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After shutting down its grocery delivery service, online food delivery firm Zomato has pulled the plug on another business – Nutraceutical. 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.
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 Gaurav Gupta, Chief Operating Officer 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.
Moneycontrol couldn’t immediately ascertain the new role of Gupta.
Zomato has been on a ‘cleaning-up’ drive since the last few weeks.
The company, which had restarted its grocery business, has shut it down again given the gaps in order fulfillment, poor customer experience, and increasing competition from rivals.
It said its investment in Grofers will generate better outcomes than its in-house grocery effort.
Last month, it also announced the closure of its Singapore and United Kingdom (UK)-based subsidiaries. The food technology company announced the closure of businesses in a stock exchange filing on September 1.
Before that, it also had announced the winding up of its US subsidiary Nextable Inc.
Zomato which got listed last month also 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.
