Meituan to spin off "Flash Buy" as standalone brand in instant retail push

by SONG Jianan

Wang Puzhong, CEO of Meituan’s core local commerce division, said in a social media post on Friday that non-food orders on the platform have surpassed 18 million. He also revealed that Meituan will officially launch its instant retail brand next week, with “Flash Buy” being tested as a top-tier feature on the app’s homepage.

Instant retail — which promises delivery of a wide range of goods including fresh produce, alcohol, electronics and pharmaceuticals within 30 to 60 minutes — has become one of the hottest segments in Chinese e-commerce. Wang described the growth as “unstoppable,” saying Meituan’s new offering would disrupt outdated warehousing and logistics models with a more nimble approach to local fulfillment.

Meituan entered instant retail as early as 2018 with the launch of Flash Buy, offering “everything to your door in 30 minutes” by partnering with nearby supermarkets and retailers. As of last October, it had over 30,000 “lightning warehouses” supporting rapid delivery.

According to people familiar with the matter, the new brand Wang referred to is essentially a rebranding of Flash Buy, which has until now operated within Meituan’s food delivery ecosystem without a dedicated app entry point.

Competition in the space is intensifying, with players like JD Daojia and Tmall integrating instant delivery into their existing e-commerce ecosystems, while Meituan and Ele.me are expanding from food delivery into general merchandise. No single player has yet claimed dominance in the market.

Meituan’s 2024 earnings report showed a record 770 million annual transacting users, with nearly 300 million using Flash Buy. In the first quarter of 2025, instant retail order volume rose 23% year-on-year, outpacing the 9.5% growth in food delivery.

While food delivery remains Meituan’s core revenue driver, the rapid growth of non-food categories is emerging as a new performance engine and helping the company expand its footprint in China’s local services market.

Wang also addressed rival JD.com's entry into food delivery, downplaying its impact by noting that several major tech companies — including Alibaba, Didi, and ByteDance — have tried and struggled in the space. “If you consider food delivery as part of instant retail, JD Daojia and Dada began back in 2014, but with limited success,” he wrote.

JD.com last week announced plans to invest over 10 billion yuan in its food delivery business over the next year, setting the stage for more direct competition with Meituan as both companies blur the lines between delivery, retail, and e-commerce.