Campaign Concept
"If I were running their next big campaign — here's exactly what I'd pitch."
01
Every city in India has a dish that defines it. Not the tourist version — the real one. The one locals grew up eating, the one that hits different at 2am, the one no outsider quite gets. Bangalore's filter coffee debate. Mumbai's vada pav corner. Delhi's chole bhature loyalties. Hyderabad's biryani wars.
Zomato already owns food delivery in India. This campaign is about owning something bigger — Indian food culture and the identity tied to it. City pride is one of the most powerful emotions on the internet, and food is one of the most powerful expressions of that pride.
"Every city has a dish. Zomato delivers the story."
02
Each platform plays a different role in the campaign ecosystem — together they create a full-funnel conversation that moves from awareness to community to conversion.
Instagram Reels
City-by-city short reels featuring real locals — not influencers — talking about their city's most iconic dish and the restaurant behind it. Raw, authentic, emotionally resonant. The kind of content people save and share.
X
City polls, hot takes and deliberately controversial questions — "Delhi biryani vs Hyderabadi biryani, settle it." Zomato drops the match, watches India argue. The brand just sits back and wins. Very on-brand for Zomato's witty, internet-native voice.
Threads on r/india, r/bangalore, r/mumbai, r/delhi asking "What's the one dish that defines your city?" Let the internet do what it does best — argue passionately. Zomato occasionally drops in with a witty comment. Organic, zero-cost, massive reach.
UGC
People tag their city's dish using a campaign hashtag. The best ones get featured on Zomato's page. Turns every customer into a content creator — and every city into a participant. The campaign grows itself.
03
The Local's Cut
30-60 second reels of real locals — students, uncles, auto drivers — explaining their city's iconic dish in their own words. No script, no influencer. Just genuine opinions and food memories.
City vs City
Weekly X polls pitting two cities against each other on a food question. Simple, shareable, drives massive engagement. "Pune misal pav vs Mumbai misal pav — who wins?" India will fight about it for days.
Reddit Drops
Organic-feeling threads posted on city subreddits asking people about their food identity. Zomato doesn't need to be front and centre — the conversation itself is the campaign.
The Zomato List
At the campaign's peak, Zomato drops "India's Most Iconic Dishes by City" — a crowd-sourced list based on all the UGC and engagement. Shareable, PR-worthy, drives app opens and orders.
04
City Pride = Shareability
People will share anything that celebrates their city. This campaign gives them a reason to tag their friends, their city groups, their food-obsessed family chats.
Organic UGC Machine
The campaign structure is designed to generate content without Zomato having to create all of it. Users, Reddit threads and X debates do the heavy lifting.
On-Brand Voice
Zomato has always thrived on internet culture, wit and relatability. This campaign sits perfectly in that tradition — it's smart, local and culturally aware.
Drives Real Orders
Every city spotlight is a direct push to order from that city's iconic restaurants. Awareness converts to appetite, appetite converts to orders.
PR Worthy
The "Most Iconic Dishes by City" list at the end of the campaign is inherently newsworthy — food media, city pages and local news will cover it organically.
Scalable
Start with 5 cities, expand to 20. Each city gets its moment, its story and its spotlight. The campaign can run indefinitely without feeling repetitive.
The best campaigns don't feel like campaigns. They feel like conversations. Apna Khana, Apna Sheher is designed to feel like India talking about food — Zomato just happens to be hosting the conversation.
05
Zomato doesn't need to convince India that food matters — India already knows. What this campaign does is give people a reason to feel proud of their city's food identity and connect that pride to Zomato. That's brand love, not just brand awareness.
The hyperlocal angle also solves a real business problem — getting people to discover and order from local restaurants, not just the big chains. Every city story is an invitation to explore.
The one-liner pitch
"Every city has a dish. Every dish has a story. Zomato delivers both."