A big selling point of ordering food to the doorstep in China is price, which, in the early years, could be much cheaper than eating in-house. That’s arguably indulged a demographic of lazy, indoorsy eaters, but that may not last for much longer.
Over the past few months, users in China have noticed incremental price increases on their meals ordered via Ele.me and Meituan, the country’s largest food delivery apps. The trigger? China’s food heavyweights have gone about taking a bigger cut of each order — over 20 percent in some cases — as their priorities shifted following a major upheaval.