NRAI meets with food aggregators amid ongoing discord

Members of the National Restaurant Association of India met with top executives of online food aggregators Swiggy and Zomato on Friday in a set of meetings that “progressed well” even as the NRAI continues to hold its grouse against Zomato’s Gold program that the association says remains unacceptable in its current form. “NRAI remains steadfast in its belief that Zomato Gold in its current form is not acceptable in either dine-in or delivery segment,” Katriar said. In fact, the issues between NRAI and online dining platforms arose in the month of August after several restaurants staged a log-out of the Gold program forcing Zomato to tone it down and revise the current terms and conditions to curb steep offers given by Gold. NRAI said it appreciated Zomato’s efforts to pause the “contentious Infinity dining program in abeyance till further notice.” On the meeting with the NRAI Swiggy spokesperson said in a statement “our recent discussions on the various projects have been well received, and has brought us one step closer to achieving our combined goals.” It added that “NRAI plays an important role in our continued efforts to enable restaurant partners to grow sustainably while benefitting from the latest technology interventions.” A Zomato spokesperson added that it "continues to have discussions with the NRAI on all issues faced by the industry and are focused on providing solutions sustainable for all participants."