Electrifying food deliveries: Eternal’s sustainability chief on meeting Zomato's EV goal

If you order food through the Zomato app, you may get a notification that reads, “Your food is being delivered on an EV.” This is part of Eternal’s pledge towards fully electrifying its food deliveries by 2030. 

Behind this transition is a complicated roadmap—one with many moving parts, not unlike the electric vehicle itself. The Zomato parent’s chief sustainability officer, Anjalli Ravi Kumar, is spearheading this movement. With prior stints at Unilever and KPMG, Kumar is not new to the sustainability ecosystem. 

Under her leadership, Zomato has deployed around 37,000 EVs as part of its delivery fleet. Additionally, Blinkit has deployed 50,000 EVs, and 20% of all HyperPure orders are satisfied using an electric vehicle. 

The company has a three-pronged strategy steering its electrification efforts—awareness, partnerships, and advocating for policies that fast-track electric adoption. 

In an interview with YourStory, Kumar outlines the company’s efforts to electrify its deliveries, addresses the challenges existing in the ecosystem, and explains how Zomato sold the idea of electric vehicles to its delivery partners. 

Edited excerpts:

YourStory [YS]: What drew you to the field of sustainability, and how’s your journey been so far?

Anjalli Ravi Kumar [ARK]: Sustainability wasn’t really seen as a career path until about a decade ago. I started out at Dalberg, a boutique consulting firm focused on social impact, where I worked with organisations including the World Bank and ADB on inclusive business strategies in India.

That led me to Unilever, where I joined to work with personal care brands on purpose-driven programmes. I deeply believe that brands carry emotional weight, and when used right, they can drive real impact. One of my first projects was building an upskilling platform for Fair & Lovely (now Glow & Lovely) consumers, aimed at young women across South Asia. The platform, launched before the rise of edtech in India, reached over a million women and offered free courses in partnership with players like edX and English Edge.

That experience showed me how tech can be a powerful tool for social good, which is what drew me to Zomato. Here, the impact is massive—over 400,000 delivery opportunities are created monthly, supporting informal workers across urban India. With Blinkit, the reach is even greater.

I also lead efforts to reduce our environmental footprint—something Zomato committed to even before going public. It’s a company that takes both its social and environmental responsibilities seriously, and that’s what keeps me invested.

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YS: EVs are a big part of Zomato's last-mile strategy. Can you walk me through the transition to EVs—what drove it, and how big is the fleet today?

ARK: Since our entire delivery network runs on two-wheelers owned by gig workers, we knew we couldn’t meet our climate goals without helping them shift to EVs.

Our goal is to enable 100% EV adoption by 2030. It's ambitious, but we believe it benefits everyone—delivery partners can earn more, women can enter the workforce through easier-to-ride low-speed EVs, and our operations become more efficient with things like battery swapping and fast-charging networks.

To make this happen, we follow a three-part strategy. First, we focus on awareness—both online and through offline events like EV Bazaar, where 1,000+ partners showed up. 

Second, we’ve built deep integrations with rental fleets. Delivery partners can now rent EVs through the Zomato app in 400+ cities. In cities like Bengaluru, over 25% of deliveries are already on EVs.

The third piece is policy. The EV ecosystem in India is still in its early stages and needs serious support on financing, charging infra, after-sales service, and vehicle portability. We actively engage with policymakers to make sure delivery partners’ real needs are reflected in EV policies.

Today, we have about 37,000 EVs on Zomato alone, and when you include Blinkit, that number goes up to 50,000. On the B2B side, 20% of HyperPure deliveries—which supply to both Blinkit stores and the HoReCa (hotels, restaurants, and catering) sector—are done on EVs as well, primarily using L3 and L5 category vehicles.

YS: How have partnerships with OEMs sped up the EV rollout?

ARK: We’ve partnered with pretty much every player out there who has relevant EV inventory. What we’ve learned from delivery partners is this: those who are used to riding high-speed ICE bikes naturally prefer high-speed EVs. And many want to test out a vehicle before buying, so high-speed options matter.

That said, low-speed EVs have their own appeal too, especially for new entrants or those doing shorter trips. We intentionally work with a mix of partners to offer both high- and low-speed EVs, depending on what suits the delivery partner best.

YS: With so many EV OEMs emerging in India, how do you ensure the right vehicles are available to delivery partners through the app?

ARK: We’re very selective about what EVs we make available to delivery partners. First, we look at the claimed range—ideally 140 km, but a minimum of 100 km is non-negotiable. Then we factor in market feedback, since many bikes have already been tested on the ground by partners. We also test vehicles ourselves to ensure quality and performance.

Early on, we saw issues with certain imported bikes that weren’t suited for delivery, so we’re cautious about repeating that. We also evaluate whether the rental price is economically viable for partners and assess after-sales service, breakdown rates, and OEM support networks. Since the EV space is still evolving, some insights only come post-deployment, but we’re constantly refining through feedback and testing.

YS: How do you pitch an electric vehicle to a delivery partner? What’s the hook?

ARK: We lead with what matters most to delivery partners: fuel savings. That’s the biggest hook. The second is comfort—EVs are quieter, smoother, and often easier to handle. These two benefits consistently resonate the most.

YS: Some delivery partners have shared concerns about battery life. How do you address range anxiety and build trust in the EV transition?

ARK: When a delivery partner has a bad experience with an EV, it’s important that it doesn’t sour their view of the entire category. That’s where we step in—we work closely with OEMs that have reliable service networks and listen to feedback.

Delivery partners often lack access or time to escalate issues. We can take their feedback directly to OEM decision-makers and push for improvements—whether it's about battery reliability or something as basic as home charging access, which many partners don't have if they live in dorms or shared housing.

We see our role as a bridge, advocating for delivery partners and helping shape the ecosystem around their real needs.

YS: Since you partner with multiple OEMs, how do you decide when to pull it off the platform if their vehicles are underperforming?

ARK: We treat underperformance from any OEM like we would with any vendor—there’s a clear feedback loop. We first communicate concerns and give them a chance to improve. But if the gap is too wide or persistent, we do end the partnership.

Before onboarding any OEM, we clearly set expectations—from range and durability to multi-purpose use (since many delivery partners also use the vehicle personally). The vehicle must be able to handle real-world Indian conditions—heat, rain, road stress—and be reliable enough for everyday gig work.

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YS: There’s a lot of debate around battery swapping vs traditional charging. What have you observed on the ground, and what works best for Zomato’s use case?

ARK: We’ve taken a technology-neutral stance because in a country like India, both battery swapping and charging need to coexist. Swapping works well when the network is dense and batteries are standardised—but that’s still evolving. Fast charging, on the other hand, has its own clear benefits.

Given the scale and diversity of our operations, it’s not about one versus the other. We believe there’s ample room for both models to grow, and it’s too early to call which will dominate.

YS: What feedback have you received from delivery partners about the shift to EVs? How has the transition impacted their day-to-day experience?

ARK: Most delivery partners using EVs today are on rental models, which work well, especially for migrant workers. It gives them flexibility, allowing them to start deliveries the day they arrive in a city and return the vehicle easily when they leave. There’s no maintenance hassle, and onboarding is quick.

Partners have shared that EVs are easy to use, and those who own them have definitely seen fuel savings. But for many, the long-term value—like ownership benefits—will take more time to fully assess.

YS: Renting EVs can eat into a delivery partner’s savings over time. Is there any structure in place to help them eventually own their own vehicles?

ARK: Right now, EV financing is still a work in progress. We're partnering with several NBFCs to help delivery partners finance and eventually own EVs, but it's not easy. Many partners lack the formal documentation or credit history needed to qualify.

So yes, ownership is the goal—but to get there, we need a lot more innovation and flexibility in how financing is structured for gig workers.

YS: As you work toward full electrification by 2030, will Zomato eventually discourage new delivery partners from using ICE vehicles?

ARK: We’re already actively communicating the benefits of EVs to all delivery partners, regardless of whether they use one today. Events like EV Bazaar are open to everyone, and the idea is to introduce the technology in a way that fits their lives and priorities.

At the end of the day, delivery partners are here to earn for their families, sometimes supplementing day jobs with night shifts. So we approach this transition with empathy, not enforcement. Our job is to make EV access as seamless as possible through easy rentals, supportive policies, and better economics.

We’re cautiously optimistic that by 2030, EVs will naturally become the smarter, more cost-effective choice. We think new partners will be more open to EVs as models improve and the overall proposition becomes more compelling.