SF Holding has rolled out a series of measures to attract more merchants to the service, including zero franchise fees and low commission rates
SF Holding Co. Ltd., parent of courier giant SF Express, is testing a new food-delivery service targeting business clients buying in bulk. If it moves ahead with the plan, it would become the latest challenger in a crowded market dominated by two tech giants – MeituanDianping and Alibaba.
The service, dubbed Fengshi or “abundant food” in English, is currently only available to SF Holding’s own employees. It will be opened to the general public after the company has developed a mature plan.
SF Holding has rolled out a series of measures to attract more merchants to the service, including zero franchise fees and low commission rates.
The screenshot of the Fengshi food APP
The company has not launched its own app for the Fengshi food service, opting instead for a mini program inside the ubiquitous WeChat app. It used this mini program to announce that it has partnered with dozens of restaurant brands, including Pizza Hut, popular Inner Mongolian food chain Xibei and fast-food chain Real Kungfu.
SF’s move into food delivery comes as China’s catering industry and the nation’s diners are emerging from the months-long coronavirus pandemic, which made takeout hugely important as dine-in eating was tightly restricted or outright banned across much of the country.