[Big read] As Asia’s food delivery giants rejig the pie, who will win the market?

(Edited and refined by Bai Kelei, with the assistance of AI translation.)

A meal may take only 30 minutes to reach a consumer, but food delivery platforms across Asia and around the world have spent over a decade waging a war for this business segment.

Food delivery giant Delivery Hero once expanded aggressively in Asia. While Singaporeans may not immediately recognise the German company’s corporate name, many have ordered through its foodpanda app.

Headquartered in Germany, the company built a vast delivery empire across multiple Asia-Pacific markets by devouring more than ten regional platforms in a series of acquisitions.

However, more than a decade on, the delivery giant that once bought up rivals has turned from buyer to seller.

Delivery Hero has exited several markets and sold off businesses in recent years. In July, Uber made an acquisition offer of about US$14.8 billion for the company.

Several business consolidation deals have emerged in the Asia-Pacific food delivery market this year. In March, UK company Deliveroo announced that it would withdraw from Singapore and Qatar, after having ended its operations in Hong Kong earlier. At around the same time, Singapore e-commerce giant Grab announced its entry into the East Asian market with a proposal to acquire foodpanda’s Taiwan business.

Diverging fortunes among delivery giants

Financial results show diverging performances among Asia-Pacific delivery giants. Grab’s delivery business recorded robust growth in the second quarter of 2026, with revenue rising 21% year-on-year to US$531 million, while gross merchandise value (GMV) increased by 22%.

China’s Meituan, meanwhile, reported growth and improved profitability. Its second-quarter group revenue for 2026 rose 14.4% year-on-year to 104.6 billion RMB (US$15.6 billion), while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 47.3% to 4.1 billion RMB. Its overseas business arm, Keeta, has achieved stable profitability in Hong Kong, while efficiency in the Middle East market continues to improve.

In contrast, Delivery Hero’s Asia-Pacific business is under pressure. GMV in the group’s largest market fell 6.2% year-on-year, making it the only region in the group to record a decline, while adjusted EBITDA dropped 15.9%. The company attributed this to investment in expanding delivery logistics, subscription programmes and ensuring rider supply, as well as adverse exchange rates.

Anuran Dhar, practice head for Foodservice, Wisdom Sectors, and Agribusiness at consultancy firm GlobalData told Lianhe Zaobao (LHZB) that food delivery has moved beyond the rapid growth seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, and market priorities have shifted accordingly.

He said, “Investors now want clearer paths to profitability and stronger cash-flow management. They also want platforms to stop relying on subsidies to compete aggressively for market share.”

Peter Backman, founder of food delivery consultancy theDelivery.World, noted a pattern in the recent wave of deals and exits in the Asia-Pacific market: almost every platform exiting a market ranked second or third. He explained, “In this business, second place does not earn its cost of capital.”

Density and consumer habits shape margins

However, food delivery markets vary greatly in their levels of development. Momentum Works, which has long tracked the regional e-commerce market, estimated that South Korea’s food delivery market reached US$28.3 billion in GMV in 2025. By comparison, the ASEAN market was worth US$22.7 billion, despite having more than 13 times South Korea’s population.

Whether a market can achieve sufficient scale to support profitability cannot be judged solely by population size or economic development. For instance, Japan is also a developed East Asian economy and has about twice South Korea’s population, yet its food delivery market’s GMV is only around one-seventh of South Korea’s. Many business observers attribute this to Japan’s highly convenient network of convenience stores.

Profit margins also vary between delivery platforms. GlobalData’s Dhar said margins are improving in densely populated, mature cities in Asia-Pacific as platforms reduce discounts, improve rider efficiency and develop new revenue streams such as advertising and fresh grocery delivery. Even so, food delivery remains a low-margin business in many markets.

For markets without a viable path to scale or sustainable margins, exiting is an option. For example, foodpanda pulled out of Thailand in 2025 after operating there for 13 years.

Damien Yeo, a senior consumer and retail analyst at BMI, a market research firm under Fitch Solutions, noted that the model of reducing discounts and expanding revenue streams has worked in some markets, but profitability remains unstable in many others.

Mainland China has repeatedly seen food-delivery-price subsidy wars, while business performance in markets such as Hong Kong has remained volatile. This shows that profit margins can be rapidly squeezed when competition intensifies.

Yeo shared that when well-funded competitors return to growth mode, margins can deteriorate rapidly. He said, “While order density can improve margins, they remain vulnerable whenever competitors resume heavy subsidies.”

Super-app ecosystems versus pure-play platforms

As competition in food delivery intensifies, one common feature among giants such as Grab, Meituan and Uber is that food delivery forms only one part of a broader ecosystem. Besides meal deliveries, these super apps also offer functions like ride-hailing and financial services.

GlobalData’s Dhar highlighted that companies that can link food delivery to other services have a clear advantage because they can spread customer acquisition costs across multiple services and increase usage frequency.

However, theDelivery.World’s Backman believes the importance of the super-app ecosystem may be overstated. For example, deliveries account for about 53% of Grab’s revenue and are also its main source of profit. He said, “Food delivery is a profit centre, not a business that needs to be subsidised by other operations.”

Backman also provided data to show that Talabat, the Middle Eastern platform focused on food delivery, is the platform with the strongest margins. He said, “This shows that platforms focusing solely on food delivery are not necessarily at a disadvantage.”

But he added that the real advantage of a business ecosystem lies in its ability to absorb losses. For instance, food delivery accounts for only about 8% of Alibaba’s group revenue. This means that even if the unit incurs sustained losses in its fight for market share, the group’s other businesses can provide sufficient support.

Groceries emerge as next growth frontier

Food delivery platforms interviewed said grocery delivery would be the next growth driver for their businesses.

Giuseppe Randazzo, chief international officer for Delivery Hero’s foodpanda, foodora and Yemeksepeti platforms, told LHZB that in mature markets such as Singapore, where food delivery penetration is already relatively high, the company’s next priority is to deepen customer engagement with its platforms. In this aspect, grocery and retail both offer significant growth opportunities.

He shared, “We are already seeing consumer behaviour in grocery delivery shifting from emergency top-ups towards more planned shopping.”

Foodpanda data on its Singapore business show that the monthly frequency of grocery orders has risen by about 7% since 2023. Between 2024 and 2025, the average number of items in each order also increased by 8%.

Across the Delivery Hero group as a whole, customers who ordered both food delivery and quick commerce services accounted for more than half of its total GMV in the first quarter of this year.

Meanwhile, Grab said it is working with supermarket chains to expand its fresh grocery business, GrabMart. A spokesperson said GrabMart grew 1.7 times faster than food delivery this quarter.

Why Chinese platforms tread cautiously overseas

Chinese giants have a major influence on Southeast Asia’s e-commerce. Recently, a number of shopping platforms, including Pinduoduo, have promoted free shipping for even single-item purchases to entice Singapore consumers, intensifying market competition.

However, food delivery companies including Meituan have shown no sign of expanding into the region. BMI’s Yeo explained that shopping platforms are highly transferable, while food delivery platforms are harder to scale.

He said, “Chinese e-commerce platforms can leverage Chinese supply chains and digital marketing capabilities to strategically acquire price-sensitive consumers. But food delivery requires city-by-city rider recruitment, merchant acquisition, dispatch optimisation, support for local payment methods, customer support and regulatory compliance.”

Data cited by Momentum Works CEO Li Jianggan show that there are no longer many obvious gaps in Southeast Asia’s food delivery market. Grab held about 55% of the market in 2025, while ShopeeFood overtook foodpanda to become the second-largest platform. Li added, “Entering the region now means taking market share from existing giants in several countries, and this usually requires substantial upfront subsidies.”

Yeo said that while densely populated and high-income urban areas in the region offer opportunities for Chinese firms such as Meituan, the cost of entry is high. This is why the company prioritised Hong Kong. He shared, “Given their population density, order values and competitive openings, such markets may offer clearer returns on investment than a broad expansion into Southeast Asia.”

Li said Meituan’s immediate priority is to improve its existing overseas operations rather than rush into new markets. He said, “Southeast Asia is possible, just not an obvious or cheap next move.”

Grab’s strategic expansion into Taiwan

In March, Grab announced its entry into East Asia, offering US$600 million in cash to acquire foodpanda’s Taiwan business.

Grab co-founder and CEO Anthony Tan said at the time that the company’s experience in Southeast Asia was highly compatible with the Taiwan market. He said, “Our longstanding expertise in managing complex delivery logistics in dense and high-traffic cities is well-suited for Taiwan’s bustling cities.”

Momentum Works’ Li said the deal would bring significant economic benefits to Grab. The company expects the business to contribute at least US$60 million in adjusted EBITDA by 2028.

He opined that if the deal succeeds, it would demonstrate that elements of Grab’s operating model can be extended beyond Southeast Asia. However, given the highly local nature of food delivery, Grab may pursue selective acquisition opportunities instead of a greenfield expansion across East Asia.

Regulatory hurdles and monopoly concerns

The proposal later triggered a strong backlash in Taiwan as Uber Eats, owned by Uber, is Taiwan’s other major food delivery platform, and Uber also holds a stake in Grab. This raised questions over whether the transaction would effectively create a monopoly.

Although Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi subsequently stepped down from Grab’s board of directors to draw a clearer line between the two companies, Taiwanese labour groups still held a major rally to protest against the deal.

Taiwan’s antitrust regulator, the Fair Trade Commission, has announced that it would extend its review of the deal to 27 October. Taiwanese media reported that Tan has visited Taiwan seven times this year, underscoring his commitment to the business.

Uber holds about a 13% stake in Grab, making it the latter’s largest single shareholder. The shares were given to Uber in 2018 after Grab acquired its ride-hailing business in Southeast Asia.

In response to LHZB, Grab said it operates independently and that Tan has majority voting control. “This means all strategic decisions are made independently by Grab’s Singapore leadership. Uber has no operational control over Grab and influence over its strategy.”

The company also stressed that Taiwan offers strong market opportunities and said it is currently focused on engaging the authorities to address their concerns over the transaction.

Previously, Uber Eats attempted to acquire foodpanda’s Taiwan business, but the deal failed after it was ruled to constitute a monopoly. Analysts said that although Grab’s proposed transaction may be more likely to secure approval, Uber’s shareholding means the process will not be smooth.

Momentum Works’ Li said the deal’s eventual approval would depend heavily on whether the authorities believe appropriate safeguards or remedies can address the monopoly concern.

BMI’s Yeo said the deal would allow Grab to scale up quickly through foodpanda’s established network without having to spend heavily to build from scratch. He added, “However, Taiwan differs from Southeast Asia institutionally and in its competitive landscape. Its antitrust posture is also stronger.”

The shareholding link between Grab and Uber affects more than the Taiwan deal. If Uber’s proposed acquisition of Delivery Hero is approved, the latter’s businesses in 50 markets, including Singapore, would come under Uber.

Li noted that Uber and Grab have a special relationship beyond their shareholding link. Following Grab’s acquisition of Uber’s Southeast Asian business in 2018, the two companies entered into a non-compete agreement. But if Uber is ultimately able to operate in the region, it would mark its return to Southeast Asia’s food delivery market after nearly ten years.

Unlike in other regions, where Uber can generate synergies by combining transport, delivery and retail, it does not have such an effect in Southeast Asia.

Li said, “At the same time, Uber would once again compete directly with Grab while remaining a major Grab shareholder. This structure could draw close scrutiny from regulators in the region.”

On Uber’s proposed deal for Delivery Hero, Randazzo said there is a series of offer procedures and regulatory approvals to go through, so it is too early to assess the impact on individual markets. “For foodpanda, our priority remains on serving customers, supporting merchants and delivery partners, and strengthening our business in each market.”

Shrinking options and rising merchant risks

Concerns over possible monopolies in food delivery have also surfaced in Singapore.

In response to a parliamentary question, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said in April that the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore has been closely monitoring the food delivery market for anti-competitive conduct following Deliveroo’s exit. So far, it has not found any systematic change in commissions or fees.

Backman from theDelivery.World said Asian food delivery markets are already highly concentrated. The top two platforms in mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore account for about 80% of each market. With Deliveroo’s exit, Singapore is among a small number of markets where consumers end up with fewer food delivery options.

He added that mergers and acquisitions could also weaken the bargaining power of food and beverage merchants. He said, “Each deal cuts the number of platforms a restaurant can choose from, and competition between platforms is the only real check on commission levels.”

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “外卖平台大洗牌 谁能送餐到最后？”.

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