ByteDance’s video app Douyin weighs expanded food delivery in more cities to take on Meituan and Alibaba

Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, is looking at expanding its food delivery trial to more cities but says it has no timeline for a national roll-out

95 per cent of the food delivery market is controlled by Meituan and Alibaba’s Ele.me, giving ByteDance’s short video app an uphill battle

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A Meituan Dianping delivery driver (front) and an Ele.me delivery driver (back) sit on standby in Shenzhen’s Futian district. The two delivery providers control a combined 95 per cent of the market, but rival ByteDance is looking to grab a slice of the market through its short video app Douyin. Photo: SCMP / Roy Issa

Published: 7:30pm, 7 Feb 2023

ByteDance’s short video app Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, plans to offer its food delivery service in more Chinese cities, expanding an existing trial in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, a company representative said on Tuesday.

If the plan goes ahead, Douyin could stand to become a powerful new challenger in a market dominated by Meituan and its rival Ele.me, a service owned by Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post.

Chinese media reports circulating online on Tuesday said the service, the Chinese name of which roughly translates as “group-purchased goods delivery”, would expand to the rest of China next month. A Douyin representative said “there is no specific timetable”, but confirmed the company “is considering expanding the pilot cities”.

Douyin made its first foray into food delivery last year in the three cities. Shanghai’s economy was hit especially hard in 2022 during a resurgence in Covid-19 cases in the spring.

Users in the trial cities were able to order takeaway by accessing an option added to Douyin channels.

Expansion plans suggest the new food delivery service may be gaining more traction than “Xindong Waimai”, a similar service ByteDance tested in 2021 as a mini program that opened within Douyin. The company eventually opted not to roll it out more broadly.

Last August, Douyin also formed a partnership with Ele.me, allowing the short video app’s 600 million daily active users to order meals via a mini program for Alibaba’s delivery service.

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