Zomato launches District app for dining out, events, ticketing biz

Gurgaon-based food and delivery platform Zomato on Thursday announced the launch of District – a new app for its going-out business. The company has been increasing focus on its going-out business which includes dining out, live events and ticketing.

ET had reported in June that Zomato was in advanced negotiations to acquire the movie ticketing and events division of Noida-headquartered fintech company Paytm as the Deepinder Goyal-led firm looked to double down on the going-out businesses.

The company has been looking to capture consumer demand across categories such as food, grocery and entertainment.

As per the company’s latest financials, going-out business reported gross order value of Rs 1,268 crore for the April-June quarter, up 106% year-on-year.

Zomato had separately reported numbers for its going-out vertical for the first time for the September 2023 quarter.

Goyal, the company’s cofounder and chief executive, had said at the time that the combination of dining out, events and ticketing could be the “fourth large business coming out of Zomato.”

In June, ET had reported that Zomato’s board approved a plan to invest Rs 100 crore in its subsidiary Zomato Entertainment Pvt Ltd – the unit that runs the company’s live events and ticketing businesses.

In August 2023, the company had roped in Zeenah Vilcassim as the CEO of Zomato Live Entertainment. Vilcassim joined the company from Bacardi India, where she was the chief marketing officer.

Food ordering, Blinkit and Hyperpure, which provides supplies to restaurants, are the other three verticals for the food delivery firm.

While going-out has been a part of Zomato’s main app, spinning off a new app for the growing vertical is in line with the company’s strategy of building “super brands” instead of “super apps”.

ET has reported earlier saying Goyal’s message to Zomato’s management that super apps don’t work as well in India as they do in China, and that Indians prefer “super brands”. On account of this, the company has kept its quick commerce business Blinkit under a separate app, and paused its integration with the mainstay food delivery business.

Zomato’s key rival, IPO-bound Swiggy, houses its food delivery, quick commerce and parcel delivery services under a single app.

Zomato had also launched a hyperlocal logistics offering Xtreme last year – but later halted the service.