Douyin, a subsidiary of ByteDance and Ele.me, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA), are partnering on an initiative that would enable the latter to have a presence on Douyin. Ele.me, a food delivery app, will be the largest company Douyin has added to its platform.
Chinese companies profit from mini-programs
According to the CEO of Douyin, Kelly Zhang Nan, the platform is a way to connect users with business partners. Other companies like WeChat have developed the same mini-programmes to create an engaging ecosystem for their users.
We get states that its active daily users for mini-programs reached 450 million. While mini-programs look and function like apps, they generally use less data, making them more popular with users.
Douyin’s mini-programs stand out
Douyin has also benefited from its mini-programs and has 600 million active users. The company stands out from other websites with mini-programs as it uses an algorithm that recommends services from the type of apps the user views. The partnership could benefit the company as Ele.me is the country’s second-largest food delivery service after Meituan. In 2021, Douyin began allowing users to make food orders through live streams. Restaurants or other delivery services handle the demands.
ByteDance, the parent company to TikTok, is also the developer of Douyin, a Chinese version of the website. Zhang Yiming started the company in 2012. It has since become famous for entertainment apps and competed with market giants like Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba.
Besides TikTok and Douyin, the company has also developed apps like Helo, which is used in India, Vigo Bideo, BaBe, and Huoshan.
Elle.me, on the other hand, is a food delivery service platform that Jack Kand and Mark Zhang founded in 2008. Alibaba bought the company in 2018. However, it still operates independently. Despite the company facing tough competition from Meituan, it has continued to perform well and become a popular choice for Chinese consumers. Fortunately for Ele.me, the government has enforced regulations that make it easier for underdogs like Ele.me to keep up with their competition. For this reason, many analysts believe the company could beat the monopolistic market.
