Deepinder Goyal takes a cheeky dig at Zepto’s marketing: ‘Hum se hi seekh ke gaye hai’

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal took a lighthearted dig at Zepto’s marketing team during his appearance on Raj Shamani’s podcast.

Published on: Jan 4, 2026, 09:02:39 IST

By Sanya Jain

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Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal took a lighthearted dig at Zepto’s marketing team during his appearance on Raj Shamani’s podcast. Goyal, 42, appeared on the latest episode of the podcast to discuss 10-minute deliveries, gig workers, his competitors and much more.

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal took a dig at Zepto's marketing (YouTube/@rajshamani)

Zomato-owned Blinkit is one of the country’s leading quick-commerce platforms, in direct competition with Zepto and Swiggy Instamart. Food delivery aggregator Swiggy, on the other hand, is a competitor of Zomato.

Deepinder Goyal on his competitors

When podcast host Raj Shamani asked Deepinder Goyal about his views on competition, the entrepreneur initially sought to downplay the question. Asked if he tracks competitors, Goyal answered, “Hum nahi karte hain (We don’t do it).”

He also claimed that he does not order from Swiggy or Zepto to see how they work.

Pressed further, he acknowledged that Swiggy is a formidable rival. Goyal did not have a similar compliment for Zepto — instead, he resorted to praising Zepto’s marketing team before slipping in a dig at them.

Zomato CEO on Zepto’s marketing

“If you had to pick one thing that Zepto does well and one thing that Swiggy does well, what would it be?” the host asked Goyal.

“I think Swiggy is still a formidable food delivery competitor for us. Always tough to fight them, always. Ek inch extra room bhi nahi milta vahan pe,” Goyal answered.

“And Zepto… I don’t know. I think their marketing is quirky and nice,” said the CEO of Zomato, before adding: “But the Zomato team runs it. Ex Zomato log hain vo saare (They are all former Zomato employees).”

“Hum se hi seekh ke gaye hain sab. Good for them (They learned it from us),” Goyal said, chuckling.

Deepinder Goyal on Aadit Palicha

Elsewhere during the interview, Goyal was asked whether he likes Zepto founder and CEO Aadit Palicha.

Goyal took a long pause before answering in the affirmative. “Yes, as many times as I have met him, I have actually liked him,” he said.

“I think he’s a smart guy, talks well, earnest,” added Goyal for Palicha.

(Also read: ‘Deepinder Goyal started Zomato when I was 5,’ reveals Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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