Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal has sparked a fresh round of chatter in India’s startup circles with a tongue-in-cheek remark about Zepto’s marketing, delivered during his recent appearance on creator Raj Shamani’s podcast. The 42-year-old entrepreneur was on the show to talk about quick-commerce, 10-minute deliveries, competition, gig workers and the evolution of his businesses Zomato and Blinkit. In the middle of this wide-ranging conversation, a light but pointed comment about Zepto’s branding and the people behind it quickly became the most replayed part of the episode, especially once it was clipped and shared on social media. Viewers picked up on how Goyal managed to balance humour, praise and rivalry in a single line, turning a simple off-the-cuff remark into a viral talking point.
The context is important. Blinkit, which Zomato owns, is one of the country’s most visible quick-commerce platforms and competes directly with Zepto and Swiggy Instamart in the race to deliver “everything in minutes”. Swiggy itself is Zomato’s main rival in the food delivery space, making the three brands part of a closely watched triangle in India’s urban consumption market. Against that backdrop, any candid comment from one founder about another’s company tends to attract attention, and Goyal’s playful jab at Zepto’s marketing team was no exception.
‘Hum Nahi Karte Hain’: Goyal on Tracking Competition
During the podcast, host Raj Shamani asked Goyal how closely he follows his competitors and whether he studies their products and services. Goyal initially tried to downplay the question, responding that he does not track rivals in the way people might assume. “Hum nahi karte hain (We don’t do it),” he said, adding that he does not order from Swiggy or Zepto to check how they operate or what their customer experience feels like. The answer painted a picture of a founder more focused on his own roadmap than on copying a competitor’s moves.
When pressed further, Goyal acknowledged that Swiggy remains a “formidable” competitor for Zomato in food delivery. He described competing with Swiggy as consistently tough, noting that there is hardly “ek inch extra room” in that battle, a comment that underlined his respect for Swiggy’s execution and market strength. However, he did not offer a similar competitive compliment to Zepto. Instead, he chose to switch gears and speak about Zepto’s marketing, setting up the now-viral remark that followed.
‘Hum Se Hi Seekh Ke Gaye Hai’: The Zepto Marketing Punchline:
Asked to name one thing Zepto does well and one thing Swiggy does well, Goyal first returned to his earlier point and repeated that Swiggy is tough to fight in food delivery. When it came to Zepto, he paused and then said he finds the company’s marketing “quirky and nice”, acknowledging that the upstart quick-commerce brand has managed to stand out in the public eye with its campaigns. At this point, the conversation took a more mischievous turn. Goyal added that the Zepto marketing team is largely made up of former Zomato employees, calling them “ex Zomato log”.
Then came the punchline that lit up social media. “Hum se hi seekh ke gaye hain sab. Good for them (They learned it from us),” he said, chuckling. The line landed somewhere between pride and playful one-upmanship, suggesting that whatever audiences love about Zepto’s marketing today has its roots in the culture and learnings those executives picked up while working at Zomato. For many viewers, the remark framed Zepto’s widely discussed marketing playbook as an indirect compliment to Zomato’s own brand-building legacy.
Respect for Aadit Palicha Keeps Tone Light:
Later in the same interview, Shamani shifted the focus from brands to individuals and asked Goyal directly whether he likes Zepto’s co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha. Goyal took a noticeable pause before replying, which added a brief moment of suspense to the conversation. He eventually said that he does like Palicha, based on the interactions they have had so far, and did not use the opportunity to escalate any rivalry narrative.
Goyal continued by characterizing Palicha as “smart,” “talks well,” and “earnest,” a series of adjectives that demonstrated his regard for the younger entrepreneur despite Blinkit and Zepto’s competition for market share. The general tone of the podcast part was kept friendly rather than combative by striking a balance between mocking Zepto’s marketing by giving credit to former Zomato teams and praising its CEO for his intelligence and sincerity. It provided an insight into how well-known Indian startup executives can combine humor, a competitive edge, and respect for one another in a single conversation especially when their every word is likely to be clipped, shared, and discussed online.
