Ele.me Is Not Dead: This Time, It’s Truly ‘Orange’!

Recently, with the news of the internal test of the new version of the “Taobao Flash Sale” app, the local lifestyle sector has stirred up again. This Friday, the “love-hate relationship” between the little blue (Meituan) and little yellow (Ele.me) became a hot topic over lunch and dinner discussions. Early Friday morning, Meituan launched the “Tribute to Blue Friends” themed event, accompanied by a handwritten-style “farewell letter” and the release of redeemable items featuring the character “flower.” Ele.me, silent as ever, quietly distributed slightly larger red envelopes than Meituan’s, with a reminder that “eating well is the most important thing.” From “Ele.me” to “Taobao Flash Sale,” from “blue” to “orange,” why would such a simple brand name change spark such a huge reaction across the market? The answer is simple: this highly publicized brand makeover has strategic significance far beyond just a “brand advertisement.” It’s a crucial step toward greater success.Yilan Commercial believes that the shift from “Ele.me” to “Taobao Flash Sale” is an inevitable result of the evolution of brand recognition and consumer perception. The name “Taobao Flash Sale” helps Ele.me break through the limitations of its brand recognition as a food delivery service and has the potential to integrate more resources from the group’s ecosystem, offering users a richer and more diverse service experience.

In fact, Ele.me and Taobao Flash Sale have long been operating in synergy, and Ele.me’s business scope has already expanded beyond food to include categories such as household goods, clothing, and footwear.Imagine this scenario: you’re on a business trip in a foreign city, your phone runs out of battery, and you urgently need a charger. Which app would you open? From a brand association perspective, you may not immediately think of Ele.me—even though it can offer the charger. This is the limitation of “Ele.me” as a brand: it’s too focused on “food,” making it hard to think of it for non-food purchases. This brand limitation, to some extent, restricts the platform’s business expansion and increases decision-making costs for users.In contrast, “Taobao Flash Sale” directly conveys the instant retail property of “fast purchasing,” which aligns better with users’ expectations of “everything delivered to your door.” At the same time, this year, Taobao Flash Sale has enhanced user experience by offering consumption benefits, and has integrated the 88VIP membership system, allowing members to enjoy Taobao Flash Sale discounts while also receiving other platform benefits. With the support of Ele.me’s fleet of millions of delivery drivers, many users have already become accustomed to enjoying instant delivery services via Taobao Flash Sale and gradually formed the perception that “Taobao Flash Sale is more affordable.”Therefore, unifying the brand is not about forcibly changing user habits but about aligning with their natural choices.

After the brand fusion, users’ experiences in terms of trust, selection, and service are likely to be upgraded.Shopping will be more secure.Taobao, as a brand with over a billion users, has already established a strong reputation and after-sales guarantee system. Placing Ele.me’s services under the “Taobao” brand umbrella quickly eases users’ concerns about the quality and after-sales service when purchasing non-food items (especially high-value items), and enhances trust.More freedom of choice.Consumers can choose to shop slowly and compare prices on Taobao or, depending on urgency, opt for the instant delivery offered by Taobao Flash Sale. Seamlessly integrating remote e-commerce with local retail truly achieves a balance between “variety” and “speed.”It’s worth noting that products from Tmall flagship stores are now gradually being integrated into Taobao Flash Sale services, so users can enjoy instant delivery while shopping for branded products, further expanding category depth and brand breadth.More comprehensive service.Taobao Flash Sale could potentially bundle product sales with local services into integrated solutions. For instance, purchasing 3C electronics in the future might come with installation guidance or repair services, addressing the hassle of coordinating multiple parties. When everything is delivered to your door and becomes a habit, the platform’s brand image evolves to reflect the users’ “vote with their feet.”Merchants care more about growth post-name change. For merchants, what really matters is traffic and growth, not the platform’s name.

Previously, the dual-brand model of “Ele.me” and “Taobao Flash Sale” had different focuses during the business exploration period but inevitably created operational complexities for merchants—two sets of rules, dual investments, and scattered traffic. Merchants are eager for unified traffic and resource support. Therefore, unifying under the “Taobao Flash Sale” brand essentially dismantles internal barriers, creating a purer and more efficient operating environment for merchants. This allows merchants to follow one set of rules and focus on one ecosystem, saving on operational and communication costs, which can be reinvested into more critical areas like products and services.This move is perfectly timed. Taobao Flash Sale has the support of nearly a billion-level traffic from Taobao’s homepage entry, combined with Cainiao’s urban warehouse and distribution capabilities, and Gaode’s navigation support, forming an ecosystem loop of “traffic—supply—delivery.” Taobao Flash Sale also deeply integrates with Taobao’s main platform activities, allowing merchants to precisely target high-value users. During the Double 11 shopping festival, Taobao Flash Sale offered exclusive benefits for 88VIP users, such as daily 50% off coupons and additional 5% discounts, effectively stimulating high-spending users to convert into instant retail orders.In the future, brands will be able to manage their e-commerce business on Taobao and instant retail on Taobao Flash Sale via a unified data dashboard, capturing new business opportunities that arise from “online e-commerce—instant delivery—local services.”

For instance, users who purchase home appliances via Taobao Flash Sale could also receive fast installation or trade-in services, transforming a one-time transaction into a long-term, deep customer relationship and increasing the user’s lifetime service value.Official data confirms the growth potential. The peak daily order volume of Taobao Flash Sale has reached 120 million orders, with Sunday’s average orders reaching 80 million and monthly active buyers totaling 300 million.For merchants, the brand integration signifies the maturation of the platform ecosystem. It provides a clearer and more efficient arena for all participants, allowing merchants to better capture growth amidst the wave of omnichannel consumption. In turn, merchant participation enriches the platform’s product offerings and service capabilities, optimizing user experience and creating a positive feedback loop.Proactive change is key to winning.Looking back at Ele.me’s development, from focusing on food delivery to expanding into retail, it has continuously sought to break the boundaries of “food delivery.” However, the lively name “Ele.me” has not only brought success in the food delivery sector but also become a constraint in business expansion. Meanwhile, Taobao Flash Sale has been growing steadily, and the resource fragmentation and internal consumption between the two brands were inevitable.

The decision to unify under “Taobao Flash Sale” represents Alibaba’s more concentrated investment in the instant retail market, clearer goals, and more efficient collaboration, providing a more complete ecosystem to compete in the fiercely competitive market.From a brand-building perspective, this move allows Taobao Flash Sale to become a brand that meets the comprehensive shopping needs of users. With a single keyword marketing strategy, it can benefit both food delivery and instant retail, lowering marketing costs. Moreover, data integration can improve supply chain efficiency and user experience. Previously, user data for food consumption and product shopping were separate, but now Alibaba can create a more complete user profile, enabling more accurate recommendations, better product selection and inventory management, and more efficient cross-category marketing.Most importantly, this is a necessary step for Alibaba to build a super-platform. Since the beginning of the year, Alibaba has been active, with Taobao Flash Sale and Fliggy gaining prominent positions on the Taobao app, an upgraded membership system, the launch of “Taobao Convenience Store,” the integration of Tmall flagship stores and Flash Sale during Double 11, and the inclusion of Cainiao’s supply chain into Taobao Flash Sale. These efforts are gradually building a complete commercial loop: unifying brand names to gather traffic, locking users with a membership system, meeting demand with a rich product range, and completing delivery with efficient fulfillment.

Excellent user experiences will further enhance user stickiness and create a sustainable growth cycle.Thus, brand integration not only optimizes internal resource efficiency but also prepares for the “omnichannel consumption” era in terms of data, traffic, and ecosystem. Saying goodbye is a way to start something better.From an emotional perspective, it’s indeed hard to say goodbye to Ele.me, a brand that has been with users for eighteen years, witnessing the rise of China’s food delivery industry and recording the life changes of countless people. However, it’s important to clarify that Ele.me has not disappeared—it has simply moved from the front stage to the backstage. The team that endured the test of billions of orders is still providing services under Taobao Flash Sale, continuing to meet users’ “instant needs” in a new way.From an industry perspective, Ele.me’s rebranding to “Taobao Flash Sale” signals that China’s instant retail competition is no longer just a battle between food delivery platforms but has evolved into an ecosystem-wide competition covering products, supply chains, traffic, and technology. However, the new journey is just beginning. What users ultimately care about is whether they can receive better and more convenient services. Brand integration is just the first step. Subsequent efforts are still required to.