“Zomato Now”: The Delivery Giant Just Skipped The Delivery Part Entirely

What if the fastest way to get food wasn’t a faster delivery rider, but no delivery at all? That’s the bet Zomato is making with its newest experiment — food vending machines quietly showing up inside office buildings in Gurugram.

What Is “Zomato Now”?

Zomato Now is a pilot program installing fresh-food vending machines, described internally as “food pods,” inside select corporate offices in Gurugram, in partnership with restaurant and food brands. Instead of employees placing an order and waiting for a rider, food sits pre-stocked inside the workplace, ready to grab. The concept surfaced after an employee shared a photo of one such machine at their office, and was later confirmed by company sources to media outlets.

Zomato Key Details

Why This Is A Different Kind Of Bet

Most food-tech innovation has chased speed by making delivery networks faster. Zomato Now flips that logic — instead of racing the clock after an order is placed, it moves inventory closer to the customer before they even order, cutting out the last-mile problem entirely, especially relevant in large corporate parks where riders often lose time navigating security and reception.

Why It Matters For Zomato’s Bigger Picture

The pilot arrives as parent company Eternal Limited continues investing heavily in Blinkit while keeping a sharper eye on profitability — the company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs. 92 crore in Q1 FY27, up nearly 3.7x year-on-year. It also follows a pattern: Zomato has rapidly tested and folded several delivery formats recently, including Instant, Everyday, and Ritual, showing a willingness to scrap experiments that don’t scale. Whether Zomato Now expands will likely hinge on daily transactions per machine, food wastage, and maintenance costs during this test phase.

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