Zomato CEO Rakesh Ranjan moves out of role; Deepinder Goyal heads food delivery

Eternal's Deepinder Goyal is expected to hold the mandate for Eternal's food delivery business as Rakesh Ranjan, the current Zomato CEO, moves out of the role, the company said in its quarterly shareholder letter.

Just a week ago, the Zomato parent in an exchange filing had denied reports of Rakesh Ranjan's resignation from the role of chief executive at the company's food delivery business. It is pertinent to note that Ranjan is not leaving the company and is likely to continue in a different capacity.

The move is a part of an internal leadership reshuffle at Eternal, which follows a model of rotational leadership. Eternal cites the move comes as it looks to "get fresh perspective into the business" amid the slow performance of its food delivery business.

Zomato, the company's largest segment, clocked an 18% YoY growth in topline to Rs 2,054 crore during the January-March 2025 quarter. On a QoQ basis, the segment showed a marginal decline, dragged down by a broader slowdown in urban consumption. It claims it has seen its market share remain stable within the last few months.

Eternal cited sluggish demand due to lower discretionary spending and a shortage of delivery partners due to heightened requirements of quick commerce operations among key reasons. The company also highlighted growing competition for consumer food delivery as quick commerce platforms ramp up quick delivery of packaged foods.

Zomato, Eternal's food delivery brand, clocked slower GOV growth during the last financial year consistently falling from 28% in Q4 FY24 to 16% in Q4 FY25.

However, the company doesn't see any long-term structural reason for the slowdown in food delivery, and is banking on urbanisation, per capita income growth, and low penetration of restaurants to drive the overall sector.