China's booming food delivery industry, from niche service to multibillion-dollar sector
Date
1/19/2025 3:58:58 AM
(MENAFN) The sight of electric bike riders in bright yellow or blue uniforms swerving among automobiles and pedestrians with food bags attached to their bicycles is a familiar sight when strolling through the streets of practically any Chinese metropolis.
They are delivery workers, the backbone of China's new urban life, and the largest online food delivery market in the world. This multibillion-dollar sector has transformed how millions of people work and eat, starting as a niche service.
A quick look at the numbers reveals astounding growth. The internet food delivery business in China started in 2008 when a group of Shanghai college students introduced the service on campus. By 2023, 545 million Chinese had ordered food online, and that number continues to rise.
Today, 56,000 internet food orders are delivered every minute in China. More than 30% of customers have placed five to ten food delivery orders per week, per a survey conducted last year by data analysis company iiMedia Research.
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