. While one mega $1.5 billion deal for one of the country’s leading food delivery platforms Meituan Dianping skewed the data, a 60% increase in the number of deals confirms the sector’s growth.
China is also often a testbed for new technologies. Much like how many African countries leapfrogged the telephone landline and went straight to mobile, there are elements of China’s agrifood industry that are so behind the West that new technologies could be brought to bear rapidly, drastically improving how the industry functions.
At the same time, however, and a relatively new development in China, is the rise of technology targeting China’s lower-income population. Emerging innovators are targeting low-income consumers looking for bargain food options and services and are finding success in lower-tier cities. The opportunities now getting investors’ and entrepreneurs’ attention include consumer products that meet the lifestyles of lower-income cohorts and areas where data can be leveraged and technology can be scaled.
This expansion model, built on evolution and aggregation, has made its way to food where Alibaba now encompasses e-grocery, restaurant marketplaces, food services, in-store restaurant tech, supply chain logistics, to name a few. Alibaba tried to keep up with its rivals by, a restaurant marketplace, for $9.5 billion last year. Compare that to Europe where the five highest value food delivery platforms had a combined value of around $25 billion towards the end of last year.
Elsewhere, Meiweibuyongdeng is a mobile app that allows diners to reduce restaurant waiting time and at the same time helps restaurants better manage customer traffic. It closed a Series D from online travel agency Ctrip and Alibaba. Today, the food safety issues that most impact China are excessive levels of food additives and agricultural chemicals and microbial contamination. These are also the top three food safety violations, according to. China uses far more fertilizers and pesticides than any country, and the overuse of these chemicals has led to chronic health effects and rising medical costs.
Im china get in those cheeks
Good read.