Before their launch in a city, staff members of the restaurant information aggregator Zomato.com go knocking on the doors of any eatery they come upon.
From each of these, they note the dishes on offer, their prices, phone numbers and even map coordinates.
"We spend a month or two on the streets in each city and manually collect information from the restaurants," says Pankaj Chaddah, a co-founder and chief operating officer of Zomato.com.
Zomato, based in New Delhi, launched its Dubai services last September and expanded to Abu Dhabi and Sharjah within a month. From mom and pop delivery stores to signature restaurants, almost nothing is off their cards. And now it is going westwards.
"When we launch in a city, we already have information for 90 to 95 per cent of the restaurants," Mr Chaddah says. Later "we increase the restaurant coverage gradually".
The company has 300,000 users in the UAE. The site generates money through restaurant owners who want to advertise, and has about 70 clients in the UAE.
Murtaza Balaiyawala, the owner of Karama-based Pizza 2 Go, is one of them.
"Zomato helps the customer see how good a restaurant is compared to others, and their review system is fairly strong," Mr Balaiyawala says. "You can also respond to the reviews."
And that gives his 10-month-old company, which he took over four months ago, some online presence. Pizza 2 Go is working towards its own website.
The restaurant focuses on pizzas and lasagnas, but next month it will roll out an expanded menu, which would include burgers and pastas.
And Zomato would help to put it in the league of other budget Italian eateries. According to Zomato, it costs Dh65 (US$17) for a meal for two at Pizza 2 Go.
"Their sales support is strong," Mr Balaiyawala says of Zomato. "They call every couple of weeks on whether I want to change banners or target something new."
Zomato's database for the UAE covers more than 7,500 restaurants. It has two offices in Dubai and a 15-member team who update restaurant data every three months.
Every week on average Mr Balaiyawala says he gets 12 to 15 calls that end up in sales through Zomato.
If a customer calls the number associated with a restaurant on the website, the call gets routed through Zomato to what the website calls a "non-busy phone number at the restaurant". That helps in tracking the customer calls and reviewing them.
Despite Zomato's growing numbers of users in the UAE, India still dominates the revenue stream. The four-year-old company broke even in its home country six months ago.
"We crossed the 1 crore rupees [Dh689,312] revenue per month mark for India in October," Mr Chaddah says.
With its expansion, Zomato will move its headquarters to a bigger office in the national capital region in a couple of months.
The start-up environment in India is encouraging companies such as Zomato.
Info Edge, an Indian company, invests in young business that rides on India's growing internet market. It has invested more than US$6.5 million (Dh23.8m) in Zomato since 2010.
There are no plans to sell, but Zomato is eyeing an initial public offering in three years' time.
It launched in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in November with fewer than 1,000 restaurants, and London last month with 16,000 restaurants.
"We are looking at Doha [this week] and after that Istanbul and Ankara in Turkey, Brazil, Kuwait, Lebanon, South Africa and Indonesia," Mr Chaddah says. "We are looking at developing markets of the Middle East, Africa and Europe."
Zomato has $2m expansion plans for the UAE over the next year.
"Most of that goes for salaries for people and marketing [activities]," Mr Chaddah says.
"When we started expanding outside India, the cost becomes high compared to India; the lowest permitted labour wages are 10 times that of India."
But it has more plans for the UAE market and is looking to build an Abu Dhabi team.
"Abu Dhabi has one fourth of the restaurants that of Dubai, but the per capita spending in the [food and beverage] sector in Abu Dhabi is more," Mr Chaddah says.
And "we will have print guides for the UAE by September".
ssahoo@thenational.ae
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
- Parasite – 4
- 1917– 3
- Ford v Ferrari – 2
- Joker – 2
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood – 2
- American Factory – 1
- Bombshell – 1
- Hair Love – 1
- Jojo Rabbit – 1
- Judy – 1
- Little Women – 1
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) – 1
- Marriage Story – 1
- Rocketman – 1
- The Neighbors' Window – 1
- Toy Story 4 – 1
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium, Malayisa
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia on October 10
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The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Company%20profile
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The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Wallabies
Updated team: 15-Israel Folau, 14-Dane Haylett-Petty, 13-Reece Hodge, 12-Matt Toomua, 11-Marika Koroibete, 10-Kurtley Beale, 9-Will Genia, 8-Pete Samu, 7-Michael Hooper (captain), 6-Lukhan Tui, 5-Adam Coleman, 4-Rory Arnold, 3-Allan Alaalatoa, 2-Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1-Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16-Folau Faingaa, 17-Tom Robertson, 18-Taniela Tupou, 19-Izack Rodda, 20-Ned Hanigan, 21-Joe Powell, 22-Bernard Foley, 23-Jack Maddocks.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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RESULT
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')
The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
Torque: 625Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
WITHIN%20SAND
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
