Profitability isn’t Zomato’s only concern next quarter

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Editor's note: In the 20-plus pages of transcript of the analyst call held after its latest quarter results, the issue that dominated was the timeline for Zomato to achieve profitability. The next big issue: its interest in the quick grocery delivery business and what it plans to do with Blinkit, the renamed Grofers, which promises 10-minute delivery of groceries. Zomato has already invested $100 million in Blinkit’s B2B and B2C businesses—Grofers India Pvt. Ltd and Hands-On Trade Pvt. Ltd. It holds a 9.16% stake in the former and 8.94% in the latter. The company had also extended a loan of $150 million in March this year to “support the capital requirements” of Blinkit. Over the next couple of years, the company had said that it will invest $400 million in quick commerce as it is very confident of the model.  Zomato had made its first such investment in 2021, the year when the interest in grocery delivery hit a new high as the Tata group picked up a majority stake in BigBasket and Reliance Retail bought a 25.8% stake in hyperlocal delivery …