The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has an article from September 12 about the competing Chinese-language delivery apps in Pittsburgh.
For a while, Ms. Geng [of Amazing Dumplings] has been faced with a conundrum: If she changes the dish name, customers who don’t speak Chinese might understand it better. But then, how would Chinese customers recognize it as the dish they love from back home?PennsylvAsia noted this trend in 2020, when Chinese delivery companies started hiring locally and serving Pittsburgh-area Asian restaurants and grocers. Places like Fantuan and Hungry Panda continue to routinely hire in the area as they add businesses as clients.
Now, there’s a solution: an app that allows her to speak to her Chinese customers directly.
Actually, make that three apps.
As the number of immigrants from mainland China has grown — and crucially, grown richer — Chinese food-delivery apps have sprung up to serve America’s Chinese delivery market. The apps offer a Mandarin-language experience for people on all sides of the equation, from restaurateurs to couriers to consumers.
Now, three of the apps — Fantuan, HungryPanda and Ricepo — are vying for dominance in cities across the U.S.
Pittsburgh, with its large international student population and vibrant Chinese food scene, has proven to be particularly fertile ground.
As ubiquitous advertising in areas like Squirrel Hill shows, the Steel City is in the midst of an all-out app marketing war.