CHINA’S INTERNET COMPANIES GET COOKING (PART 1) – MEITUAN & PUPU

As Ed winds down his contribution to Tech Buzz China this quarter, he has a few more reports in the pipeline to share.

Last year, all eyes were fixed on the meal delivery war between JD, Alibaba and Meituan. But while the biggest battle raged on the demand side, with over RMB 100 billion in consumer discounts collectively handed out, things were also stirring on the supply side.

In 2025, Meituan formally launched Raccoon Canteen, a ‘food court’ meets ‘dark kitchen’ format where merchants can prepare dishes and have them delivered by Meituan. In the summer, JD followed with 7Fresh Kitchen, an initiative in which JD actually operates the kitchens and delivers through its own platform and those of its competitors. JD also began opening public JD Food Malls.

Meanwhile, in southern China, Pupu Supermarkets, a major player in the front-end warehouse format of the instant retail market, also began opening its own kitchens.

This two-part report has been simmering for a few months, but it was temporarily put on ice due to other, more time-sensitive topics. But now the delivery war has calmed down, and the Chinese government made it clear it won’t tolerate ‘involution’ in the sector, it’s high time to share these insights with you.

In the first part of this report, we will provide an overview of Pupu's and Meituan's initiatives. Next week, we will continue with a thorough explanation and assessment of JD’s 7Fresh Kitchen and how it compares to Raccoon Kitchen.

The information in these reports is drawn from more than 10 expert interviews and over 20 articles from the Chinese tech and business media.