Foodiebay rebranded as Zomato.com; plans to enter nightlife business

Foodiebay.com, an online food guide and restaurant directory, has rebranded itself as Zomato.com. According to the company, Zomato is derived from the word ‘tomato’ and has a zing to it which adds to the brand recall. The rebranding is aimed at helping the company expand its areas of operations beyond food and restaurant listings and enter the nightlife listing business.

Deepinder Goyal, co-founder and CEO, Foodiebay, has said, “We saw that if we wanted to touch broader horizons then the name Foodiebay wouldn’t be the best choice as it constraints our perception to one of a food website. Another thought at the back of our minds was to prevent any overstepping of eBay when we start accepting online payments. So, we decided to keep the idea of food at the centre but choose a name that is timeless and encompassing – Zomato.” 

Vivek Khare, senior vice president, corporate development, Info Edge India, has added, “The new name is more marketable and should open new horizons to expand to. I am sure the team has a long way to go and Zomato will carry the success of Foodiebay to the next level.” 

Launched in July 2008, Foodiebay.com currently lists menus, prices and contact details of more than 8,000 restaurants and gets over 2 million monthly users across five cities in India – Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Kolkata. Foodiebay recently raised an investment of Rs 4.7 crore from Info Edge India (Naukri.com) to fund its product development and marketing. Foodiebay is based in Gurgaon and currently employs 24 people across five cities in India.