Under-the-radar supply apps are gaining floor within the U.S. by means of dating Asian eating places

NEW YORK – When Kelly Wu feels in poor health and needs a supply of congee, the Chinese porridge she grew up consuming, she opts for a platform many would possibly not have heard of.

The New York City resident does not open apps from multi-billion greenback firms like Uber Eats or DoorDash. Instead, the 22-year-old pulls up Fantuan, a rising Vancouver-based startup that focuses particularly at the ecosystem surrounding Asian cuisines.

“I feel like it’s just the equivalent of ‘Asian’ DoorDash or Uber Eats,” Wu mentioned in an interview with CNBC.

Digital meals ordering and supply platforms have grow to be ingrained in on a regular basis American existence over the last decade, with firms like Uber Eats, DoorDash and GrubHub turning into family names. But on the subject of Asian meals, connoisseurs like Wu and eating place homeowners are choosing smaller platforms like Fantuan or competitor HungryPanda.

Since Fantuan first entered the U.S. in 2019, Feng mentioned it has expanded to greater than 50 towns starting from massive metropolises reminiscent of Los Angeles to university cities like Davis, Calif. The corporate’s U.S. footprint used to be boosted by means of its acquisition of Chowbus’ supply trade final yr.

Rather than run massive promoting campaigns, Fantuan principally spreads the phrase thru offering signal holders at storefronts and stickers for supply drivers. The startup has additionally labored with influencers on platforms like TikTook and RedNote, a well-liked short-form video app in China.

Feng mentioned Fantuan’s major buyer bases are first-generation immigrants and world scholars yearning original cuisines tied to their house international locations. He mentioned the corporate meets with school scholar associations to seek out doable shoppers coming to the U.S. from Asia.

But Feng mentioned there may be doable for the app to achieve a much broader target market as meals together with bubble tea grow to be mainstream within the U.S. The corporate mentioned it noticed a expansion price for gross products worth of greater than 20% within the U.S. final yr, ahead of taking pictures as much as 31% within the first quarter of 2025.

“With the immigration and the social media, everybody loves Asian food,” Feng mentioned. “If they want authentic options, they will also use the app.”

Following the Chowbus acquisition, many trade homeowners and customers believe HungryPanda as the primary competitor to Fantuan. Wu mentioned she additionally has HungryPanda’s app, however hasn’t ordered on it since she first started the usage of Fantuan, and has been happy with the provider.

HungryPanda didn’t reply to CNBC’s interview inquiry for this tale. HungryPanda introduced final yr that it raised $55 million, which will probably be utilized in phase to gasoline enlargement efforts in North America.

When it involves the wider meals supply app panorama, Feng mentioned he sees the corporate “co-existing” along bigger-name firms reasonably than “competing.” That’s for the reason that draw of Fantuan is connecting original – and frequently smaller – companies to shoppers as an alternative of seeking to win over massive chains that already use different platforms.

“It’s very hard … long-term, to compete with the monopolies,” he mentioned. “But we want to keep our unique way.”