New Delhi, Nov 10 (IANS): Online food delivery platform Zomato on Sunday launched a new feature called ‘Food Rescue’ to save more than 4 lakh orders being get cancelled on the platform every month for various reasons by customers.

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said cancelled orders will now pop up for nearby customers, who can grab them at an unbeatable price, in their original untampered packaging, and receive them in just minutes.

The original customer, and those in their immediate vicinity, will not receive the option to claim the order.

“The canceled order will pop up on the app for customers within a 3 km radius of the delivery partner carrying the order. To ensure freshness, the option to claim will only be available for a few minutes,” said Goyal.

He said that Zomato will not keep any proceeds (except the required government taxes).

“The amount paid by the new customer will be shared with the original customer (if they made payment online), and with the restaurant partner,” said the CEO on X social media platform.

According to Zomato, orders containing items sensitive to distances or temperature such as ice creams, shakes, smoothies, and certain perishable items, will not be eligible for Food Rescue.

“Restaurant partners will continue to receive compensation for the original cancelled order, plus a portion of the amount paid by the new customer if the order is claimed. Most restaurants have opted in for this feature, and can opt of it easily whenever they want, directly from their control panels,” informed Goyal.

According to the company, 99.9 per cent of its restaurant partners want to be a part of this initiative.

Delivery partners will also be compensated fully for the entire trip, from the initial pickup to the final drop-off at the new customer’s location, he added.