Quick answer
Zomato’s business model connects diners, restaurants, delivery partners, and advertisers across food delivery, dining-out, quick commerce (Blinkit), B2B supplies (Hyperpure), ads, and memberships. In FY25, its parent Eternal reported ₹20,243 crore revenue from operations, up 67% year-on-year (Source: Business Standard).
Overview at a Glance
| Thing | Why it matters |
| Three-sided platform | Matches diners, restaurants, delivery partners |
| Four businesses | Delivery, Blinkit, District, Hyperpure |
| Core monetisation | Commissions, fees, ads, subscriptions |
| B2B engine | Hyperpure margins, repeat restaurant spend |
| Scale levers | Density, batching, ad inventory |
| Key risks | Competition, logistics costs, regulation |
Table of contents
- How Zomato works
- Revenue streams at a glance
- Subscriptions (Zomato Gold)
- Advertising and restaurant tools
- Hyperpure (B2B supplies)
- Quick commerce (Blinkit)
- Sustainability and profitability
- FAQs
What is the Zomato Business Model?
The business model of Zomato revolves around connecting three primary stakeholders: diners, restaurants, and delivery partners. Initially, Zomato started as a restaurant discovery platform, offering menus, reviews, and ratings. Today, it is a hybrid platform that integrates food delivery, table reservations, and marketing solutions for restaurants.
Its core business strategy involves multiple revenue streams. By offering value to restaurants in the form of increased visibility and operational tools while ensuring a smooth user experience for customers, Zomato has created a sustainable ecosystem. This multi-vertical approach makes the platform resilient to market fluctuations and helps it maintain long-term growth.
How Zomato Works
Zomato operates a three-sided marketplace: diners discover and order, restaurants gain demand and tools, and delivery partners fulfil last-mile logistics. Algorithms route orders, optimise batching, and balance supply demand, improving customer experience and unit economics across dense urban clusters.
- Discovery: search, reviews, menus, and personalised rankings improve conversion.
- Ordering: in-app checkout, offers, and smart fees nudge basket size.
- Fulfilment: partner network enables flexible, demand-aligned capacity.
- Dining-out: District adds tickets and experiences alongside table bookings.
- B2B: Hyperpure sells ingredients, unlocking upstream margins and stickiness.
Action step: Benchmark your funnel from impression to delivered order; prioritise density and batching to lift contribution margin.
Revenue Streams of Zomato
Zomato blends B2C and B2B monetisation: per-order commissions and fees, advertising inventory, paid membership, and restaurant procurement margins. The mix lets growth in one vertical offset softness in another, while ad load and density expand take-rate without hurting experience.
What is the Zomato Business Model?
The business model of Zomato revolves around connecting three primary stakeholders: diners, restaurants, and delivery partners. Initially, Zomato started as a restaurant discovery platform, offering menus, reviews, and ratings. Today, it is a hybrid platform that integrates food delivery, table reservations, and marketing solutions for restaurants.
Its core business strategy involves multiple revenue streams. By offering value to restaurants in the form of increased visibility and operational tools while ensuring a smooth user experience for customers, Zomato has created a sustainable ecosystem. This multi-vertical approach makes the platform resilient to market fluctuations and helps it maintain long-term growth.
How Zomato Works
Zomato operates a three-sided marketplace: diners discover and order, restaurants gain demand and tools, and delivery partners fulfil last-mile logistics. Algorithms route orders, optimise batching, and balance supply demand, improving customer experience and unit economics across dense urban clusters.
- Discovery: search, reviews, menus, and personalised rankings improve conversion.
- Ordering: in-app checkout, offers, and smart fees nudge basket size.
- Fulfilment: partner network enables flexible, demand-aligned capacity.
- Dining-out: District adds tickets and experiences alongside table bookings.
- B2B: Hyperpure sells ingredients, unlocking upstream margins and stickiness.
Action step: Benchmark your funnel from impression to delivered order; prioritise density and batching to lift contribution margin.
Revenue Streams of Zomato
Zomato blends B2C and B2B monetisation: per-order commissions and fees, advertising inventory, paid membership, and restaurant procurement margins. The mix lets growth in one vertical offset softness in another, while ad load and density expand take-rate without hurting experience.
| Stream | How it earns |
| Restaurant commissions | Percent of each order value |
| Delivery & platform fees | Per-order customer charges |
| Advertising | Sponsored listings and placements |
| Subscriptions (Gold) | Membership fees and renewals |
| Hyperpure | Ingredient margins and volume |
| District | Ticketing fees and promos |
Delivery Commissions: Restaurants pay a percentage of every order received via Zomato. This is one of the platform’s main sources of revenues and increases corresponding to increased order levels.
Subscription Services: Zomato Pro provides advantages such as priority delivery, special discounts, and membership benefits. Ongoing subscription charges offer a steady source of revenue.
Advertising Solutions: Brands and restaurants pay to increase their listings, sponsor app banners, and display promotional offers. This effectively monetizes the platform’s heavy user traffic.
Cloud Kitchens and Food-Tech Ventures: Zomato has invested in cloud kitchens to facilitate faster deliveries and greater order volumes. The vertical also adds to overall revenue through managing a part of the supply chain.
Data and Payment Services: By providing analytics and insights, Zomato optimizes restaurant operations. Collaborations with payment gateways also create additional revenue streams.
By using these multiple channels, Zomato ensures that even if one revenue stream is having difficulties, the platform can depend upon others for stability.
Action step: Map each stream to a KPI: take-rate, ad ARPU, renewal rate, and B2B margin.
Subscriptions (Zomato Gold)
Gold (the successor to Pro) drives repeat usage with free or cheaper delivery windows and extra restaurant savings. Benefits can change by city and conditions, so price perception and renewal value hinge on local density and partner coverage.
● Value hook: delivery savings and stackable restaurant discounts.
● Usage lock-in: priority offers encourage habitual ordering.
● Partner appeal: Gold boosts visibility and repeat diners.
See current benefit structure on the official page (Zomato Gold).
Action step: Model annualised savings vs. fee by user cohort; test renewal nudges.
Advertising and Restaurant Tools
Sponsored listings, homepage banners, and offer placements monetise high-intent traffic. Restaurants use self-serve tools for campaigns, CRM, and insights. Smart pacing prevents ad fatigue while raising visibility for new or seasonal menus.
● Sponsored ranks lift impressions on competitive cuisine searches.
● Offer slots add urgency without permanent discounting.
● Analytics inform pricing, prep times, and menu engineering.
● Category takeovers monetise festival peaks effectively.
Action step: Create a playbook for ad ROI by cuisine and slot type.
Hyperpure (B2B supplies)
Hyperpure sells ingredients and essentials directly to restaurant partners. Reliable quality, predictable pricing, and delivery SLAs improve kitchen operations while locking in recurring spend beyond marketing budgets.
● Recurring B2B orders reduce revenue volatility.
● Data from supplies informs demand planning.
● Better input quality can improve restaurant ratings.
Action step: Map your category mix and margin corridors.
Quick commerce (Blinkit)
Blinkit expands beyond meals into groceries and daily essentials with dark-store logistics. Store density, fill-rates, and item-level margins matter more than AOV. Growth can temporarily compress profits during rapid network expansion before operating leverage kicks in. Reuters.
● Dark-store proximity reduces time-to-door.
● Catalogue breadth lifts basket consolidation.
● Promotions shift mix; watch contribution per order.
Action step: Track city-level density, stockouts, and repeat rates.
Sustainability and Profitability
Diversified streams, density gains, and B2B margins support sustainability. Risks include competitive pricing, weather surcharges, regulation, and courier availability. Disciplined growth plus ad load management typically strengthens unit economics without degrading customer experience.
● Balance growth with contribution margin thresholds.
● Use membership to smooth demand seasonality.
● Leverage B2B to anchor restaurant relationships.
Action step: Publish a periodic scorecard tracking take-rate, ads ARPU, renewal, and B2B margin.
Conclusion
The zomato business model illustrates the intersection of strategy, technology, and innovation in establishing a successful digital platform. By bringing together customers, restaurants, and delivery partners, Zomato has built several revenue streams while delivering value to each stakeholder.
For business owners, students, and analysts, Zomato’s operations provide insight into platform economics and the food-tech sector. With ongoing innovation in delivery, subscription, and data-based solutions, Zomato is a compelling case of a scalable business today in 2025.
- FY25 performance & revenue growth – Business Standard: ₹20,243 cr revenue in FY25, +67% YoY; Eternal Annual Report 2024–25 (PDF).
- Scope of businesses (Food Delivery, Blinkit, District, Hyperpure) – Reuters: Zomato rebrands as Eternal with four business units; Eternal – Our businesses.
- Three-sided marketplace & platform mechanics – Eternal Annual Report: operating model & unit economics.
- Advertising & sponsored placements – Zomato for Business: Advertise; How ads appear & target on Zomato.
- Membership (Zomato Gold) – benefits & terms – Official Zomato Gold page; Terms of Service (Gold section).
- Hyperpure (B2B restaurant supplies) – Hyperpure official site; Annual Report: Hyperpure growth & margins.
- Blinkit quick commerce scale & market share – Economic Times: BofA on Blinkit >50% share; S&P Global: Blinkit dark-store expansion & orders.
- District – tickets & experiences – Eternal: District overview.
FAQs
Is Zomato B2B or B2C?
Zomato operates as both, serving customers directly and offering tools to restaurants.
What is the business model of Swiggy?
Swiggy also combines delivery commissions, advertisements, and cloud kitchens, similar to Zomato.
What is the branding strategy of Zomato?
Zomato relies on strong digital campaigns, customer engagement, and loyalty programs to maintain brand recognition.
Is Zomato’s business model sustainable?
Yes, its diversified revenue streams, technological efficiency, and market presence make it adaptable for long-term growth.
