Strategic Pullback Signals Second Exit from Ultra-Fast Meal Delivery Space
Zomato has quietly discontinued its 15-minute food delivery service, ‘Quick’, merely four months after its launch, signaling another strategic retreat from the quick-commerce segment in India. The feature, previously integrated into Zomato’s main app and heavily promoted through banners and discoverability tools, is now no longer available in key metro markets such as Bengaluru, Gurugram, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. This marks Zomato’s second unsuccessful attempt to tap into the rapid meal delivery market, following the closure of Zomato Instant in early 2023.
Highlights:
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Zomato Quick removed from main app after 4 months.
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Not visible in major cities, including Bengaluru and Mumbai.
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Marks Zomato’s second failed attempt at ultra-fast delivery after Zomato Instant.
From Zomato Instant to Everyday to Quick: Repeated Pivots in Delivery Strategy
This latest exit follows a pattern of pivots and withdrawals in Zomato’s efforts to create a viable quick food delivery model. Its first initiative, Zomato Instant, promised 10-minute deliveries in Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR but was shut down by January 2023. That was followed by Zomato Everyday, which attempted to fill the void with home-style meals delivered quickly but eventually disappeared from the app as well. The Quick tab, which promised curated meals from nearby restaurants within a two-kilometre radius, was seen as Zomato’s most structured attempt — yet has also now been deactivated quietly without an official announcement.
Highlights:
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Zomato Instant shut down by early 2023.
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Zomato Everyday, the follow-up model, also phased out.
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Zomato Quick aimed for 15-minute deliveries, now discontinued.
CFO Acknowledged Limited Business Impact of 10-Minute Delivery Models
Zomato’s leadership has long expressed skepticism about the immediate commercial viability of 10–15-minute food delivery. CFO Akshant Goyal, during Q3 FY24 earnings, said that such initiatives “are still at a very early stage” and have not materially impacted Zomato’s food delivery aggregation business. Despite this, Zomato Quick had grown to account for nearly 8% of total order volume on the app around March, indicating a modest but notable uptake before the sudden pullback.
Highlights:
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Zomato CFO admitted minimal impact of quick delivery models.
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Zomato Quick hit ~8% of order volumes before being pulled.
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Company cautious on product-market fit and scalability of ultra-fast meals.
Bistro by Blinkit: The New Home for 15-Minute Eats
While the Quick tab may have disappeared from Zomato’s main app, the company has not abandoned the fast-food model altogether. Instead, it has launched Bistro by Blinkit, a standalone platform that offers ready-to-eat snacks, bakery items, and light meals using Blinkit’s extensive network of dark stores. By decoupling the rapid snack offering from full-fledged restaurant orders, Zomato appears to be transitioning its quick-food ambitions to Blinkit’s infrastructure, potentially reducing operational friction and enhancing delivery speed.
Highlights:
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Zomato introduces Bistro by Blinkit as standalone fast-meal app.
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Focuses on snacks, puffs, rolls, and baked items.
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Leverages Blinkit’s dark store infrastructure for faster fulfillment.
Industry Competition in Quick Meal Segment Intensifies
The timing of Zomato’s exit from its core app offering comes amid fierce competition in the 15-minute meal delivery market, led by players like Zepto, Swiggy, Magicpin, and BigBasket. Zepto Café, launched in 2022, reportedly clocks over 100,000 daily orders, and is now operating at a $100 million annualised GMV according to CEO Aadit Palicha. In response, Swiggy launched Snacc, a separate app tailored for fast snacks and light food, closely mirroring the Bistro by Blinkit model. This suggests that segmentation, not consolidation, may be the winning model for the space.
Highlights:
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Zepto Café now logs 100,000+ daily orders, $100M GMV.
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Swiggy responds with Snacc, a fast-meal focused app.
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Segment witnessing rapid entry by Ola, Zing, Magicpin, and others.
Deepinder Goyal: Product-Market Fit Still Elusive for Full-Scale Meals
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal has previously admitted that Zomato Instant lacked the correct product-market fit (PMF). He noted that finding restaurant partners willing to commit to such short turnaround times remained a significant hurdle. Goyal had suggested that canteen-style food offerings might be more suitable for fast deliveries, citing plans to include simpler food items like samosas, cream rolls, and puffs under Zomato Everyday. Despite his optimism, these offerings have now also vanished from Zomato’s core interface, suggesting a pivot towards Blinkit for further experimentation.
Highlights:
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CEO acknowledged Zomato Instant lacked PMF.
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Noted challenges in onboarding restaurant partners for 10-minute meals.
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Simpler dishes like samosas and puffs may be more suited to the model.
Shift Towards Operational Segregation: Full Meals vs Rapid Snacks
With the launch of Bistro by Blinkit as a standalone entity, Zomato seems to be opting for operational clarity and category segmentation. Rather than overloading the main food delivery app with multiple formats and confusing discovery layers, the company is streamlining its offering. Full-fledged meals will continue under the restaurant aggregation model on the Zomato app, while snackable, fast-moving items will be redirected to Blinkit, thereby creating clearer product boundaries and potentially better customer satisfaction.
Highlights:
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Clear segmentation between restaurant orders and snack delivery.
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Zomato app to retain focus on longer prep, higher-value meals.
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Bistro to focus on 10-15 minute snacks and small eats via dark stores.
