Zomato introduces 100% tamper-proof packaging in 10 cities, plans to launch in 25 more by April

It's important to learn from mistakes to keep a business running successfully. Remember the December 2018 viral video in which a Zomato delivery man re-sealed food packets meant for delivery after eating from them? The first action Zomato took back then was to sack the employee and now almost three months after the move, the online food delivery platform has come out with a tamper-proof packaging plan. "In an ongoing endeavour towards ensuring ‘better food for more people’, Zomato today introduced Zomato Safely Sealed; 100% tamper-proof packaging to add an extra layer of safety to food deliveries," said Zomato in a press release. 

Zomato 'Safely Sealed' comes in two variations to fit different sized boxes. "The versatility of the packaging design allows for efficient utilization of the space, and the transparent body allows users to check the packaging of the food. The safety seals are made from a single material polymer with 50 microns thickness, and are completely reusable/recyclable. Zomato will soon launch the biodegradable versions of the packaging as well," it said.

During the first phase, this tamper-proof packaging is being implemented across 10 cities (Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Nagpur and Vadodara) in India and will be steadily introduced across all the 180+ cities where Zomato’s online ordering and food delivery services are present. 

"This packaging will be 100% tamper proof — once the food is sealed by the restaurant, the packet can only be opened by cutting off the top-end strip. The platform advises its users to not only not accept the delivery if the safety seal is open, but also highlight it to them through their multiple communication channels," it claimed. 

Mohit Gupta, CEO, Food Delivery, Zomato, said that the company first ran a pilot for this initiative among 40 restaurants in Gurugram.  "Today, over 5,000 restaurant partners are sealing their food using the packaging. This makes for about 25% of our order volume in the 10 cities. We have already deployed over 3 million packets so far and aims to boost our supply to 3X by April, as we introduce this packaging across 25 more cities in India," he said. 

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Zomato will also feature a ‘100% SAFELY SEALED’ badge on the app for all restaurants who sign-up to use the packaging, further educating users in the decision-making process when ordering food online.