The food delivery app 99Food, owned by the Didi Group, has officially launched its operations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, challenging the dominant position of the local food delivery app platform iFood and entering a new phase of business development. At a press conference held at the Copacabana Palace Hotel in the southern district of Rio, 99Food announced plans to increase its investment in Brazil, doubling the investment amount to reach 2 billion reais by June 2026, to drive business expansion to 100 cities across Brazil and transform it into a super app.

Simeng Wang, General Manager of 99 in Brazil, stated at the press conference, "The Brazilian market has enormous potential, and we aim to make the 99Food app a super app for Brazilians. Entering Rio de Janeiro is the first step in this business expansion plan." According to him, Rio de Janeiro is currently the second largest market for the 99 platform in Brazil, and it is one of the company's most important markets for services such as motorcycle and bicycle transportation.

During this operational testing phase, 99Food will invest 350 million reais, initially covering the city center of Rio and seven other cities including Niterói, São Gonçalo, Nova Iguaçu, Duque de Caxias, São João de Meriti, Belford Roxo, and Nilópolis. It is expected that the food delivery market size in the state of Rio will grow by 50% within a year and a half.

The construction of 99Food's super app will be carried out in stages: the first stage involves strengthening the independent development of the company's sectors - 99 ride-hailing, 99Pay payment, and 99Food food delivery; the second stage is to expand the influence of these services; and the third stage is to integrate these apps to create a unified ecosystem.

For delivery riders, the 99Food platform will offer generous incentives in the first month: riders who complete 20 orders per day (with at least 5 orders being food deliveries) can earn a reward of 250 reais per day, with an additional bonus of up to 7 reais per order. In Rio, 99Food will also adopt a "logistics operator" model to strengthen the delivery network and ensure that partner riders enjoy the same rights and income experience as 99's own riders.