DiDi's 99 announced on October 16 that its food delivery service, branded as 99Food, has begun trial operations in Brazil's second-largest city, Rio de Janeiro.
Earlier this year in April, DiDi announced the relaunch of its food delivery service in Brazil, starting with Goiânia in mid-June, followed by São Paulo—Brazil's largest city—in August. In just four months, 99Food has started to serve both the São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro metropolitan areas. On the launch day in Rio de Janeiro, 99 reported that 17,000 restaurants, including popular Brazilian chains like Burger King, McDonald's, KFC, Outback Steakhouse, Abbraccio, and Bacio di Latte, have joined the platform. Over 50,000 delivery drivers have registered with 99 in Rio.
Wang Simeng, head of 99 in Brazil, stated that "Rio de Janeiro is the second-largest market for 99 in Brazil and also the largest market for our two-wheeled services; starting operations in this city holds strategic significance for 99." With a population exceeding 10 million when including surrounding satellite cities, Rio de Janeiro is crucial to 99's expansion. Beyond the city, 99Food's delivery service will also extend to seven other cities in the Greater Rio area, including Niterói, São Gonçalo, New Iguaçu, Caxias, São João de Meriti, Belford Roxo, and Nilópolis. According to plans, 99Food aims to launch in 20 major Brazilian cities by January 2026 and expand its services to 100 cities by mid-2026.
DiDi entered the Brazilian market in 2018 through the acquisition of the ride-hailing platform 99, offering local users transportation, financial, and delivery services. After over seven years of development, DiDi currently has 55 million active users and 1.5 million drivers in Brazil, with services covering more than 3,300 towns and cities across the country. Notably, orders for two-wheeled transportation services have exceeded 1 billion in the past three years. During a meeting in September with DiDi founder and CEO Cheng Wei, Brazilian President Lula welcomed DiDi's continued investment in Brazil.
At present, DiDi’s international operations have expanded into 14 countries across Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Africa, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Egypt, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Colombia, Peru, and Costa Rica.
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