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Sengupta says for intercity food delivery to be a success, technology plays a critical part. The food quality, its flavours and also its aroma, all have to be maintained.
“We spent a lot of time, effort and money in getting the tech in place,” he says. “When we started, there was no way of sending food long distances without freezing it. But we never freeze the food; we manage a specific temperature,” he adds. The reason refrigeration doesn’t work is because after reheating, the food loses its original taste, he says.
Instead, JustMyRoots says it employs tech that keeps the food in the 5-8-degree range so that it maintains its moisture. Sengupta says the tech platform has three layers: first is a climate-controlled environment; second is robust packaging; and the third is its own intellectual property (IP).
The Zomato spokesperson, too, says they will “avoid freezing to retain the taste and flavours. We also avoid food that is very dependent on texture (like a pizza).” About the logistics, the spokesperson says, “Food is freshly prepared by the restaurant and packed in reusable and tamper-proof containers to keep it safe during air transit. State-of-the-art mobile refrigeration technology preserves food without the need to freeze it or add any kind of preservatives.” The official says that before beginning the pilot, the company “also conducted food trials and lab tests to ensure food tastes great”.
JustMyRoots, which has been operating in this space for a few years now, has about 600 restaurants on its platform and gets some 4,500-5,000 orders per day, which, the company says, will go up to 25k-30k by the end of this fiscal year. It picks food up from 19 cities and delivers to 30.
Sengupta maintains they work only with the original brands. For instance, of the many Tunday Kababi in Lucknow, the one on the JustMyRoots platform is the original one.
For Sengupta, Zomato entering the intercity food delivery arena is not a concern. “We always knew that the Zomatos and Swiggys of the world would enter this segment someday. But we are at least 12-18 months ahead of what Zomato has plans of,” he says.