Zomato, a leader in India’s food ordering and delivery sector, has unveiled the winners of its ‘Plastic-Free Orders Packathon’. This competition, a collaboration with Startup India, invited innovators to develop eco-friendly packaging solutions for food delivery. The announcement was made at a celebratory event in New Delhi, attended by over 100 stakeholders including restaurant partners, startups, and sustainability advocates.
The competition drew entries from 85 startups across 18 states, showcasing a range of sustainable products from plastic-free coatings and compostable bags to edible cutlery. A significant highlight was the involvement of women, with 34 of the participating startups led fully or in part by female entrepreneurs.
Bambrew, Go Do Good Studio, and Frenvi emerged as the top three winners, clinching prizes worth INR 10 lakhs, 5 lakhs, and 3 lakhs respectively, for their innovative and sustainable packaging solutions.
Anjalli Ravi Kumar, Chief Sustainability Officer at Zomato, expressed her enthusiasm about the initiative’s success: “The ‘Plastic-Free Orders Packathon’ has brought to the forefront the critical role of startups in driving innovation within the food delivery industry. We are thrilled by the creativity and impact of the solutions presented, which promise to set new industry standards in sustainability.”
The event also featured a jury comprised of notable figures such as Rakesh Ranjan, CEO of Food Delivery at Zomato; Shekar Prabhakar, Co-founder & CEO of Hasirudala Innovations; Raghav Verma, Co-founder of Chaayos; Vishal Jindal, Founder and CEO of Biryani By Kilo; and Dr. Tanweer Alam, Director of the Indian Institute of Packaging.
Zomato: Plastic-Free Orders Packathon to boost sustainable solutions
Zomato continues to champion sustainability through various initiatives under its ‘reduce, recycle, and reward’ strategy. Notable efforts include its commitment to achieving 100% plastic-neutral food deliveries annually by 2030 and facilitating 100 million plastic-free orders by 2025.
The company has significantly reduced cutlery waste since the introduction of a ‘Do not send cutlery’ option in 2021 and has recycled 30,000 MT of plastic waste since FY 23.
For further information on Zomato’s sustainability efforts and future initiatives, visit its website here.
