Why marketing to ‘pure vegetarians' landed this Indian delivery giant in a pickle

A food delivery app in India recently faced controversy and subsequently made a retreat after its initiative to attract vegetarian customers sparked backlash. The app, called Zomato, initially announced plans to curate a list of restaurants that only serve vegetarian food, excluding those that serve non-vegetarian items. The company also intended to create a separate delivery fleet specifically for vegetarian orders. However, this decision received criticism on social media, with some users perceiving it as casteist and potentially divisive. As a result, Zomato decided to abandon its original plans and stated that all delivery riders will wear the same uniform, ensuring that they are not associated with non-vegetarian food.