Meituan's overseas expansion strategy is accelerating. After Keeta seized a significant market share in Saudi Arabia, Meituan is now setting its sights on Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America.

According to media reports, on May 12, Meituan CEO Wang Xing met with Brazilian President Lula and signed a major investment agreement. Under this agreement, Meituan will officially introduce Keeta to the Brazilian market within a few months and plans to invest $1 billion over five years to support the project's development.

This investment will be used to build a national instant delivery network in Brazil, providing not only food delivery services for local users but also comprehensive services and digital operation tools for local partners to support the growth of catering merchants' businesses.

Wang Xing stated at the meeting: "Brazil is a very large market with tremendous potential. Keeta will strive to enhance the consumer experience locally, promote the development of partner restaurants, and create more job opportunities in the region."

Citi research notes that Keeta has exerted significant pressure on competitors through proactive strategies in the Saudi Arabian market, demonstrating the initial effectiveness and potential of its overseas expansion. This may boost investor confidence in Meituan's long-term growth space.

Saudi Market: Keeta Gains Momentum, Competitors Under Pressure

The food delivery market in Saudi Arabia is undergoing a transformation initiated by Chinese technology giants.

In a research report released on May 12, Citi Bank pointed out that Meituan's Keeta app continues to lead in the Saudi download rankings, indicating rapid growth in its user base. This expansion has had a direct impact on existing market participants, particularly smaller companies.

According to the report, the GMV growth of Jahez, the second-largest local food delivery platform in Saudi Arabia, slowed sharply to 9.5% in the first quarter of 2025, far below the previous quarter's 20%. Jahez chose to protect its profit margins rather than respond to competition with aggressive discounts, resulting in an order growth rate of only 7%.

Meanwhile, HungerStation, the market leader under Delivery Hero, still achieved 20% order growth in the first quarter, although management acknowledged actively promoting single-meal orders while also striving to protect profit margins.

Citi believes that if Keeta can maintain strong growth momentum, it is highly likely to catch up with or even surpass Jahez in market share by late 2025.

Meituan's Overseas Layout

From Asia-Pacific to the Middle East and Latin America, Meituan's international expansion presents a clear strategic layout.

In the Hong Kong market, Keeta has been operating for two years, helping restaurant partners double their platform sales. After entering Saudi Arabia in September 2024, Keeta has covered all major cities in the country, with rapid growth in user numbers and order volumes.

Meituan management also mentioned Keeta's successful progress in Saudi Arabia during previous earnings conference calls, noting that it had already covered more than six major cities and considered food delivery as a near-term focus while exploring the potential of non-food categories such as "Xiaoxiang Supermarket" at an early stage. Management pointed out that the operating environment in Saudi Arabia is superior to China in terms of willingness to pay, average order value (AOV), and profitability.

According to Morgan Stanley's research report, Keeta currently holds approximately 10% of the food delivery order share in Saudi Arabia and is expected to enter the UAE market in the second half of 2025, followed by Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Analysts predict that, under a baseline scenario, Keeta could capture 20% of the GCC food delivery market share by 2028, achieving $6 billion in GMV. In an optimistic scenario, this market share could reach 27%, with GMV reaching $8 billion.

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