The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) will meet online food delivery platforms on Monday to find a resolution to their concerns over deep discounting. This comes even as Deepinder Goyal, Founder of Zomato, said some online initiatives may have hurt some segments of the restaurant industry and he was ready to make amends.

Over 1,500 restaurants associated with the NRAI have signed up to the ‘LogOut’ campaign against online food delivery platforms such as Zomato, NearBuy, MagicPin and EasyDiner, challenging their deep-discounting practices.

According to Rahul Singh, President of NRAI, while the online platforms provided a wider customer base, it was hampering their profit margins. “In the race to dominate through capital dumping from foreign investors, it has adversely impacted the viability of the local Indian businesses,” Singh said.

Acknowledging the concerns, Goyal, in one of many tweets on Saturday, said: “I am sad that young entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry are feeling the pressure to such an extent that they had to launch such a campaign.”

Singh explained that rampant discounting is one of the worst things aggregators can do because they are conditioning customers into de-valuing the product.

Goyal, however, urged the restaurant industry to proactively look for ways to reduce operating costs, so that eating out becomes more affordable.

To which restaurateur Riyaz Amlani tweeted: “Maybe we can fire restaurant workers? Or put a gun on our landlords’ heads to reduce rent. Or buy inferior ingredients so that we can reduce costs and offer lower prices to accommodate your vision...”

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW