Once hailed as one of India’s most dynamic startups, Zomato—now operating under the corporate name Eternal Limited—is facing heightened scrutiny amid allegations of internal chaos, a leadership shakeup, and rising dissatisfaction among employees, delivery partners, and restaurant partners alike.
An anonymous Reddit post recently went viral, painting a grim picture of the company’s work environment. The post alleged that Zomato employees were being mandated to order food from Zomato at least seven times a month and were banned from ordering from competitors like Swiggy and Zepto. It also detailed a culture of micromanagement, public employee degradation, increasing fraud among delivery partners, and growing frustration among restaurant partners forced to spend on ads for basic visibility.
At the center of the controversy was the sudden exit of Rakesh Ranjan, the CEO of Zomato’s food delivery business. However, Eternal Limited quickly clarified via a regulatory filing that Ranjan had not resigned and that leadership reshuffles are part of its standard practices to optimize organizational effectiveness.
Zomato’s founder and CEO, Deepinder Goyal, wasted no time in addressing the swirling rumors. Sharing a post on X, Goyal called the allegations “utter nonsense,” vehemently denying that employees are forced to order through Zomato or that the company is losing market share. He reaffirmed Zomato’s commitment to freedom of choice for its workforce and expressed embarrassment at having to even clarify such claims.
Despite Goyal’s strong rebuttal, the market seems less convinced. Eternal’s (Zomato’s) share price fell 1.62% in the latest session, trading at ₹227.19, down 1.9% over the past week, although still up 10.3% over the last three months. The broader concern, however, lies in the company’s recent financial performance. Eternal reported a sharp 57% decline in net profit to ₹59 crore in Q3 FY25, even as revenue surged by 64% to ₹5,404 crore. Gross Order Value (GOV) rose 57% year-on-year to ₹20,206 crore, with food delivery contributing ₹9,913 crore to that figure. On a brighter note, adjusted EBITDA more than doubled, increasing by 128% year-on-year to ₹285 crore, indicating improved operational efficiency.
The recent rebranding from Zomato to Eternal Limited reflects the company’s broader ambitions beyond food delivery, including businesses like Blinkit (quick commerce), Hyperpure (B2B supplies), and District (dining services). However, maintaining the Zomato brand for the food delivery app signals an attempt to retain consumer trust in a fiercely competitive marketplace.
Strategically, while the company has diversified its revenue streams, the turmoil highlighted internally poses serious challenges. Employee dissatisfaction, delivery partner discontent, and restaurant partner frustrations could create cracks that even a strong top-line growth cannot plaster over.
In the food delivery landscape, loyalty is hard to earn and easy to lose. Eternal must not only address the external narratives but also urgently work on improving internal culture, strengthening delivery partner relations, and rebuilding restaurant partnerships. With Swiggy and Zepto aggressively ramping up their efforts, the next few quarters will determine whether Eternal can live up to its new name—or become another cautionary tale of a unicorn that lost its way.
