Zomato launches its Whitelabel Platform, lets restaurants start their custom-branded apps

Earlier today, Zomato announced the launch of its Whitelabel Platform, a suite of technologies for restaurants to run their business on the internet. The key feature on the platform is the ability for restaurants to launch custom-branded native mobile apps to help them connect with and engage their customers.

The food-tech segment has seen a lot of action over the last year and the investors have been very bullish on the segment. While the dine-out and online ordering segments have seen a large chunk of this funding, internet-first restaurants have also seen their fair share of interest from investors (Faasos, Chaayos, etc). Zomato believes that most of the internet-first restaurants primarily function on a 'no/own kitchen + own delivery + on-demand' model. The industry is seeing early signs of this concept germinating in certain urban clusters.

But a majority of the industry is dominated by the unorganised sector of asset-heavy restaurants, and the company believes that there is a huge untapped opportunity to get them online, build innovative services, and drive more value to customers. Zomato's introduction of Whitelabel Apps aims to capture this opportunity.

Zomato Whitelabel Apps is a plug-and-play platform which will power a restaurant's digital identity, enabling restaurants to spend more time focusing on their core business of food. Ashish Goel, Chief of Product & Design, Zomato said, “While speaking with a lot of restaurant owners, we realised that most of them do not have an app or digital presence and they want to harness the power and distribution of the internet and mobile to grow their business. And that there is no one single service provider for restaurants which can give them the entire suite of technologies required to run an internet presence closely integrated with the operations of their business. We see this as an opportunity to have a larger impact on the food-tech ecosystem, as well as create a larger overlap between tech and food.”

Zomato Whitelabel apps offer features such as targeted push notifications, real-time information and menu management, and marketing tools to merchants. The app is based on a subscription model that bundles Zomato’s existing restaurant management app – Zomato For Business – into each subscription for free. These Whitelabel apps integrate into all the ancillary services Zomato offers, such as Online Ordering, Table Reservations (NexTable acquisition), in-app Cashless payments, Loyalty programs and the upcoming Zomato Base (point of sales system). Summerhouse Cafe in New Delhi, Miyabi Sushi in Dubai, and Shizuku Ramen in Melbourne are amongst the first 100 restaurants that have already signed up in the last week. The Zomato Whitelabel Platform will be available to restaurants in all 22 countries Zomato is present in currently.