Uber Technologies Inc. and iFood, Brazil’s leading food delivery platform, have announced a strategic partnership aimed at expanding their service offerings in the country. The collaboration will allow users to access a wider range of services through a single app interface. iFood users will soon be able to book Uber rides directly from the iFood app, while Uber users will be able to order food, groceries, pharmacy, and convenience items via iFood’s network, all within the Uber app. Both companies said the new features will roll out in the second half of the year.
The partnership is a significant development in Brazil’s rapidly growing delivery and ride-hailing market, where both companies have built large user bases. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi noted that only about half of Uber and iFood customers in Brazil currently use both services, highlighting a major opportunity to cross-integrate their user bases. This move represents a renewed push for Uber in Brazil’s food delivery space, three years after it exited the market with Uber Eats due to tough competition from iFood.
With over 30 million active users and 1.4 million registered drivers and couriers in Brazil, Uber has completed around 11 billion trips in the country since its entry in 2014. Meanwhile, iFood boasts 55 million users, 360,000 couriers, and handles more than 120 million orders per month across 1,500 Brazilian cities. Both companies say the partnership is an effort to innovate and simplify access to daily services for millions of Brazilians.
The announcement comes amid rising competition in the Brazilian market, particularly with China’s largest food delivery platform, Meituan, preparing to launch operations in the country under its Keeta brand. According to Brazil’s trade and investment agency ApexBrasil, Meituan plans to invest 5 billion reais ($890 million) to establish its presence. As new players enter the field, the Uber-iFood alliance is expected to strengthen both companies’ positions in a market poised for further growth and disruption.