Meituan, China’s largest food delivery platform, has launched into the U.S. market.
But Meituan’s U.S. entry is not via its international food delivery subsidiary Keeta.
Instead, it launched a POS/restaurant SaaS system in the U.S. called Peppr, directly challenging industry leaders like Toast and Square in a crowded market.
Peppr’s slogan, “The only POS built for how restaurants actually operate,” showcases how it wants to be perceived. The brand focuses on family-owned mom-and-pop restaurants across the United States.
Peppr makes no attempt to hide its Chinese roots or its connection with Meituan on social media. Local media quipped: “Even in a crowded tech market, the Chinese tech giant sees a big opportunity.”
Peppr has copied most of the products and services already available in Meituan’s restaurant management system (RMS) in China, which has been adopted by a significant proportion of its 15 million active merchants domestically. Although there is no clear evidence that RMS is a profitable business, for F&B merchants, it perfectly integrated Meituan’s services into one single system. Moreover, by ensuring compatibility with third-party service providers, Meituan may obtain visibility and greater insight into how its competitors operate.
The difference lies in the packaging: in China, Meituan’s software subscription is highly integrated – once a restaurant chooses a base package, it gains access to a full suite of services.
In the U.S., however, Peppr’s software offerings are clearly divided into separate modules. For example POS, Ordering & Delivery, and Kitchen Display System (KDS).
This reflects how different markets require different competitive approaches. Peppr has chosen to start with a few standalone subscription modules – in order to gradually build awareness and entry into America’s restaurant ecosystem.
On its official site, Peppr introduces itself this way:
It even posts a direct comparison between Toast and what it calls “real restaurant technology”.
In short, the post suggests that Peppr offers everything while Toast lacks almost everything.
Meituan’s Global Ambitions: Beyond Food Delivery
International expansion has now become a company-wide strategy for Meituan, and its overseas ventures go far beyond the Keeta food delivery service, currently operating in Hong Kong and four Middle Eastern countries (with Brazil set to launch this month).
In June 2025, Meituan’s self-operated (1P) instant grocery retail brand, Keemart, began operations in Saudi Arabia.
In August this year, Meituan’s Keeta power bank sharing service launched in London, with local media calling it “Keeta’s first step into Europe”. Many convenience stores across the city began displaying Meituan’s yellow charging stations:
Meanwhile, Meituan’s drone delivery business, Keeta Drones, has already started operating in the United Arab Emirates.
All of these expansions use the Keeta brand name, but they are entering different countries and sectors – something that has confused many overseas observers (and competitors). We know a few European food delivery platforms are very much alarmed by Keeta power banks in London, fearing it might be a starting point for Keeta food delivery in Europe.
However, those familiar with Meituan’s internal structure know that food delivery, instant retail, and software/hardware services belong to separate divisions, each making its own decisions about which market(s) to enter, and when.
Peppr: A Calculated Move into the U.S.
The launch of Peppr is the result of long-term planning and preparations. The company started preparing to bring its restaurant system overseas in 2023.
To adapt to the the specifics of the U.S. market – e.g. the tipping culture – Peppr was developed as a technically independent system, almost a from-scratch rebuild rather than a simple localisation of Meituan’s domestic RMS in China.
Entering the U.S. means facing mature competitors like Toast, Square (and DoorDash). To gain traction faster, Peppr emphasizes compatibility with other hardware and software systems, highlighting in its promotional materials that it can integrate seamlessly with restaurants’ existing setups.
Recently, Peppr also launched Peppr Grow, a fully managed digital marketing suite designed to help independent restaurants run professional campaigns. The company’s current suite of products and services includes:
- POS
- Handheld POS
- Ordering and Delivery Applications
- Kitchen Display System (KDS)
- Peppr Grow digital marketing platform
Together, these tools form an end-to-end solution that covers nearly every operational aspect of a restaurant.
On LinkedIn, Peppr now has over 200 employees, with fairly diverse and international profiles in the team. The company has also built a customer support team situated in Southeast Asia.
Will Peppr be able to crack the U.S. market? And will power banks and other business units follow?
