Zomato launches premium membership, to introduce it in India in June

New Delhi: Restaurant search and food delivery start-up Zomato Media Pvt. Ltd has introduced a premium membership program called Zomato Gold in Dubai that will be made available in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru in June, co-founder Pankaj Chaddah said in a blog post on Thursday.

Mint first reported in November about Zomato’s plans to launch two new initiatives—a membership feature called Zomato Red and creating kitchen spaces under Zomato Infrastructure Services.

The company is now calling the subscription service Zomato Gold instead of Zomato Red.

Available through its mobile application, Zomato Gold allows consumers to subscribe to quarter, semi-annual or annual membership of the service to get exclusive offers on drinks at various pubs and restaurants.

“(Zomato) Gold is ultra convenient to use - there’s no need to punch in anything on your phone or scan QR (quick response) codes. Just one tap on the partner restaurant’s page on the Zomato app, and you are all set,” wrote Chaddah.

The company has partnered with over 200 restaurants, bars and lounges to make the service available in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The service is also live in Lisbon. The company plans to launch it in other cities soon.

“Gold will arrive in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore somewhere around June. We will decide launch dates for other international cities depending on what we learn over the next few weeks or months. Our Melbourne, Jo’burg, and Istanbul teams are waiting eagerly to launch Zomato Gold in their cities,” Chaddah added.

Such subscription-based models will help the company to strengthen its brand, increase customer stickiness and build a loyalty programme that will increase repeat orders especially at a time when Zomato is facing stiff competition from Bengaluru-based Swiggy in certain Indian markets, including Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi.

Zomato saw its revenue double to Rs184.96 crore in the year ended 31 March 2016. It posted a loss before tax of Rs492.27 crore.

The company expects to reach annual sales of $50-60 million by March 2017, largely betting on its online delivery business and table reservation segment, co-founder and chief executive Deepinder Goyal said in an interview in November.