In a huge development, Gaurav Gupta, one of the top executives of food tech platform Zomato has decided to leave the company, sources told Moneycontrol.
Gupta, who joined Zomato in 2015 was elevated as Chief Operating Officer in 2018 and as the founder in 2019. He was the face of the company in the run up to the IPO, leading discussions with investors and the media.
Read | Zomato’s ‘clean-up’ drive continues as after grocery, it shuts down nutraceutical business
His exit comes days after Zomato exited its grocery delivery and Nutraceutical business.
According to sources familiar with the development, this exit was a long time coming as Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal and Gaurav Gupta had a fallout some time ago.
The businesses launched by Gupta, including grocery, nutraceuticals among others, were struggling or had to be shut down. Moreover, the overseas expansion led by him also didn’t work out.
Moneycontrol has learnt that Gupta in his internal mail said that he is “starting a new chapter” after 6 years at Zomato.
After shutting down its grocery delivery service, Zomato pulled the plug on the nutraceutical business. Zomato had ventured into the nutraceutical business last year with the launch of health and fitness products.
The company has decided to shut it at a time when the government is trying to get stricter about private label norms for marketplace businesses in the country.
Also read: Zomato pulls the plug on grocery delivery, banks on Grofers to crack express delivery
Moneycontrol reported about this foray on November 10, 2020. While the company confirmed the development, it declined to share further details.
Nutraceuticals are defined as any food-related product which provides medical or health benefits. This could range from food to beverages or even tablets with a claim of prevention or cure of chronic diseases.
Following the onslaught of COVID-19, there has been a gradual rise in the adoption of healthy food among the average Indian.
Citing a huge opportunity in the segment, Zomato had made a plunge in the segment and named Gupta as the head of this division for five years.
“This business can potentially be a large value driver for Zomato in the future,” Gupta had said last year.
Meanwhile, Zomato, which got listed in July, reported a net loss of Rs 356 crore during the quarter ended June 30, 2021, against Rs 99.8 crore during the like period of the previous financial year.
The total income of the company stood at Rs 916 crore during the quarter under review. This was a massive jump from a revenue of Rs 283.5 crore reported in the year-ago period.
