Didi Tests Food Delivery Business in Chinese Market Again

It is reported by Tech Planet on Tuesday that the catering service project “Satisfying Gaifan”(满足盖饭) by mobile transportation platform Didi has undergone further tests. The business was reportedly started in 2020, and is currently being tested in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin after recently changing its name to “Aoao Dining”(嗷嗷吃饭). 

According to the report, after verification, the previous and current shareholders and supervisors of Beijing Satisfying Catering Co., Ltd., the main company behind Aoao Dining, are all people from Didi’s Human Resources Department. People familiar with the matter said Didi plans to use this domestic business model for overseas food delivery services in the future.

“Aoao Dining,” formerly named “Satisfying Gaifan,” has been piloted in some areas of Tianjin since mid-2020, covering two universities in the city. It can be seen so far that the main users of the service are young people.

At present, there are more than 30 partners of Aoao Dining, and seven brands have been set up to operate independently to meet the needs of users with different tastes.

The ordering process is mainly carried out on WeChat. First of all, users need to follow the service’s official account, then enter the mini program and click “Order Now.” After selecting the food, users can pay the order online, and choose either to eat in the restaurant or get the food delivered.

Different from most other food delivery platforms on the market, the delivery service of Aoao Dining is provided for free, which is also currently the main feature of this platform, providing 30-45 minute short-distance delivery services.

In addition, a relatively complete supply and platform system have been initially formed. Didi has launched a tool that can monitor food inventory in real time, customize order taking and store operations for merchants, and a tool for merchant cooperation and maintenance tools used by managers. 

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It is worth noting that this is not the first time Didi has launched a food delivery service. In 2017, Didi launched Didi Food to compete fiercely with local internet services platform Meituan. But in early 2019, in order to focus on its most important travel business at the time, it chose to continue increasing investment in safety and efficiency. The company then decided to shut down its food delivery business in the domestic market and only keep overseas business.

Affected by the pandemic in 2020, the food delivery market increased to 664.62 billion yuan ($103.9 billion), a year-on-year increase of 15%. As for the catering market, according to the data of market research provider AskCI Consulting, it is estimated that the market scale of China’s catering service industry will further increase to 4,698.4 billion yuan in 2021.