(Yicai Global) May 7 -- Meituan Dianping has expanded its delivery platform beyond meals as part of the Chinese lifestyle platform's efforts to encompass more industries and diversify its customer base.

The Meituan Delivery platform will cover more business scenarios going forward including fresh food, medicine and groceries, the Beijing-based firm said in a statement adding that it will give upstream and downstream partners access to its industry chain as well as technology platforms and logistics network.

"Meituan will open its delivery network to more customers and extend the network to various industries," said Wang Puzhong, Meituan senior vice president and president of the Company's at-home business group. "The extension and opening of Meituan's delivery network will help establish a more flexible delivery platform by customizing services for different industries, upgrading our delivery dispatch system, and improving delivery infrastructure." 

Meituan Delivery has penned deals with French multinational retailer Carrefour and domestic fruit shop chain Pagoda as part of the expansion, Chinese media outlet TechWeb reported. 

Meituan receives an average of 25 million daily takeout orders and has built a network of close to 10,000 distribution sites and warehouses nationwide serving 3.6 million merchants and 400 million users, Wang said, adding that over 600,000 couriers work for the firm.

Instant delivery models have developed rapidly in China in recent years and ordering meals online has become a daily habit for consumers, said Cui Zhongfu, vice chairman of the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing. More fields besides catering require such services including supermarkets and convenience stores, he added. 

"With the opening of our delivery platform, Meituan will leverage our delivery resources to better fulfill diversified needs of users and merchants, while integrating delivery resources to improve the overall urban logistics efficiency," said Wei Wei, general manager of Meituan Delivery.

Editor: William Clegg