Uber Eats Taiwan reaches billion trips, ranks 2nd globally

Reporter Tsao Yueh-hua (曹悅華) / Business Today (今周刊) / Editor Dimitri Bruyas (Translator) / TVBS World Taiwan
Release time：2025/11/21 19:42
Last update time：2025/11/25 18:18

Uber Eats Taiwan joins elite billion-trip global markets (Shutterstock)

TAIPEI (Business Today/TVBS News) — Open the Uber Eats app, type in an address, and a city's culinary landscape unfolds before your eyes, from Michelin-rated street food to fried chicken from the neighborhood corner. Once you've selected and ordered, all that's left is to wait for your food or ingredients to arrive. For many in Taiwan, this way of living has long since become part of everyday life.

"We reached our one-billion-trip milestone in July!" said Uber Eats Taiwan general manager Chai Lee (李佳穎), who excitedly announced the news during an interview with Business Today (今周刊). "Only a handful of markets globally have achieved this milestone. In terms of monthly order volume, New York ranks first, followed by Taipei," she added with evident pride.

As Uber Eats approaches its tenth anniversary next year, Taiwan has risen to the top of the global market in just a decade. Lee attributes this success to three characteristics of the Taiwanese market: consumers' pursuit of convenience, a rich dining-out culture and high motorcycle density. According to Lee's analysis, Taiwan's convenience store density is second only to South Korea's; its population is comparable to Australia's, yet it has four times as many businesses; and Taiwan is one of the countries with the highest motorcycle density in the world, creating an ideal environment for delivery services.

Incorporating Costco, Expanding Fresh Food Opportunities
Behind the billion-trip milestone lies "partnerships with over 80,000 restaurants, more than 100 million items; over a million members, with one out of every two customers being a member; and more than 80,000 delivery personnel, the highest in the industry," Lee explained. Detailing the achievements of the past decade, she emphasized that according to commissioned surveys, from October 2023 to September 2024 alone, Uber Eats generated over NT$15.5 billion in revenue for merchants and created NT$86 billion in economic value for Taiwan's delivery ecosystem.

However, Lee is well aware that product diversity is one of the decisive factors in the delivery market. Even with 80,000 partner restaurants already on board, the business team must continuously cold-call and develop relationships with new merchants. Willy Li (李威), the marketing director of CAFE!N, a well-known Taiwanese coffee chain, revealed that Uber Eats proactively approached them in 2020, seeking to diversify the coffee brands on its platform. Uber Eats also collaborated with merchants to address delivery challenges, such as improving packaging — from leaky cup lids to complete sealing — to maintain the quality of ready-to-drink beverages. After joining Uber Eats, store performance managed to maintain 70% of normal levels during the pandemic.

"Uber Eats is our great ally!" Li believes that joining the delivery system has created a complementary effect. In the past, business was strongest from morning until 2 p.m.; adding delivery service fills the gap after 2 p.m. while extending their service range to 3-5 kilometers beyond the physical store location. For the next decade, beyond maintaining its existing territory, Uber Eats harbors greater ambitions in the fresh food sector. "Restaurant delivery has been established for years, but the opportunity in the fresh food market (including groceries) is even greater!" believes Chang Yu-Hsin (張佑欣), the general manager of real-time retail at Uber Eats Taiwan.

In fact, the latest 2025 "Delivery Survey" released by the Institute for Information Industry (MIC, 資策會產業情報研究所) echoes Chang's perspective. The survey indicates that prepared food ranks first among items frequently ordered for delivery, accounting for over 85%, while fresh groceries rank second at approximately 27%. Despite the significant gap with the top category, this represents a 4% growth compared to the previous year. At the end of June, Uber Eats announced a partnership with Costco (好市多), completing the "final puzzle piece" of its large-scale retail store strategy.

"Costco is truly the most complex partnership in Uber Eats' four-plus years in the fresh food delivery business," Chang revealed, recounting the alliance process for the first time. Negotiations began in 2022 but weren't finalized until late last year, taking three years to overcome two major challenges: first, implementing a "shop and deliver" model where delivery personnel select items in-store; and second, addressing food safety concerns. Chang disclosed that the delivery box alone underwent hundreds of tests to ensure prepared food could pass microbiological testing during delivery. "The roasted chicken is still warm when it reaches customers' hands," he said with a smile.

Avoiding Price Wars, Enhancing Service Through AI
Beyond establishing partnerships with major retailers, Uber Eats has built "Uber Eats Market," an industry-exclusive supermarket designed specifically for delivery, to comprehensively meet the needs of different customer segments. Lee points out that Uber Eats Market differentiates itself by featuring rare snacks, specialty drinks and premium seafood, with its 11 stores now breaking even. In the first eight months of this year, the fresh food business grew by 20% compared to last year. Chang also previewed plans to expand the fresh food business to include baby products and clothing within the next one to two years.

However, after the failed acquisition of foodpanda, overcoming competitors' continuous "price wars" has become Uber Eats' greatest challenge. An industry insider stated bluntly: "Not engaging in discount wars is Uber Eats' biggest weakness." The insider observed that foodpanda entered Taiwan four years earlier than Uber Eats and has a higher market share, with attractive promotions making foodpanda more widely used than Uber Eats in central and southern Taiwan.

"We once engaged in a price war with our competitor (referring to foodpanda) ... but it was like a bottomless pit, so we decided to stop," Lee said. Uber Eats launched its membership program in 2019, two years ahead of competitors. This move proved that "service quality always trumps price promotions," and because members demonstrate loyalty, it's more conducive to precise marketing and even facilitates AI integration.

Uber Eats has indeed invested heavily in AI applications, including customizing delivery interfaces based on eating habits, monitoring delivery drivers' driving behavior and improving restaurant menus. More than 70% of orders now use intelligent customer service, powered by hundreds of backend AI models.