21 January 2020, 7.30 am: I got one of the most surprising emails in my inbox. Zomato acquired Uber Eats in India for $350M. So we can no longer place food delivery orders from Uber Eats. They will be redirected to Zomato.
This was quite surprising for me, as Uber Eats was my daily driver. I had at least 150+ orders with them, as I order 3-4 times from them per week. My last order with them was just 16 hours ago. I ordered just the day before.
Uber Eats was a new entity in the food delivery regime in India but could not expand. While Zomato had dining options and partnered with different restaurants for exclusive coupons, Uber only worked with food deliveries.
Ultimately, it had to give up to big players where it faced immense competition. But the deal was secret, and they didn’t publicly announce it beforehand. It only came to light today morning with their email.
I hear Amazon India will soon bring food deliveries in many cities. Perhaps this could be a lesson for them to learn. If you want to play in India, invest big, else you will go down. Hopefully, Amazon will invest in India, Jeff Bezos, recently updated.
Get 3 Months Zomato Gold for FREE:
What is dead may never die!
Anyways, for what’s better, if you are a regular Uber Eats user, you are in for a treat!
Zomato is giving you the following benefits, if you ordered with Uber Eats after 1st July 2019.
- 50% Off on your Next three orders with Zomato.
- 3 Months Free Zomato Gold subscription.
While this won’t suffice for the vast array of discounted deals offered by Zomato, this will at least make you ready for switching to Zomato. Well, Zomato played smart by providing the Zomato Gold 90 days trial for free. It is an excellent way to test out their membership service.
To get the free subscription, all you need to do is open Uber Eats App. If you don’t currently have the app installed, download it here: Android, iOS. Note that you need to have at least one order from Uber Eats on or after 1st July 2019 to avail this offer.
Well, you also need to have the Zomato app installed. Download it here if you don’t have it: Android, iOS.
Once you open the app, you will see this screen. It will tell you that Zomato now owns uber, and if you had ordered from Uber Eats after July 1, 2019, your account is already set up at Zomato (if you did not have one yet).
At the bottom, click on the Go to Zomato button. This is important; else you won’t get your complimentary benefits.
You will be redirected to Zomato App, and you will find this screen.
Congratulations! You have successfully availed your mutual benefits. You will get 50% off on your next three orders, using the promo code EATS. You will also get three months of exclusive access to Zomato Gold.
Click on the Get Started button. And you are good to go.
What are the benefits of Zomato Gold?
Zomato Gold is a paid membership plan from Zomato that offers exclusive flat dining discounts with its partner restaurants without any cap or menu exclusions, and 1+1 on food, 2+2 on drinks on both dining and deliveries. The regular price of Zomato Gold is Rs1800 for one year across all India, but with specific promo codes, you can get it at Rs1000 or even Rs800 too. Here are the benefits:
- 1+1 on Food: With Zomato Gold partner restaurants, you will get one dish complimentary with another. The value of the complimentary meal will be less than or equal to the value of the highest-priced plate in your order. You can share it with your friend by unlocking gold at a table.
- 2+2 on Drinks: With certain partner restaurants, you will get two drinks complimentary with two other drinks orders. You can share it with your friends too.
- Flat Discounts on Bill Payments: While paying at Gold partners, you will enjoy flat discounts (up to 40% at certain restaurants) on your bill. The discount percentage will be mentioned on the restaurant page on Zomato, and the discounts include everything on the menu, without any exclusions. There are no restrictions on the number of guests on the table.
- 1+1 on Food Deliveries: If you order from Zomato frequently, you can get one dish complimentary with another, if your minimum order value reaches Rs300 (after adding both the dishes).
So these are all the benefits you are in for. Let’s hope you make yourself comfortable with these only. I need some time, though!
Last Words:
The world is undoubtedly not in balance, and so are the businesses. The big ones get more prominent, while the small ones are thrashed down. That’s what we saw here with Uber Eats closing their doors in India. Well, they are operational in other countries, which is a good thing.
Uber is a strategic player. This is not the first time Uber sold its businesses in certain regions. Previously, they sold their southeast Asian holdings to Grab. Grab offers cab rides in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Uber prior controlled these, but they gave up on the competition. Same we saw in India with Uber Eats.
So, that’s all about the shutdown of Uber Eats and the Free Zomato Gold Subscription. I hope you will be able to claim your free subscription. If you faced any other issues then let me know in the comments below, I will be happy to help.
Also, let me know how much you will miss Uber Eats! I will miss it a lot.
Nirmal Sarkar is a Biotechnologist from the city of Joy, Kolkata. He is the founder of this blog and covers a wide range of topics from Gadgets to Software to Latest Offers. You can get in touch with him via nirmal@hitricks.com
