New Delhi: Zomato will roll out a new feature called ‘Mehmaan Mode’ this week after a customer suggested a way to make group food ordering more comfortable for hosts and their guests. Deepinder Goyal, co-founder of Zomato and vice chairman and non-executive director of its parent company, Eternal, confirmed the plan on social media.

The proposed feature will allow users to hide menu prices while sharing their phones with guests to collect food orders. The host can then take back the phone and complete the payment, avoiding awkward moments when guests browse the menu.

Customer suggests price-hiding feature

The idea was proposed by Ayushmaan Agarwalla, a marketing manager, in a LinkedIn post in which he tagged Goyal and recommended a simple ‘Mehmaan Mode’ for Zomato.

Explaining the suggestion, Agarwalla said hosts increasingly pass their phones around during group orders, allowing everyone to choose what they want to eat. However, visible prices can sometimes make guests hesitant or create uncomfortable situations, particularly when someone is concerned about the cost of their order.

He suggested that Zomato introduce an option that makes menu prices disappear temporarily while guests select their food. The host could then regain control of the phone and make the payment.

The feature is intended to make group ordering more relaxed by allowing guests to choose their meals without worrying about how much each item costs or whether their choices might appear expensive.

Agarwalla also pointed out that such a feature could be particularly useful during the festive season, when families and friends frequently gather for meals and hosts may order food for several people.

Deepinder Goyal confirms rollout this week

Goyal responded directly to the LinkedIn post, acknowledging the suggestion and indicating that the company would act on it quickly.

“Thanks for the suggestion. Shipping it this week,” he wrote, while also wishing the customer a happy festive season.

The response drew attention to how consumer feedback on social media can influence product development at food delivery and quick-commerce companies. However, the precise functionality and availability of Mehmaan Mode will become clearer when the feature is rolled out.

The proposed addition focuses on a small but familiar aspect of group ordering: the social discomfort that can arise when people see the prices of items selected by others or feel reluctant to choose food based on their budgets.

By concealing prices during the selection process, the feature could offer hosts greater flexibility when placing orders for guests. Its usefulness will depend on how the option is implemented within the app and whether it allows users to switch between visible and hidden prices easily.

Not the first feature inspired by customers

Zomato and its group companies have previously responded to customer suggestions shared on social media.

In 2024, Blinkit, the quick-commerce platform owned by Eternal, introduced a feature after an X user, Ankit Sawant, shared a suggestion from his mother about including free coriander with vegetable orders above a certain amount.

Sawant had posted that his mother was unhappy about having to pay separately for coriander and proposed bundling it with vegetable purchases.

Blinkit’s then chief executive and co-founder, Albinder Dhindsa, responded within hours, announcing that the feature was live and thanking Sawant’s mother for the suggestion. The company subsequently said it would refine the feature over the following weeks. The initiative was rolled out temporarily.

Goyal has also previously engaged with customers who suggested improvements to Zomato’s products. In 2024, after a user offered suggestions regarding the company’s then-newly launched Food Rescue feature, Goyal praised the feedback and expressed interest in learning more about the person and potentially working together.

These instances illustrate how companies in the food delivery and quick-commerce sectors can use direct customer feedback to identify everyday inconveniences and explore practical product changes.

A small change aimed at group dining

Mehmaan Mode is designed around a specific social situation rather than a major change to Zomato’s ordering process. The concept allows guests to browse and select food while leaving payment responsibility with the host.

If implemented as proposed, the feature could be useful for household gatherings, festive meals, office lunches and other occasions when one person places an order on behalf of a group.

Goyal’s announcement indicates that the company plans to move quickly on the suggestion, although further details about the feature’s final design and availability have not yet been provided in the supplied announcement.