Delivery applications under the radar are gaining ground in the United States by courting Asian restaurants

New York-When Kelly Wu feels sick and wants a freezing delivery, the Chinese porridge she grew up while eating, she opts for a platform that many may have heard.

The New York resident does not open up of applications of several billion dollars such as companies like Uber eats Or Doordash. Instead, the 22 -year -old shoots a fantuan, a growing startup based in Vancouver which focuses specifically on the ecosystem surrounding Asian kitchens.

“I have the impression that this is only the equivalent of Doordash or Uber Asia” Asian, “said WU in an interview with CNBC.

Digital food control and delivery platforms have become anchored in everyday American life over the past decade, with companies like Uber Eats, Doordash and Grubhub becoming household names. But with regard to Asian cuisine, connoisseurs like Wu and restaurateurs opt for smaller platforms like a fantuan or competitor Hungrypanda.

Fantuan’s strategy seems different from that of larger food platforms given the emphasis on Asian companies, according to the Co-founder Yaofei Feng.

The 11-year-old company sends representatives to talk to owners of stores in person to get on the platform rather than trying to reach them online, said Feng. These conversations will often take place in Chinese, since he said that many of these entrepreneurs speak English as a second language.

“The way we gain their confidence is very unique,” said Feng.

Having options in addition to English for application is attractive for business owners who find easier to communicate in their mother tongue. The design of the application also recalls more Chinese platforms like Alibaba than American alternatives, said Feng, which can give a feeling of familiarity.

Since Fantuan entered the United States for the first time in 2019, Feng said that it had extended to more than 50 cities ranging from large metropolises like Los Angeles to university cities like Davis, California. The company’s American footprint was stimulated by its acquisition of the Chowbus delivery activity last year.

Rather than carrying out large advertising campaigns, Fantuan mainly passes the word by providing panel holders in windows and stickers for delivery drivers. The startup has also worked with influencers on platforms like Tiktok and Rednote, a short popular video application in China.

Feng said that Fantuan’s main customer bases are first -generation immigrants and international students who want authentic kitchens linked to their country of origin. He said the company met with student associations to find potential customers from the United States from Asia.

But Feng said it was possible that the application is reaching a wider audience while food, including bubble tea, became common in the United States, the company said it had seen a growth rate for a gross goods value of more than 20% in the United States last year, before shooting up to 31% in the first quarter of 2025.

“With immigration and social media, everyone loves Asian cooking,” said Feng. “If they want authentic options, they will also use the application.”

After the acquisition of Chowbus, many business owners and users consider Hungrypanda as the main competitor of Fanttuan. Wu said she also had HungryPanda of the application, but that he had not ordered since she started using Fantuan and was satisfied with the service.

Hungrypanda did not respond to the CNBC interview investigation for this story. Hungrypanda announced last year that he had raised $ 55 million, which will be used in part to fuel expansion efforts in North America.

With regard to the landscape of the wider food delivery application, Feng said that it sees the company “coexisting” alongside larger companies rather than “competition”. Indeed, the fanttuan draw connects authentic companies – and often smaller – to customers instead of trying to win large chains that already use other platforms.

“It’s very difficult … in the long term, to compete with monopolies,” he said. “But we want to keep our way unique.”

In Flushing, a district of the Queens of New York Queens known for its large population of Chinese-American, Andrew Chau sees first-hand how the customers brought to Fanttuan.

Chau said that her yogurt Rice X yogurt sees around 50 orders every day on the platform. In comparison, Chau said he was fortunate to obtain an order every few days on applications like Uber Eats or Doordash.

Chau likes the application to offer promotions users and that it can contact customer service via WeChat, a popular messaging platform in China. He also said that many nearby restaurants use the platform, as evidenced by companies with fantastic logos around their business.

In Flushing, “I can see a lot of fantuan logo[s]”Said Chau, who owns five stores in the New York region.” I don’t see many Uber or Doordash manager. “

Wu also said that it regularly saw the logo in high -rate areas of Asian companies like Flushing or the well -known Chinatown district of Manhattan. She also saw the delivery drivers with goods for fantuan and Hungrypanda.

For WU, the authenticity of restaurants on fantuan is better than other larger food delivery platforms. She also thinks that criticisms on fantuan are more reliable.

“I can find dishes that I can’t find on American food control applications,” said WU. “I have the impression that this is definitely the way to follow if I am looking for a traditional Chinese meal, rather than using Uber or Doordash dishes to get something like orange chicken.”