‘All riders will wear red’: Zomato rolls back green uniform for Pure Veg Fleet

Following a mixed response to its announcement of a Pure Veg Fleet, Zomato has decided to abandon the plan of introducing a green uniform for delivery partners handling vegetarian orders. Initially, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal had introduced the ‘Pure Veg Mode’ and ‘Pure Veg Fleet’ to cater to the needs of vegetarians and even made some deliveries himself in the proposed green uniforms. However, the company has now decided that all delivery partners will continue to wear the red uniform, regardless of the type of food they are delivering.

Goyal explained that the decision to scrap the green uniform was made to avoid any potential safety issues for delivery partners, such as being incorrectly associated with non-vegetarian food and facing discrimination from residential societies or landlords. The intention behind the green fleet was to cater to vegetarian customers, but Zomato realized the unintended consequences it could bring. Feedback from customers on social media also played a role in the decision, with concerns raised about the implications of segregating delivery based on food preferences.

While the green uniform idea has been dropped, Zomato still plans to provide specialized fleets for specific customer needs, such as cake deliveries with hydraulic balancers to prevent damage during transit. Despite the setback, Goyal expressed gratitude for the feedback received, acknowledging that it helped the company reach an optimal solution. This decision comes after Zomato’s recent initiative to introduce kurtas as a new uniform option for its female workforce on International Women’s Day.