Better Step Aside Uber Eats, South Korea’s Coupang Eats Has Reached Japanese Shores

Uber Eats is reigning supreme as the number one trusted food delivery platform in Japan. But just recently, things changed as South Korea’s Coupang Eats reached the Japanese shores this week. Read on for the story.

Japan welcomes Coupang Eats

Coupang Eats is the food delivery arm of Coupang, a United States-based South Korean company. It is the fastest-growing delivery service in South Korea. But, it seems it isn’t satisfied with this success (and who is?) when it has decided to dominate the Japanese market, too.

Midway through this week, Coupang Eats has reached Japan, which marks its first-ever overseas expansion.

Right now, Coupang Eats operates in the market via the Rocket Now delivery app, which launched on January 14th. Without this partnership, Coupang’s delivery arm wouldn’t be able to distribute in key areas such as Minato City in Tokyo.

To make things possible and achieve its goals, Coupang reportedly established CP One Japan, its local subsidiary, following the launch of Coupang Japan in 2021 and withdrawing two years later.

Coupang Japan was short-lived because of the high costs of large-scale logistics investments. Consequently, Coupang Eats is now targeting the food delivery market, which will incur only small investments. This way, it is introducing something new to Japan’s delivery sector.

Moreover, this initiative is seen as part of Coupang’s agenda to reach more locations globally.

Starting small

Coupang Eats began small in the central area of Tokyo but aimed to explore growth opportunities in Japan’s food delivery market, not South Korea’s. CP One Japan also started recruiting drivers, of course. If this pilot service proves triumphant, the company will further expand its service areas and scale its operations.

The platform became interested in reaching Japan because its food delivery market has swiftly expanded since the onset of the COVID-19 virus.

The Japan Research Institute for Social Systems is saying this market size grew from about $1.6 billion (which was still big, by the way) in 2019 to an even larger $3.2 billion in 2022. Whoa.

Today, Uber Eats is hailed as the king of Japan’s food delivery market, owning 70 percent of the market. But Coupang Eats is brave enough to trump this. Plus, it is firm in its stance that it can establish a strong foothold in Japan.

For more context, in South Korea, Coupang Eats has a 25 percent market share but still trails behind Baedal Minjok. Is it succeeding? It is, thanks to its aggressive free delivery promotions and the number of its Wow Membership members. Will it be able to do the same in Japan? Only time can tell.

“Coupang Eats’ entry into Japan is not merely about capturing market share but represents a strategic leap toward global expansion,” stated journalists.

The food delivery platforms’ plot thickens.

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