The food delivery market war in Brazil has escalated to a high level of tension. Mutual accusations of corporate espionage, misappropriation of confidential information, and disputes within the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) and the courts over alleged illegal and predatory practices are at the heart of the actions of iFood, 99Food, and Keeta.
The most recent episode in this escalation was a video posted by iFood CEO Diego Barreto on his social media, in which he claims that, since April of last year, Asian consulting firms, especially from China, have been contacting iFood employees via LinkedIn to seek internal company data in exchange for payment.
The modus operandi , according to the executive, consists of messages sent by alleged executives from these consulting firms to teams in various areas of iFood, mainly sales and technology, with questions about GMV by region and city, daily orders, average order value, among other data considered sensitive.
NeoFeed gained access to some of these approaches via social media. According to the company, there have been more than 170 cases involving company employees since last year – a practice that had decreased, according to Barreto, but has now returned with force.
According to the CEO of iFood, the approaches began to involve employees from other companies within the Dutch group Prosus, which owns iFood, precisely in search of confidential information about the Brazilian company.
“This movement by these Chinese consulting firms coincides with the arrival in Brazil of 99Food and Keeta, which are platforms from China,” says the CEO of iFood, in an interview with NeoFeed .
"I'm seeing a coordinated and systematic action to steal data from iFood on a daily basis. This is a very evident and repetitive process. They offer around R$ 3,000 or R$ 4,000 to talk about Brazil, then they offer more to talk about the company," he says.
Keeta denies any involvement in this type of approach and says it has never received any notification implicating it in espionage cases. "The company advocates for an open and fair market and, to that end, is deeply committed to the highest ethical and legal standards, and operates in compliance with all local requirements," it said in a statement sent to NeoFeed .
"Keeta reiterates that it does not hire third parties to approach individuals on its behalf for the purposes described and also emphasizes that it has not received any notification," the company added.
According to Barreto, iFood has been unable to file criminal charges against these consulting firms due to difficulties accessing the Chinese justice system. “I gave up trying to resolve this issue in China. There’s no way to break the confidentiality of these companies. I feel powerless to seek redress.”
The CEO of iFood claims there is another problem involving poaching by Asian companies. According to him, former iFood employees who went on to work for competing companies allegedly took confidential information.
“For me, it’s terrible to have to spend energy on compliance when I could be spending it on product development. And what we’ve made clear in the company is that the situation will be taken to the police. There are already cases under investigation, and we’ve even had to fire employees,” says Barreto.
On the other hand, Keeta also claims to be the target of espionage against its operations. According to the company, the Civil Police are investigating allegations of coordinated attacks against the company at establishments in the Baixada Santista region, on the coast of São Paulo.
"At least eight local restaurants were approached by individuals posing as alleged company employees, presenting false credentials, with the aim of obtaining data from the establishments, including accepted and dispatched orders, financial information, customer preferences, and other sensitive data," the company said in a statement.
Exclusivity barrier and predatory practices
Besides espionage, the delivery dispute also involves accusations of predatory practices and difficulties in breaking through exclusivity barriers.
In August 2025, Keeta went to Cade (Brazil's antitrust agency) to demand an investigation into alleged non-compliance with market control measures. It also accused its compatriot 99Food of anti-competitive practices. Abrasel, which represents bars and restaurants, requested to be part of the process, given its direct relationship with the market.
CADE (Brazil's antitrust agency) opened an administrative inquiry at the end of March this year to investigate more rigorously a possible anti-competitive practice in the market. There is no decision in any of the proceedings.
In February of this year, Keeta postponed the start of its operations in the Rio de Janeiro market indefinitely, citing difficulties in breaking through the exclusivity barrier held by iFood and 99Food.
Another point that demonstrates the escalation in the delivery market also involves accusations of "predatory pricing" practices, with discounts applied that exceed industry margins.
“There is the use of a very large volume of money generated in China, which comes here and forces the market to operate at extremely low prices. A 50% discount is a form of pressure. Predatory pricing is different from a discount,” says the CEO of iFood.
Keeta also denies any anti-competitive practices regarding discount coupons. "As a brand newly arrived in Brazil, we strategically use coupons to create an initial trial, but our focus is on ensuring that the consumer stays because of the quality, predictability, and experience."
A billion-dollar market
The backdrop to this battle is the struggle for space in a giant, rapidly expanding market. A survey conducted by GetNet's market intelligence area shows that the food delivery sector generated R$ 79 billion in revenue in 2025, a 12.7% increase over the previous year.
During this period, the average ticket price was R$ 66.21 per meal, 12% higher than that recorded for in-restaurant dining. The monthly volume reached 150 million orders, an increase of 24%.
According to a 2023 study by Abrasel, the market is dominated by iFood, which holds 82% of the market share . However, this does not yet take into account new competitors. A new study is expected to be conducted in the coming months to gauge the current state of the market.
The issue is that, in the middle of this dispute, are the restaurants that need the income from delivery services. Research by Abrasel shows that, in 2025, the approximately 1.6 million establishments will have generated R$ 495 billion in revenue.
Of all food establishments, 68% offer delivery services, either through their own delivery service or through other companies' apps. Delivery volume represents between 20% and 30% of their revenue. And, to operate, most need to sign exclusivity contracts with the platform.
According to Paulo Solmucci, president of Abrasel, this conflict between companies and the war for exclusivity is detrimental to restaurants. “It’s clear that the more platforms, the better. The problem is that exclusivity affects the establishment too much and closes the market. In the case of delivery, when the customer can’t find your restaurant, you lose the sale,” he states.
In February 2023, iFood signed a Commitment to Cease and Desist (TCC) with Cade and pledged to reduce the number of exclusivity contracts with restaurants that serve on its delivery platform.
According to the established document, the platform is obligated to maintain the total volume of business linked to restaurants exclusively on the iFood platform at a maximum percentage of 25% of the company's total GMV. "This discussion is resolved at CADE (Brazil's antitrust agency). It is being complied with and audited, and we are fulfilling all the requirements," says Barreto.
iFood currently has 60 million active users, with 460,000 partner establishments in over 1,580 cities. Keeta claims to have surpassed five million downloads, with more than 40,000 partner restaurants and a base of over 115,000 partner delivery drivers. 99Food is in more than 70 cities, with a goal of reaching 100 by June.
Controlled by DiDi, 99Food returned to the Brazilian market in June 2025, in a testing period in Goiânia. In August, it expanded to the São Paulo Metropolitan Region. The company had been operating in Brazil since 2019, but ceased its delivery operation in 2023.
Keeta, owned by the Chinese company Meituan, considered the world's largest delivery company, entered Brazil last October with a pilot operation in Santos and São Vicente. In December, it began providing services in the city of São Paulo and the Metropolitan Region.
Contacted by NeoFeed , 99Food did not respond to questions about the cases raised by iFood and Keeta. Cade (Brazil's antitrust authority) also did not comment.
