The move aligns with the company’s recent launch of a dedicated tab on the Zomato app, that help users discover and engage with highly anticipated events across cities.
Speaking to Mint, Zomato Live CEO Zeenah Vilcassim outlined the company’s growth trajectory and its aim to make a substantial double-digit contribution to Zomato’s topline within three years.
Currently, Zomato Live contributes a single-digit percentage to Zomato’s overall revenue. “If you look at the scale and the size of the business that we have with online ordering right now and BlinkIt, even a low double-digit is still huge as a business. That’s the goal that we’re working towards, and we’ll release some of those numbers as they come up,” she said.
Launched in 2018, Zomato Live initially focused on the Zomaland IP, a food carnival and music festival that has now expanded to eight cities. It has attracted around 200,000 customers with its holistic experience of food, entertainment, and music.
Vilcassim highlighted the synergy between Zomato Live and the core Zomato business, especially in leveraging search and discovery capabilities of the parent. The live events industry, which is booming post covid, is projected to hit $8 billion by 2028 from just under $5 billion today. Zomato Live aims to become India’s leading live entertainment company, focusing on superior curation, customer experience, and operations, Vilcassim said.
“The opportunity here is really huge also because the consumer expectation, especially for live events, has increased massively in India. People are paying higher prices for ticketing, and they’re expecting amazing production,” the CEO said.
The industry needs to evolve with that consumer mindset, she said, adding, “So when it comes to access to venues, restaurant partner areas, the best tech and developers in the country plus being a very, skilled operations company, it was a no-brainer almost that we should do this side of business. Also, because there’s a lot of synergies that can go back to the core business.”
To tap into the growing appetite for live events, Zomato Live aims to offer premium experiences and generate revenue through ticketing and sponsorships. The company has launched a new events tab in the Zomato app, offering a curated selection of premium events, including festivals, concerts, and tours.
This feature, distinguished by a premium UI, will soon expand to 12 major cities, starting with a special New Year’s Eve showcase. The tab will have “the best events that you can book for New Year’s Eve with some great content, video content, and everything that goes through a nice search and discovery element”, she added.
Reflecting on Zomato’s profitability milestone with Zomaland, Vilcassim emphasized a strategic focus on developing sustainable IPs. Zomato Live acknowledges market dynamics and aims to diversify its event offerings to mitigate risks and provide a mix of large-scale and smaller events.
“We will also be announcing some new IPs and concerts that we have coming up, including four more left of Zomaland. We’re also looking at more premium things in the sneaker space, we are doing a collab with Mainstreet that’s already kind of been discussed and coming out. We’re working with them on their Indian Sneaker Convention. We have a big comedy act coming through, two big artists tours coming through and another IP that we’re going to launch later in the year,” she added.
Highlighting the evolving dynamics of the market, Vilcassim said there is a sense of fatigue stemming from the proliferation of numerous IPs and constant launches in the live events space. In response to this market sentiment, she outlined a strategic approach that hinges on clarity, focusing on discerning the significant bets that will define Zomato Live’s trajectory.
“Our strategy extends to the diversification of our events portfolio, ensuring that our profitability isn’t solely dependent on the success of IP creation and curation,” she said.
Acknowledging the time-intensive nature of building IPs, the company recognizes the need for a balanced approach that includes large-scale productions featuring renowned artists that draw substantial crowds as well as demonstrate favourable profit and loss outcomes, along with cost-effective events. The approach is to view the live events landscape from a business perspective, she said.
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