Uber Eats enters Turkey via Alibaba-backed food delivery app

Uber Eats has acquired an 85% controlling stake in Trendyol Go, a food and grocery delivery service based in Istanbul, for about US$700 million in cash.

This marks Uber’s entry into Turkey’s food delivery market, where it previously only offered ride-hailing services.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025.

Users will continue using the Trendyol Go app, with plans to gradually integrate features from Uber Eats.

Trendyol Go, part of the Alibaba-backed Trendyol Group, reported over 200 million orders in 2024 and generated US$2 billion in gross bookings, up 50% from the previous year.

The platform includes more than 90,000 restaurants and about 19,000 couriers.

🔗 Source: TechCrunch

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Turkey’s booming food delivery market offers significant growth runway

Uber’s acquisition comes amid exceptional growth projections for Turkey’s food service sector, which is expected to expand from $14.72 billion in 2025 to $27.09 billion by 2030, representing a 12.97% compound annual growth rate 1.

The cloud kitchen segment, which powers much of the delivery ecosystem, is growing particularly fast at approximately 15% annually from 2024 to 2029, fueled by changing consumer habits 1.

This acquisition provides Uber immediate scale in a high-growth market, with Trendyol Go’s impressive metrics: 200 million orders, $2 billion in gross bookings (up 50% year-over-year), and partnerships with over 90,000 restaurants 2.

The Turkish foodtech market is experiencing dynamic growth across urban centers like Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, benefiting from technological advancements in AI and machine learning that have significantly improved logistics efficiency 3.

Turkey represents a strategic opportunity for Uber as many Western markets approach saturation, offering fresh growth potential at a time when Uber needs to demonstrate expansion to investors.

2️⃣ Acquisition pattern reveals Uber’s market entry playbook

The Trendyol Go acquisition follows Uber’s established international expansion strategy of acquiring established local players rather than building from scratch in new markets.