In 2025, major Chinese internet companies escalated competition in the food delivery sector by heavily subsidizing popular items like tea drinks and coffee. According to KrASIA, these subsidies have driven prices down to just a few RMB, and in some cases, nearly to zero.
JD.com officially entered the food delivery market in April 2025, intensifying the subsidy war among China’s tech giants. This aggressive pricing strategy aims to capture market share in a rapidly growing segment of China’s consumer economy.
For Japanese investors and companies, this development highlights the increasing pressure on food delivery platforms to innovate and compete on price, a dynamic that could influence regional market strategies and consumer behavior in Asia.