On August 22, 2024, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal announced the closure of the company’s ‘Legends’ service.
The service, which allowed customers to order food from their favorite restaurants in other cities, has been discontinued with immediate effect.
Zomato launched Legends approximately two years ago as an inter-city delivery service.
Why Zomato Shut Down Legends
The decision to shut down Legends stems from its lack of product-market fit, according to Zomato’s founder, Deepinder Goyal.
He shared in a tweet, “After two years of efforts and no product-market fit (PMF), we have decided to shut down the service with immediate effect.”
Understanding Zomato’s Legends Service
The Legends service was designed to let customers order food from restaurants located in different parts of the country, starting with 10 cities in India.
In July, Zomato temporarily paused the service and later resumed it with modifications to enhance profitability.
Despite these efforts, the service has now been permanently discontinued.
Zomato’s Strategy to Diversify Business
The closure of Intercity Legends comes as Zomato seeks to diversify its business to boost revenue and strengthen its market position.
Recently, the company announced the acquisition of Paytm’s entertainment and ticketing business.
Previous Closures and Diversification
Zomato has a history of shutting down services that do not meet financial expectations.
The company previously discontinued a logistics service called Extreme, which was aimed at helping merchants send and receive small parcels.
As Zomato continues to explore new ventures, the closure of Legends underscores its strategy to focus on profitable and scalable business opportunities.
Update on Zomato Legends – after two years of trying, not finding product market fit, we have decided to shut down the service with immediate effect.
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) August 22, 2024
Reason for Shutdown
In a statement on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Goyal explained, “After two years of trying, due to lack of product-market fit, we have decided to discontinue this service with immediate effect.”
Despite efforts to revamp the service in July, including implementing changes aimed at improving its appeal, Legends could not meet the company’s expectations.
What Was Zomato Legends?
Zomato Legends was an intercity delivery service that allowed customers to order popular dishes from 10 major Indian cities and have them delivered to other parts of the country.
The service had been temporarily halted earlier, only to be reintroduced with modifications in July, but it ultimately failed to gain the desired traction.
Zomato’s Recent Moves
In addition to shutting down Legends, Zomato is making strategic moves to diversify its business.
The company recently announced its acquisition of Paytm’s movie ticketing business for ₹2,000 crore.
Following the deal, Zomato plans to launch a new app called ‘District’ for the entertainment ticketing market, indicating its shift towards expanding into new areas of business.