Zomato will offer canceled orders at discounted prices to combat food waste: here's how it works.

Zomato has launched a new initiative called "Food Rescue" aimed at reducing food waste by offering canceled orders at discounted prices. The company's CEO, Deepinder Goyal, announced this new feature through his account on X, formerly known as Twitter. This functionality allows customers who are nearby the original delivery route of a canceled order to claim the food at a lower price, as long as it is in its original packaging and has not been tampered with.

Details indicate that for those within a 3 km radius of the delivery person carrying the canceled order, it will appear in the app. To ensure the freshness of the food, the claim option will be available only for a short period of time. Goyal highlighted that Zomato manages over 400,000 canceled orders each month, many of which are discarded despite the company not offering refunds. In his message, he emphasized that one of the main goals is to find ways to prevent that food from being wasted.

With the new "Food Rescue" feature, customers within 3 km of a canceled order delivery will receive a notification on the main screen of their app at a discounted price. This listing will only be accessible for a few minutes to ensure the quality of the products. However, orders containing temperature-sensitive items, such as ice creams or shakes, will be excluded from the program to maintain their quality.

To ensure this initiative benefits those affected by cancellations, Zomato has established that payments from new customers claiming a rescued order will be shared between the original customer (if they made a prepaid payment) and the restaurant. Zomato will only retain the applicable taxes, without making any profit from the transaction. In India, 74 million tons of food are wasted annually, representing 22% of the country's cereal production.

Restaurants will receive both the original payment for the order and a portion of the resale amount. Additionally, delivery personnel will be fully compensated for the initial pickup and any additional redeliveries, ensuring they do not incur economic losses. Zomato has also clarified that logistical and legal hurdles prevent food donations, as many distribution centers are located away from urban areas, and there are liability concerns associated with the free distribution of food. Therefore, the "Food Rescue" initiative is limited to orders that are already in transit.

Zomato is gradually rolling out its "Food Rescue" feature, allowing users to refresh the main page of the app to see available canceled orders in their area for claiming.