also pointed that this will dilute the whole ecosystem of food delivery.

What kind of food can be delivered in this short span of time?

“However, for the more comprehensive brands 10 minutes delivery may be an issue as of now but with innovation in food production with technology and R&D this can be done over time as the opportunity has presented itself,” added Dang by pointing that Only QSR and brands serving dishes which are pre made and only require assembling or reheating can take part in this 10 minute delivery.

Sharing a similar opinion on same Chaudhury and Singh also felt hat pre-cooked items, readymade items like, Sweets, bakery Items, Cakes, and carbonated drinks might be able to get delivered this fast.

However, many also believed that the 10 minutes delivery is not impossible based on the delivery of certain food items. Earlier there were concerns for the delivery men. But Zomato has shared its clear thoughts on the same saying that there is neither penalty for late deliveries nor any commission for quick deliveries. Considering that, the system clearly is still in progress. It is pretty much in its infant stage to be commented about. However, in the case of my chain of restaurants, Zomato can never fulfill that. Even a momo or dimsum can take quite some time to get prepared, packed and delivered. So there is no hope for that. There might be some standardized items that cannot include starters or full course meals.