The archive · Consumer Apps · Strategic decision · 2023–2026
Keeta's Saudi bet: Meituan playbook tops app charts, #1 delivery app for a year
Meituan's Keeta entered Saudi Arabia in Oct 2024, hit #1 App Store downloads by Jan 2025, and stayed the kingdom's top delivery app.
Keeta (Meituan)
What the business is
Keeta is Meituan's international food-delivery app: consumers order from local restaurants, with heavy new-user discounts, free delivery campaigns, and an expanding local rider network.
Starting capital：Meituan has not disclosed Keeta-specific spend; its management stated plans to invest $1B in Brazil over five years, signalling the scale of its overseas bet.
How it started
After testing in Hong Kong from May 2023, Meituan picked Saudi Arabia as its first Middle East market, launching Keeta in Riyadh in October 2024, attracted by high smartphone penetration, growing delivery demand, and less crowded competition.
What happened
Expansion was fast: three months after launch Keeta covered nine cities—nearly half the population—and by July 2025 it reached 20+ cities. Redseer measured about 10% order share within months; the top two local platforms' combined share fell 1 point and other rivals fell 9 points in its first four months. Citi and Morgan Stanley tracked it as a credible threat to Jahez's #2 position.
How it ended up
Still scaling: Citi said in September 2025 Keeta remained Saudi Arabia's #1 delivery app nearly a year after launch; it had launched in Qatar and Kuwait (both #1 in downloads on day one) with UAE entry expected and Brazil pilots planned.
Background
Keeta is Meituan's overseas food-delivery brand, and Saudi Arabia was its first serious Middle East test. Meituan had honed its model in mainland China and then in Hong Kong from May 2023; in October 2024 it launched Keeta in Riyadh, betting that aggressive rollout and restaurant-friendly economics could crack a market long dominated by local platforms Jahez and HungerStation.
The wedge was supply-side first: free digital tools and low-to-zero commissions for small restaurants, income guarantees and training for riders, paired with deep consumer discounts and free-delivery campaigns. Growth was fast—nine Saudi cities in the first three months, covering nearly half the population, and 20+ cities by July 2025.
The chart evidence followed. Sensor Tower counted 3.6 million Keeta downloads on the Saudi Apple App Store by January 2025, ranking it #1 on the free chart. Redseer put its order share at roughly 10% within months, while the top two incumbents' combined share slipped. In May 2025 Citi said Keeta's momentum could let it match or pass Jahez, and by September it was still the kingdom's #1 delivery app by downloads.
Keeta then repeated the playbook across the Gulf: Qatar and Kuwait launches in 2025 each hit #1 in food-and-drink downloads on day one. As of September 2026 Keeta is scaling across the GCC with UAE entry expected and Brazil pilots planned, making Saudi the template for Meituan's international expansion.
What has to be true
- Concrete, dated chart evidence: #1 Saudi App Store free chart with 3.6M iOS downloads by January 2025, and launch-day #1s in Kuwait and Qatar.
- The bet is a clean strategic question—can a foreign platform's playbook displace entrenched locals—tested in a real market.
- Independent third-party measurement (Sensor Tower, Redseer, Citi, Morgan Stanley) confirms both downloads and order share.
- The outcome is measurable: sustained #1 download rank for nearly a year and expansion to three GCC countries.
- It fills the Saudi/Gulf market slot in the app-charts vein with a product-level story rather than a corporate listing.
What can be applied
A proven domestic playbook transfers when the entrant wins the supply side—restaurants and riders—first; chart leadership then compounds into lasting position.
Aftermath
As of September 2026, Keeta is Meituan's flagship international business: it remains the top delivery app by downloads in Saudi Arabia after nearly two years, operates in Qatar and Kuwait, and is expected to enter the UAE with Brazil pilots planned. Meituan has committed $1B over five years to Brazil as part of the same international push, signaling Keeta's role as the template for Meituan's expansion beyond China.
Sources
- 电商平台海外掘金正当时 (E-commerce platforms' overseas expansion; Keeta's Saudi results)
- 花旗：美团外卖品牌Keeta在沙特表现强劲 (Citi: Meituan's Keeta performs strongly in Saudi Arabia)
- 美团(03690)续升3.69% Keeta正式进军科威特市场 首日即成为当地iOS美食饮品类下载榜首 (Keeta enters Kuwait, tops iOS food-and-drink downloads on day one)
- 美团Keeta登陆科威特，加速中东市场拓展 (Meituan Keeta launches in Kuwait, accelerating Middle East expansion)
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