(Yicai) Oct. 14 -- 7Fresh Kitchen, the new delivery-only restaurant service of Chinese internet giant JD.Com, has started selling through Meituan and Taobao Flash Buy, tapping the vast scale and user bases of these competing on-demand service platforms.

The 7Fresh Kitchen operating out of the ChangBao Building in the central Beijing district of Dongcheng is getting about 2,000 orders a month through Alibaba Group's instant retail platform Taobao Flash Buy and around 400 via Meituan's on-demand delivery app, according to data released by the two platforms. 

JD.Com launched 7Fresh Kitchen in July, offering food deliveries to consumers within three kilometers of these so-called ghost restaurants. The Beijing-based company plans to open 10,000 of them across the country. Listing on third-party platforms such as Meituan, Taobao Flash Buy, and Alibaba’s Ele.me increases consumer choice.

The move likely reflects a push to increase user traffic and adjust the brand’s market positioning, Chen Liteng, a digital life analyst at 100EC’s e-commerce research center, told Yicai.

Chen said Meituan and Taobao Flash Buy’s huge user bases and mature delivery networks can quickly lift 7Fresh Kitchen's order numbers and brand visibility, a practical step that matches JD.Com’s commitment to positioning 7Fresh Kitchen as an “open platform with no limits for consumers.”

When 7Fresh Kitchen opened its first restaurant, the brand’s business lead Liu Bin said it would be open to joining other platforms if consumers wanted it or other platforms were willing to cooperate.

The move also suggests that JD.Com and Meituan, the market leader for food deliveries, are shifting from head-to-head competition to collaboration, reflecting the internet industry maxim that there are “no permanent rivals, only permanent interests,” Chen said.

7Fresh Kitchen needs to achieve a breakthrough in user traffic, Meituan needs an upgrade in the service quality offered by its vendors, and Taobao Flash Buy can take advantage of the opportunity to expand its business ecosystem, Chen said. Their cooperation can deliver a win-win, he noted.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev