The Indian stock market has been a scene straight out of a suspense thriller lately. Electoral bond drama and the upcoming 2024 elections had everyone sweating like they were in a crowded Mumbai local during rush hour, except Zomato. They were flying high, perhaps fueled by a nation stress-eating its way through the uncertainty.
Zomato, bless their entrepreneurial spirit, might have seen this coming, but their next big idea backfired more spectacularly than accidentally ordering a plate of bhindi when you were craving a rich butter chicken, only to be reminded that green doesn't always mean good, just like that time Fair & Lovely tried to rebrand itself as a fairness cream for all complexions.
Enter the "PURE VEG" delivery service. In a country as diverse and delicious as India, this felt like a recipe for disaster. Imagine your hangry self craving an explosion of flavours, picturing yourself devouring a plate of tandoori chicken and kebabs. You open the Zomato app, ready to unleash your inner Nawab, only to be greeted by a virtual buffet of paneer and dal. It's like being stuck in a cafeteria serving exclusively healthy food, the kind your mom would pack for your lunchbox. You know, the one that left you yearning for the samosas your friend snuck in from the canteen?
But wait, there's more! Zomato, in all their veggie-wali wisdom, decided to colour-code their delivery fleet. Green for PURE VEG, of course! Social media went into meltdown faster than a jalebi dropped in hot ghee. Jokes about #PureVeg and #Zomato trended for just one day, and it has already forced Zomato to make changes.(sometimes bullying does work!- Just kidding )
Zomato, it seems, doesn't learn from its past blunders. Remember the infamous MC BC Delhi-NCR ad campaign? While some found it edgy, others were left feeling confused and offended. Similarly, the PURE VEG idea left a taste in everyone's mouth worse than overcooked baingan bharta. It backfired faster than you can say "awkward silence." Maybe Zomato's founder, Deepinder Goyal, needs to channel his inner Gordon Ramsay and occasionally mutter to himself, "You muppet! This PURE VEG idea was a right 'idiot sandwich'." (Don't worry, Deepinder, even the best people have off days!)
Thankfully, the internet, in all its meme-ing glory, rose to the occasion. Hilarious takes on #PureVeg and #Zomato flooded social media, with some users photoshopping pictures and even giving a glimpse into what and how society thinks. Humour, it seems, became the pressure valve—a way to vent frustrations without resorting to anger.
Zomato eventually ditched the green uniform fiasco and seems to be backtracking on the entire Pure Veg campaign. Hopefully, they've learned a valuable lesson: in a country like India, where food is a celebration of diversity, gimmicks rarely win hearts (or stomachs).
Maybe next time, they'll focus on delivering what we truly crave: delicious food, without the unnecessary drama. After all, a happy customer is a customer who doesn't need to resort to stress-eating their way through a bad marketing campaign. And who knows, maybe we'll even be able to order piping hot kebabs alongside our plate of Hariyali kebab, delivered by the same guy, because that's the beauty of Indian food, isn't it? The glorious harmony of flavours is all on one plate.
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