The 200 billion giant SF Express takeaway Jianghu?Is your domain name ready!

Recently, Shunfeng's intracity delivery service launched a platform called "FengShi," focusing on meal delivery services for corporate employees. Whether it's group meals for companies or individual users, both can place orders for takeout on FengShi. Currently, nearly a hundred well-known catering companies have joined the FengShi platform.

"FengShi" Mini Program Page

One might have thought that platforms like Meituan and Ele.me had a firm grip on the food delivery market, but it turns out that Shunfeng also has its eyes on this domain. Food delivery has become a way of life for many, and online food delivery platforms are the primary choice for ordering food online. According to related data, 85.6% of users use online food delivery services through these platforms. The food delivery industry is indeed thriving, so it's no wonder Shunfeng wants to get a piece of the pie. Now, let's take a look at the domain names used by various food delivery platforms.

Meituan Waimai (Meituan Food Delivery)

Meituan Waimai is an online food ordering platform under the Meituan website. It was officially launched in November 2013. The platform features numerous high-quality food vendors, offering users a quick and convenient way to order food online. During the pandemic, and to ensure residents' basic needs during the Chinese New Year, Meituan Waimai introduced "contactless delivery" on January 26, 2020, achieving nationwide coverage. The official website domain name for Meituan Waimai is a second-level domain under Meituan, waimai.meituan.com.

Meituan Waimai Official Website Page

Dianping, founded in April 2003, is a platform for urban life consumption and one of the earliest independent third-party review websites globally. In October 2015, Meituan and Dianping jointly announced their strategic cooperation and established a new company, forming the current Meituan Dianping. The official website domain name is dianping.com, and related domains like dianping.com.cn are also protected.

Dianping Official Website Page

Ele.me

"Ele.me," established in 2008, is a well-known online food delivery platform in China. It focuses on online food delivery, new retail, instant delivery, and restaurant supply chain businesses. The official website domain name for Ele.me is creatively designed. Instead of using common .com or .cn suffixes, it uses the .me suffix, resulting in ele.me. The domain is rich in meaning, not only aligning with the "Ele.me" brand but also carrying the meaning of "I'm hungry" in Chinese. Although this is a non-mainstream domain name, its novelty and relevance make it appealing to young users.

Ele.me Official Website Page

"Ele.me Star Selection," formerly known as Baidu Waimai, was acquired by Ele.me in August 2017 and is now an online food delivery and lifestyle service platform under Ele.me. In October 2018, Baidu Waimai was officially rebranded as "Ele.me Star Selection." The official website domain name for Ele.me Star Selection is a second-level domain under Ele.me, star.ele.me.

Ele.me Star Selection Official Website Page

Koubei Waimai (Koubei Food Delivery)

Koubei is a local life service platform created through the integration of Alibaba Group and Ant Group's resources. It was officially established on June 23, 2015. The official website domain name for Koubei is koubei.com, and related domains like koubei.com.cn and koubei.net.cn are protected. The domain koubei.cn belongs to Alibaba's subsidiary Hangzhou KouKouXiangChuan Network Technology Co., Ltd. Currently, Alibaba Group has announced the official establishment of a local life service company, with Ele.me and Koubei joining forces to form a leading domestic local life service platform. Considering this merger, it's advisable for Alibaba to consider using a completely new domain name to define this new platform. In my opinion, the two-letter domain SH.com is concise and powerful, meaning "life" and aligning well with the new platform's brand. Alibaba could consider purchasing this domain to enhance the platform's visibility and brand impact, similar to JD.com for JingDong.

Koubei Official Website Page

Shunfeng (SF Express) is already a behemoth in the Chinese courier industry, with a market value of ¥206.325 billion. However, it seems that Wang Wei is not content with merely being a delivery giant. Although Shunfeng responded on Weibo that their "FengShi" platform is only open internally, it's clear to perceptive eyes that Shunfeng is testing the waters in the food delivery field. If they receive a positive response, they are likely to expand further. The "FengShi" mini-program clearly shows Shunfeng's preparedness, with the "Merchant Enrollment" and "Corporate Catering" sections offering slogans like "Free Online" and "Exclusive Discounts." There are also promotional incentives such as "User Distributor" and "Recommend Corporate Enrollment."

In recent times, Meituan and numerous catering merchants have been in heated discussions due to commission issues, and now Shunfeng enters the scene offering "free" and "discounted" services. The strategy seems to be capturing merchants first, then users, and even engaging in a "subsidy price war." The intent is quite evident.

Shunfeng's ambition to venture into new areas is understandable, but the food delivery sector is already dominated by giants like Meituan and Ele.me. These companies' achievements have been well earned through strategic planning. Meituan was founded in March 2010 and has a history of 10 years. By 2019, it became the third-largest internet company in China by market value, following Alibaba and Tencent. The significance of their domain name investments played a pivotal role in their comprehensive development in the internet era. Prior to launching Meituan's website, Wang Xing had already acquired the two-letter domain names meituan.com and meituan.net. In October 2015, Meituan and Dianping merged, and the relevant brand domain names dianping.com and dianping.com.cn also came under Meituan's ownership. In September 2016, Meituan acquired QianDaiBao and secured the domain qiandai.com. In April 2017, Meituan Dianping launched "ZhenGuo MinSu" (ZhenGuo Homestay) and acquired the related domains zhenguo.com and zhenguo.net. From this development timeline, it's clear that Meituan prefers pinyin domain names. This preference is due to the direct alignment of pinyin domain names with brand names, their simplicity, ease of memorization, and resonance with Chinese input habits, which significantly aid brand promotion and marketing efforts.

Looking at Ele.me, founded in 2008 by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, it has turned its non-mainstream domain name into a creative masterpiece that perfectly matches its concept, even popularizing the .me domain suffix.

Shunfeng's official website domain name is sf-express.com, a composite domain name where "sf" represents "Shunfeng," and "express" signifies "fast service." In