There’s something that must be fascinating about health for Zomato founders.
Zomato co-founder Pankaj Chaddah was said to have started a personalized wellness solutions startup called Shyft in 2019. Another co-founder Gaurav Gupta launched a HealthTech startup called Gabit in early 2024. In March 2024, a HealthTech startup called Ultrahuman had a $35 million funding round, which Zomato CEO & founder Deepinder Goyal participated in.
And in October 2024, it was announced that Deepinder had ventured into HealthTech with a startup called Continue, which was said to have been incorporated in April 2023. Deepinder seemed to have emphasized that the project was funded by him personally. It’s said that the startup seems to be aiming to be the ultimate health tracker and it’s said that the venture may be focusing on areas, like tracking nutrition, monitoring sleep and preventive healthcare. Yet, a lot remains under wraps, when it comes to Continue, though you can find wraps on Zomato.
One of Deepinder’s portfolio companies, Ultrahuman, does focus on metrics, like heart rate, temperature and sleep. But, the focus of Continue may be to become a one-stop shop for health in India. The “how” may be the question.
India’s HealthTech market was said to be valued at close to $11 billion in 2022, but, it still might be in its nascent stages, when it comes to preventive health or lifestyle tracking. Sure, there are fitness-tracking apps connected to your smartwatch or mindfulness platforms and there’s a focus on increasing one’s lifespan by entrepreneurs.
The most prominent entrepreneur focusing on this is US entrepreneur Bryan Johnson. To maintain youth and increase lifespan, Bryan is getting his son’s plasma infused into him. So, Deepinder may not be doing something at that level for health.
Maybe, the focus for Continue would be to merge physical and mental health into one platform. The new strategy for health ventures may have been to be more proactive, rather than reactive.
Zomato seems to be widely accepted by the masses in India. So, a stronger focus on physical health and mental health, where the latter is still shrouded in stigma, might create more awareness and acceptance. But, maybe, the impact of Continue could be negligible: Zomato might fatten someone up and Continue might bring them back to their original weight.
Yet, Zomato’s had some serious success in creating personalized user experiences with recommendations, reviews and order histories. Similarly, could Continue understand your health data, daily routines and goals better? That’s something that might create a stickier user experience. Plus, Zomato seems to have figured out how to be time-sensitive. With Zomato Gold, there was a time when there were guarantees for how much time would be taken to deliver an order. So, they may have cracked the code of developing logistics handling high demand while attempting to minimize wait times. Could that level of operational efficiency be applied, if Continue dabbles in telemedicine and virtual consultation?
The problem with all these wellness tools, apps and platforms may be a lack of social proof. Sure, people can place pictures of super-jacked people as the ultimate aspiration for everyday people, but there might still be some disconnect. Zomato seems to have built a community of users who contribute reviews, ratings and photos, as well as testimonials across social media. Maybe, Continue could build a similar community, where people share reviews about what works for them and what doesn’t, what their progress looks like and create a super-supportive environment.
Or Deepinder could go the gamification route. Zomato seems to have gamified the user experience with yearly awards or badges. Maybe, Continue could do the same with badges or rewards for hitting certain goals or hydration targets or mindfulness sessions. That might give you a serious sense of accomplishment.
Now, the new wave of marketing by delivery platforms has been about using distinctive and personalized messages and notifications. There seem to be crumbs of humour and cultural relevance in each of the notifications or advertisements. Maybe, Continue could have that style of messaging to encourage people to be mindful of their health. That could be an aberration to messages or advertisements that seem overly clinical or cold.
Though, there’s always the worry about data privacy. And it seems like the HealthTech space is becoming increasingly competitive, even while the ecosystem is still not as mature as it could be. But, some other startups and companies have established some footholds in wellness tracking and preventive care. So, Continue might have to be careful in dealing with saturation. But, then again, that didn’t stop Flipkart from being founded when Amazon was already there or Swiggy from being founded when Zomato was already there.
Wellness platforms might be struggling with user retention, as well. To some extent, there’s app fatigue and even if the app is downloaded, people may forget to open it or lose interest and motivation to consistently engage. So, if Continue doesn’t end up delivering long-term value, it might end up being just another entrant in a crowded market.
The niche would keep it “upar”.
There’s, also, the issue of prevention not being given the love that curing does. People might be more inclined to invest in healthcare when they’re unwell, as they could see the immediate benefits. With being proactive, it’s a journey for the long haul. Even Zomato has immediate results within less than an hour when you order. A user might end up forgetting about an app when their initial curiosity wanes or if there are no measurable improvements immediately. So, Continue and other wellness platforms would have to rely on the commitment of the user How vain are we as a people, to need gamification and distractions to take care of ourselves? We seem to have a stronger affinity for immediate gratification.
Though, what does the future look like?
Sure, Continue is, technically, in its larval stages. But, could there come a point where Zomato could acquire Continue, the way it acquired Blinkit? The thought of it might sound funny; after all, Deepinder founded both companies.
If legally, that’s allowed and there’s some manoeuvring that Deepinder has to do, that could be, kind of, cool. It’d be like a mini-Avengers or -Justice League team-up: Zomato, Blinkit and Continue coming together. And as long as this is in compliance with the DPDP, could people’s dietary preferences from Zomato be leveraged to figure out people’s dietary patterns? Accordingly, maybe, Continue could curate some nutritional recommendations. That doesn’t mean that there would be fewer orders on Zomato to hurt its revenue. Maybe, there could be a kind of change in items people order that may be healthier, less oily and not as calorie-dense, which might even mean that people would be more reliant on Zomato to meet their goals on Continue. So, it could help with Zomato revenue. Based on order history from Zomato, could there be hydration reminders, if there’s a sense that a lot of food might be consumed?
Maybe, based on how people are interacting with Continue and if they’re health-conscious, maybe, Zomato might show fewer recommendations that encourage unhealthy eating, while recommending healthier outlets or dishes. And if there’s healthy meal planning by Continue, could it be linked to Blinkit for grocery delivery? What a connection. That creates a straight route from wellness advice to wellness action. There’s, also, a level of cross-promotion there.
So, what do you think? Will Continue be on your phone roster or will you end up discontinuing its future services?
