From Mexico to Brazil, from Japan to Africa, Didi’s food delivery business is expanding at an astonishing rate, with an average daily order volume of more than 3 million orders in Latin America. This article will provide an in-depth analysis of how Didi stands out in the global food delivery market with the ecological closed loop of “travel + delivery + payment”, and how it copes with challenges and explores the output path of the Chinese model in the era of globalization 2.0 in the face of competition from local giants and Chinese counterparts.
In the battle for takeaway, the domestic Taobao JD.com Meituan is hot. As everyone knows, Didi, which is firmly in the top spot in China’s online car-hailing market, has been secretly happy for a long time after marrying overseas.
Didi’s food delivery business continues to expand in markets such as Mexico, Brazil, and Japan. In 2023, DiDi’s food delivery platform DiDi Food will exceed 3 million orders per day in Latin America, becoming a strong competitor to Uber Eats. From travel to takeaway, how does Didi take this key step? The underlying logic of its overseas expansion is worth digging deeper.
1. Why can Didi succeed?
We say, if you want to do something, you have to have bothGreat chanceandVery small cost.
From “Chinese experience” to “Latin American adaptation”, Didi Nengcheng first reflects a deep understanding and flexible adjustment of the local market in these three things.
1. Traffic culture
Motorcycle culture is prevalent in Latin America, and public transportation is weak. Didi launched the online motorcycle service 99Moto in Brazil, which not only meets the needs of users for short-distance travel, but also reserves capacity for takeaway delivery. Since its launch in 2022, the number of two-wheeled vehicle orders has exceeded 1 billion, and the delivery time is 30% faster than that of four-wheeled vehicles.
2. Immigrant workforce
After 10 years of interaction design, why did I transfer to product manager?
After the real job transfer, I found that many jobs were still beyond my imagination. The work of a product manager is indeed more complicated. Theoretically, the work of a product manager includes all aspects of the product, from market research, user research, data analysis…
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For example, Venezuelan immigrants earn three times the salary of their own country as a rider in Brazil, and Didi has attracted more than 200,000 immigrants to join the distribution network by simplifying the registration process and providing a flexible order-taking mechanism.
3. Sink dislocation race
In Mexico, avoid head-to-head confrontation with Uber Eats in first-tier cities and focus on small and medium-sized cities. Through strategies such as reducing meal prices (average price less than $10) and free delivery fees, it has covered 60 cities within five years, with a market share of more than 50%. A similar strategy is being replicated in Brazil, targeting lower-tier cities where iFood has not penetrated.
2. From travel to takeaway: Didi’s “three trump cards”
From “Chinese experience” to “Latin American adaptation”, Didi’s overseas food delivery is not simply copying the model of domestic tens of billions of subsidies, but relying on the natural advantages of its global travel network.Form an ecological closed loop of “travel + distribution + payment”.
Ace 1: Travel network “part-time delivery”: a killer feature for reducing costs and increasing efficiency
In the Latin American market, Didi has integrated motorcycles, bicycles, etc. through the acquisition of Brazilian ride-hailing platform 99Two wheels of capacity resources。 These drivers, who were originally used to carry passengers, can switch to takeaway delivery at any time according to their needs.
Unlike professional delivery platforms that rely on full-time riders, DiDi Food’sThe main force of delivery is online car-hailing drivers。 For example, in Brazil, Didi’s 99 platform has 1.5 million drivers, of which 700,000 are motorcycle riders, and they can still be there“Trough period of travel demand (e.g. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.)”, flexibly take orders and deliver food through the App, passThis dynamic allocation of “one vehicle and two uses” capacity resources not only reduces distribution costs, but also reduces the driver’s empty driving rate from 40% to 15%The rider’s income has also increased by 20%-30%.
In São Paulo, Brazil, a driver delivers an average of 12 takeaways per day, which is equivalent to an increase of about 50 yuan in income.
Ace 2: intelligent subsidies + precise operation
The market is there, and the technology is in place.
Didi’s takeaway business breakthrough is inseparable from the in-depth application of cutting-edge technologies such as causal inference and Uplift model by its technical team. Relying on the huge domestic data accumulation, the domestic polishing and mature “Five AI Scheduling Models”Transplant overseas:
- Path Optimization: Combine multiple orders in the same area to increase the efficiency of bicycle distribution by 30%; Its navigation system can optimize routes according to the traffic congestion characteristics of Latin American cities.The distribution efficiency is more than 20% higher than that of local platforms
- Differentiated subsidies:In Mexico, precise reach is achieved through user segmentation (e.g., “subsidy-sensitive” and “organic conversion”). For example, targeted discount coupons are issued to price-sensitive users, while delivery fee free benefits are provided to high-frequency users. This strategy makes Didi subsidized in Mexico40% increase in ROI and 25% increase in retention
- Incremental Estimation Model:The Uplift model developed by Didi can predict the incremental orders brought about by subsidies and avoid “invalid subsidies”. For example, the model found that users in third- and fourth-tier cities in Mexico are more sensitive to delivery fees, so free delivery is the main strategy in the sinking market.Successfully seized more than 50% of the share of small and medium-sized cities
- Anti-fraud system: The credit card fraud rate in Latin America is as high as 15%, and Didi analyzes user behaviorBlock 90% of abnormal orders
- Antitrust Opportunities:In the face of the “choose one of the two” suppression by Brazil’s local giant iFood, it identifies coerced merchants through technical means and provides exclusive traffic support. At the same time, using the platform data to mine local small and medium-sized catering merchants that are not covered by iFood,The number of cooperative merchants increased by 300% in 2 years
Ace 3: Localization Alliance + Leverage Strength
When JD.com chose to face the tough Meituan, Didi chose to avoid confronting local giants head-on.
Instead, open the market through cooperation:
For example, in Mexico, Brazil and other markets, digital wallet services (such as 99Pay) have been launched, which support payment, bill payment and other functions.Form a closed loop of “ride-ordering-payment”。
In Mexico, Didi has become the only platform that provides travel, takeaway and financial services at the same time, covering 16 million monthly active users, and users can enjoy taxi and takeaway discounts at the same time through the membership systemEcological collaboration makes it difficult for single-function food delivery platforms to compete。
Other countries:
- In Africa: Cooperate with the e-commerce platform Jumia to share merchant resources;
- In Japan: Access to convenience store systems such as Lawson and FamilyMart, focusing on 24-hour instant delivery;
- In Brazil: United street food vendors launched the “National Package”, reducing the unit price by 40% and increasing the repurchase rate by 3 times.
3. Challenges and the future: the rules of survival under the encirclement and suppression of giants
Despite its remarkable achievements, Didi’s overseas food delivery business still faces multiple challenges.
1. The counterattack of local giants
Brazil’s iFood occupies 80% of the market share and consolidates barriers through “choosing one of the two”. In March 2025, the iFood rider strike exposed its labor conflicts, and Didi took the opportunity to launch a rider protection plan, but it still needs to solve the problem of high delivery costs in the long run.
2. The pursuit of Chinese counterparts
Meituan plans to enter Brazil through the Keeta brand, and its head Qiu Guangyu was a former executive of Didi’s international business and is well versed in the Latin American market. Didi needs to be wary of the double attack of “local giants + Chinese counterparts”.
3. Policy and cultural complexity
Brazil’s tax system is cumbersome and the trade unions are powerful. Didi’s successful flexible employment model in Mexico may face legal risks in Brazil. In addition, traditional food ordering methods such as WhatsApp still account for 20% of the Brazilian food delivery market, and digital penetration will still take time.
Summary|China’s model output in the era of globalization 2.0
Didi’s overseas takeaway breakthrough marks the upgrade of Chinese Internet companies from “model copying” to “ecological output”.
The core implications are:
- Ecological synergy is better than single-point breakthrough: The deep integration of travel network and local life services forms a moat.
- Technological dividends cross national borders: The algorithm and data experience of the Chinese market have become the key weapons of global competition.
- Localization is not a slogan but a system project: From capacity structure to payment habits, a complete adaptation system needs to be built.
In the future, with the extension of new formats such as instant retail and community group buying, Didi may create a “Meituan-style” super platform overseas.But the core of food delivery is still the word “delivery”。 In the future, who can make the word “send” to the extreme, that is the iron moat. Whether the current gunpowder smoke is snatched by anyone else, or the smoke bomb of the era of all things, let’s wait and see.
