Zomato's most talked-about controversies in the recent past

The popular food delivery giant Zomato finds itself in some controversy every now and then. From incident related to religious sentiments, angry users, to its internal policies, Zomato has seen it all.

Zomato's 'offensive' outdoor ad

December, 2017

It was when Zomato's interpretation of MC as "mac n' cheese" and BC as "butter chicken" went horribly wrong. The food delivery major was attacked on social media platforms for being offensive and sexist.

The ad, written by Zomato's art director Akshar Pathak, written in bold white letters MC.BC. ( Mac n' cheese, butter chicken) written against a bright red background drew massive outrage on social media as those initials are short for Hindi language expletives. Netizens took to twitter and called the ad sexist, cheap and crass followed by memes.

Zomato delivery person eating food meant for delivery

December 2018

In a shocking incident, a Zomato delivery person was caught on camera opening food packs meant for delivery and eating out of them. The man ate from one pack, repacked the food making it look untouched, and sealed the pack back. He then went on to do the same thing with two other parcels. The video went viral soon after its release and food delivery giant Zomato apologised on social media calling the incident 'highly unusual and a rare case'.

'Food doesn't have a religion'

July 2019

This was a moment when Zomato won the internet over with their reply after a customer tried to ask them for a rider who was a non-Hindu.

A Twitter user named Amit Shukla tweeted to Zomato saying, "Just cancelled an order on @ZomatoIN they allocated a non-Hindu rider for my food. They said they can't change rider and can't refund on cancellation. I said you can't force me to take a delivery. I don't want don't refund just cancel."

He then revealed that because he didn't want his food to be delivered by a non-Hindu person he cancelled the order and didn't even take a refund for it.

Giving a savage reply, Zomato tweeted, "Food doesn't have a religion. It is a religion." And Zomato's  reply to the man left everyone impressed online.

When Zomato delivery boys went on a strike

August 11, 2019

Food delivery app Zomato courted a controversy, when food delivery boys decided to go on strike protesting that the food being delivered by them hurt their religious sentiments. The executives objected to delivering beef or pork during the festive celebrations of Bakrid or Eid. They  refused to deliver  food which was against their religious beliefs.
Responding to the issue, West Bengal Minister and TMC MLA from Howrah Rajib Banerjee said that he supported Zomato's delivery staff on this matter and also assured of launching an investigation into the same.

Zomato's 'period leave' policy

August, 2020

It was when Zomato announced paid 'period leave' policy where women and transgender people can take up to 10 days off per year. This was part of an effort to combat what it said was stigma around the issue.

"There shouldn't be any shame or stigma attached to applying for a period leave," Zomato chief executive Deepinder Goyal said in a note to staff.

The period leave policy triggered widespread debate among Indian women where some welcomed and appreciated the move while it also angered some feminists calling the move discriminatory and anti-feminist.

Bengaluru's Zomato delivery boy and the tiff with Instagram Influencer

March, 2021

In the latest incident, an Instagram influencer Hitesha Chandranee took to social media and alleged that she was punched by a Zomato delivery guy in Bengaluru, following an argument over delay in her order.

The Zomato delivery boy accused of assaulting, refuted all her allegations, claiming it was the woman who first verbally abused him, and then threw a slipper at him.

A First Information Report (FIR) has also been lodged against Instagram influencer based on the complaint from Zomato delivery executive Kamraj, who she had blamed for assaulting her. She has been charged with Sections 355 (assault), 504 (insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code.

As of now, the Bengaluru police have reportedly decided to stop the investigation into the alleged assault case after not finding any evidence in the matter.