The rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus has made customers sceptical about the safety of food delivery platforms.
In India, one user tweeted, “Can anyone give us the assurance that the online food delivery platform will be 100% safe? If someone is harmed, who will be responsible?”
The country’s top two delivery startups, Swiggy and Zomato, were tagged in the tweet.
“What’s the guarantee that the cooks are safe, clean and sanitizing themselves frequently?” another asked on the popular microblogging platform.
Customers have also expressed concern about the health of delivery partners given their exposure to multiple people.
In fact, RedSeer Consulting has forecast a 30% drop in food delivery volumes in India for early March.
To beat the sentiment, India’s food delivery apps have started aggressive outreach about safety measures, including hygiene. Rebel Foods, Swiggy and Zomato have all tried to build customer trust about food delivery.
Rebel Foods, for instance, has introduced a live body temperature tracker on its app. This provides customers with a live feed of body temperatures of those handling their orders — from the cook, kitchen executive to the delivery person.
“Invoices for each customer, too, will have a copy of body temperature logs for their food handlers,” said Kallol Banerjee, co-founder of Rebel Foods, which runs Faasos and Behrouz Biryani among other delivery-only brands.
The company said 40% of its orders are from its own app, while the rest is through Swiggy and Zomato.
Swiggy, on its part, has introduced a “best safety standard batch” to select restaurants that have rolled out features like temperature control, sanitation every 4 hours, use of masks, and safe packing mechanisms.
Two brands listed under this safety tag told ET that order volumes have increased. “While cooked food delivery is an option for many, it’s also a necessity for about a fourth of the population, including students and young professionals who live on their own,” said Vivek Sunder, chief operating officer of Swiggy. “We have to serve them and offer the best standards.”
Swiggy has also advised customers to transfer food onto another container post-delivery and reheat before consumption.
Swiggy and Zomato are also offering customers no-contact delivery.
This essentially means that the food package is prepared, packed and delivered under strict health and safety standards and procedures designed to minimize or eliminate contact between the delivery partner and the end customer.
“We are actively promoting the use of tamper-proof packaging and contactless delivery to ensure food safety,” a Zomato spokesperson said.
Even with all these measures, food delivery volumes have remained weak over the last few days.
“While there is no evidence that food transfers this virus…we should have a clearer picture of the consumer sentiment in the next week… I’d say these initiatives may trigger a few orders… but largely, consumers will think twice, especially if they have an alternative,” said a top restaurant which lists on both Swiggy and Zomato.
The customer disconnect has also been seen globally.
In China, from where it all started, sales from the food business were “less than half of normal levels” in February for Meituan Dianping, the country’s largest food delivery service, as restaurants closed and overall demand fell.
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