Case Study

Business Design & Market Repositioning for Zomato's Food-Delivery Expansion in Portugal

Overview

Zomato, an Indian food-tech giant, was known in Portugal mainly for restaurant reviews. In 2021, I collaborated as a freelance business designer with Monday Service Design Portugal to help the brand reposition itself after the pandemic. The goal was to explore how Zomato could expand into the Portuguese food-delivery market through a tailored strategy, evaluating whether to maintain a single global app or develop a new localized brand and service concept — a study that later led to the creation of DIG-IN in Portugal.

Zomato — Food delivery market strategy
Challenges
01

Local market adaptation: the global Zomato brand needed to align with Portuguese consumer expectations, cultural cues and competitive dynamics.

02

Engagement & differentiation: the existing offering lacked a strong localized identity and felt generic compared to local competitors.

03

CX/service gaps: fragmentation in journey, unclear value proposition for users, and weak brand positioning.

04

Internal alignment: stakeholders across business, tech, marketing and operations needed to collaborate on the repositioning strategy quickly.

Desk Research

We conducted a comprehensive desk research phase focused on understanding the Portuguese food delivery and restaurant ecosystem and its market potential after the pandemic:

Competitive Analysis
Benchmarked local and global delivery platforms to identify best practices in UX, service design, and loyalty/engagement features.
Market Trends
Analyzed shifts in digital ordering habits, post-pandemic growth of delivery services, and evolving customer expectations around convenience, local cuisine, and community.
Brand Positioning
Audited Zomato's presence and perception in Portugal, mapping opportunities for repositioning the brand under a new, more local and relatable identity.
Approach & Methodology

The project followed a service and business design process, combining research, co-creation, and strategic definition to guide Zomato's repositioning in the Portuguese market:

1
Stakeholder Workshops
We conducted sessions to align on business objectives, define success metrics (KPIs), and co-create the strategic vision for the service.
2
Qualitative Research
Carried out one-to-one interviews with users and partners to uncover needs, behaviors, and pain points.
3
Personas & Journeys
Developed detailed personas and customer journey maps to visualize motivations, frustrations, and expectations across the full user experience.
4
Insight Synthesis
Analyzed research findings to identify behavioral patterns, key insights, and opportunity areas for the brand and service.
5
Repositioning Strategy
Created a new strategic direction — including naming, brand identity, UX improvements, and gamified engagement features in the platform.
6
Future State Design & Execution
Defined actionable future features and service touchpoints aligned with user expectations and business goals, providing recommendations for UI/UX, content, and omnichannel communication to support the rollout of the new DIG-IN Portugal identity.
Zomato — Research and co-design sessions
Key Insights
Restaurant Connect & Experience
Users appreciate quality dining above all — restaurant discovery and content quality. The platform's curated reviews and photos are seen as a valuable differentiator in the market.
Communication & Clarity
The Zomato-restaurant connection was a communication nexus to convey a new value proposition: social hub evolution led to unclear positioning about purpose and focus.
Interaction & Community
Trust in the service first came from food and restaurant criticism. Users experienced a need for a renewed sense of community and engagement within the platform.
Brand Perception & Positioning
Zomato sustained a strong local identity in Portugal. These action networks fit post-connected with local culture — expanding the new DIG-IN brand positioning.
Opportunities for Growth
Service innovation that ensures authenticity, values, and local impact, forging partnerships into the creative industry as a positioning service guarantee.
Zomato — User research findings
Behavioral Personas
Zomato — Persona mapping
HMW Questions and Idea Creation
Zomato — Service design framework
Digital Product
Zomato — Brand repositioning strategy
New Brand Positioning
Results
New identity and positioning
The project led to the creation of DIG-IN Portugal, a localized evolution of Zomato's food delivery. The new name and identity reconnected the service with Portuguese cuisine, traditions and community.
User-centered experience redesign
The app experience was reimagined to prioritize the features most valued by users: affordable eating, food variety, and tapping into authentic, curated options.
Improved communication and interactivity
The new strategy enriched the brand's social experience, emotional connect, and editorial direction through engaging features and creative narrative strategies.
Feature prioritization and innovation
Future state design introduced actionable new features based on user insights — including enhanced search, voice options, social sharing, and curated dining experiences.
Reconnection with roots and recommenders
The new experience helped restore engagement and trust, positioning the platform as a champion partner for both restaurants and consumers.
Strategic impact
DIG-IN simplified Zomato's presence as a standalone brand focused solely on delivery, aligning services and responsibilities to match expectations within the Portuguese market.
Key Numbers
250+
monthly meals — DIG-IN quickly established as a leading platform
+6.1%
CAGR growth (FY2021-25) reaching 100M+ users globally
80%
retention rate driven by improved UI and local engagement
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