Zomato rolls out priority delivery feature for Covid-19 emergencies

Mumbai: Foodtech platform Zomato has rolled out a priority delivery feature for Covid-19 emergencies, Chief Executive Officer Deepinder Goyal announced on Twitter Wednesday.

The feature comes at a time when India is registering a record number of daily Covid-19 cases and deaths. Business wise, restaurants have been among the hardest hit during the pandemic and are facing new rounds of restrictions in the midst of a second wave.

“At Zomato, we will prioritise these orders by providing fastest rider assignment, and dedicated customer support in case of queries,” Goyal said. “Thousands of restaurants have pledged to prioritise these orders in their kitchen above all others.”



During check-out on the Zomato app, users will have the option to mark their orders for Covid-19 emergency, which will alert the restaurant to prepare and deliver the order on priority.

Deliveries marked as an emergency will be contactless by default and will be provided the fastest rider assignment, and dedicated customer support in case of queries, Goyal said. He hinted that Zomato is working on other features to help with covid-related emergencies.


Several users raised concerns over the feature being misused. For now, the notification on the check-out urges users to treat this service as an ambulance and not misuse it.

In 2017, the IPO-bound foodtech startup had introduced a similar feature that let customers who were ill mark their order as an emergency to receive food without delay. It was discontinued in subsequent updates.