Meituan Launches Food Delivery Service Keeta in Saudi Arabia

After tasting success by starting its operations in Hong Kong in May last year, China’s food delivery giant Meituan has announced the launch of its new overseas food ordering and delivery service KeeTa in Al Kharj city in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

The Arabic version of KeeTa’s mobile app was made available in the morning and KeeTa is also recruiting merchants and riders, in addition to human resources, public relations and legal jobs.

Initially serving the Mong Kok and Tai Kok Tsui districts, it gradually expanded its reach to include Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, and the New Territories. As of October 25, KeeTa achieved full coverage across Hong Kong.

Data released by the local market research firm Measurable AI in May this year showed that KeeTa had secured around 44% market share in terms of order volume, making it the top food delivery platform in Hong Kong after surpassing London-based Deliveroo and Berlin-based Foodpanda in order numbers in the first quarter of 2024.

Meituan also reported a revenue of $11.55 billion for the second quarter of 2024, reflecting a 21% growth from the previous year. The adjusted net profit was $1.91 billion, marking a 77.6% increase year-on-year.

In terms of business performance, during the second quarter of 2024, Meituan‘s core local business revenue grew by 18.5% year-on-year to reach $8.53 billion. Operating profit increased by 36.8% year-on-year to $2.13 billion, leading to an operating profit margin of 25.1% for the quarter, a year-on-year increase of 3.3 percentage points.

Keeta is offering free delivery for orders valued $6.66, as well as nearly 70% off discounts on select combo meals. The delivery time is usually within 30 minutes and customers can also pick up their meals from restaurants, according to an in-app announcement.

Meituan said in June that the success in Hong Kong significantly boosted its confidence in further overseas expansion and it is proactively evaluating the potential of heading for countries in the Middle East.

But Meituan won’t blindly pour money into overseas businesses and will maintain financial self-discipline during the process, the company added.

Intense Competition

However, the plans to repeat Hong Kong’s success in the Kingdom is not easy as local food delivery service providers such as Jahez, Talabat and Foodpanda’s sibling Hungerstation have already operating in the market.

Speaking on the post-earnings call a fortnight ago, Meituan’s founder and Chief Executive Wang Xing said that the company was still in the early stage of overseas expansion and would continue evaluating opportunities in different regions, adding that the overseas market is the right long-term strategy for Meituan.

According to data provider Statista, Saudi Arabia’s online food delivery market is expected to reach $11.74 billion this year, and grow at an annual rate of 5.2% to reach $15.13 billion by 2029.