Zomato has already diversified into grocery as the restrictions on
movement shuttered some restaurants and people hesitated to order outside food.
Food delivery firm
Zomato
aims to branch out into delivering alcohol, according to a document seen by
Reuters, as it seeks to cash in on high demand for booze during the coronavirus
lockdown.
Zomato has already
diversified into grocery as the restrictions on movement shuttered some
restaurants and people hesitated to order outside food.
Alcohol stores, closed nationwide on March 25, were allowed to re-open this week, generating queues of hundreds of people, leading to baton charges by police to enforce social distancing.
There is no legal
provision for home deliveries of alcohol in India, something that industry body
International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI) is lobbying to
change in conjunction with Zomato and others.
"We believe
that a tech-enabled home-delivery based solution can promote responsible
consumption of alcohol," Mohit Gupta, Zomato's CEO for food delivery,
wrote in a business proposal to ISWAI.
Zomato would
target "areas that are less affected by Covid-19,"
Gupta wrote in the unpublished document, submitted to ISWAI in mid-April and
seen by Reuters.
Zomato did not
respond to a request for comment.
ISWAI's executive
chairman Amrit Kiran Singh said: "The challenge is to ensure revenue from
alcohol continues to be available. It is imperative they (states) reduce the
load on the retail counter by encouraging delivery."
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