Adapted by:
Jose García
WriterTech journalist. Head of new formats at Xataka and TikTok presenter. I specialize in consumer tech and video games.
Alba Mora
WriterAn established tech journalist, I entered the world of consumer tech by chance in 2018. In my writing and translating career, I've also covered a diverse range of topics, including entertainment, travel, science, and the economy.
Should you order three family pizzas just to take advantage of the 3-for-2 deal? The answer depends on whether you’re ordering just for yourself or whether you’ll share them with others. The logic is straightforward: better price, more people to split the cost, and a single delivery fee. It makes sense, right?
Now, imagine you could apply the same logic to your neighbors and colleagues. You could save a lot of money, especially if everyone orders the same thing from the same place. In fact, this is becoming an increasingly popular trend in China.
Context. Housing prices have gone through the roof, consumer goods are increasingly expensive, and wage growth has stalled. The current rising cost of living requires people to tighten their belts. In China, where dining out is almost a cultural norm, it’s common for a meal to cost between $2.75 to $4.10.
Inequality. The problem is that wage inequality is severe, to the point where average figures don’t tell the full story. Data reveals that the top 1% of earners in China hold a larger share of the nation’s wealth than the bottom 50%. In other words, if there were 100 people in China, only one person would possess half of the nation’s wealth. The average salary is $48,600, so making ends meet is understandably difficult for many.
Eating out. Dining out is commonplace in China. So, how can you make meals more affordable? One solution is ordering large quantities of the same dish from a single restaurant. Meituan, a Chinese shopping platform for local consumer products and retail services, implemented this concept in the delivery industry.
Group take-out. The concept of 拼好饭, or “group take-out” in English, operates on a simple premise: popular dish recommendations, group orders, and a single delivery. The system enables authorized establishments to prepare food in batches. Given that all customers live nearby and have ordered the same items, delivery drivers can make multiple deliveries in one trip.
Coordination. This delivery system requires more organization, and the food may also take a bit longer. However, it can lead to big savings, even up to 50% on certain menus. “For instance, in central Guangzhou, a roast duck leg and rice meal typically costs [$4] when ordered individually but drops to just [$1.50] with the group take-out option,” Sinica Podcast, which discusses current affairs in China, recently explained. The shipping cost often makes up as much as 80% of the total order cost, so adding more dishes allows the price to be shared among the group.
An effective method. Chinese users are clearly willing to wait a bit longer for their food if it means they can enjoy lower prices. Meituan initiated the group take-out system in 2020, targeting less affluent markets. By April 2023, the company had established a dedicated department for group ordering in first-tier cities. In 2023 alone, Meituan processed 1.16 billion group take-outs, accounting for 6% of all orders.
Images | Joshua Fernandez | Zhang Kaiyv
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