# Keeta Completes First Year in Brazil in 11 Cities, Short of Its 16-Region Plan > Keeta finished its first year in Brazil in 11 cities against a 16-region plan, with 83,000 restaurants and 430,000 riders and R$5.6 billion pledged over five years. - Published: 2026-10-31T17:17:44+00:00 - Section: Expansion - Author: News Desk - URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-31/keeta-brazil-first-year-expansion - Source: [Folha](https://redir.folha.com.br/redir/online/emcimadahora/rss091/*https://c-level.folha.uol.com.br/negocios/2026/10/keeta-completa-um-ano-no-brasil-distante-da-expansao-planejada.shtml) ## Key takeaways - Keeta completed its first year in Brazil operating in 11 cities, with São Paulo the only state capital served. - Keeta has 83,000 registered restaurants and 430,000 registered delivery riders in Brazil, up from 27,000 and 98,200 at its São Paulo launch. - Keeta pledged R$5.6 billion over five years and says less than 20% has been invested so far. - The São Paulo Court of Justice struck down 99Food clauses barring partner restaurants from working with Keeta, with a R$100,000 fine per breached contract. Keeta completed its first year in Brazil on October 31 operating in 11 cities in São Paulo state, with the state capital the only capital served, short of the 16 metropolitan regions it had planned. [Folha](https://redir.folha.com.br/redir/online/emcimadahora/rss091/*https://c-level.folha.uol.com.br/negocios/2026/10/keeta-completa-um-ano-no-brasil-distante-da-expansao-planejada.shtml) reported the milestone. Keeta is the international arm of Chinese delivery group Meituan, founded in 2023 and headquartered in São Paulo. ## Keeta's 11-City Footprint and the 99Food Ruling Keeta arrived with a pilot in Santos and a pledge to serve 80% of Brazil's urban population, backed by a commitment to invest R$ 5.6 billion over five years. In a statement, the company said the amount stands, but less than 20% has been invested so far. Keeta has about 1,000 employees in the country. In October, after a favorable ruling in the São Paulo court, Keeta announced expansion to 21 more cities in the interior, which are due to begin operating by the end of the year. The company said exclusivity agreements signed by competitors with restaurants held back its advance. Its main legal win came against [99Food](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/004frly/99food), another recent entrant. In late September, the São Paulo Court of Justice annulled 99Food clauses that stopped partner restaurants from working with Keeta and set a fine of R$ 100,000 per breached contract, a decision subject to appeal. Reuters reported that the ruling was unanimous and valid nationwide. Keeta announced the resumption of its national expansion a week after the judgment. ## Keeta's Year of Delays and Exclusivity Claims In February, on the eve of its Rio de Janeiro debut, Keeta postponed the launch and suspended its national expansion plan, attributing the delay to exclusivity and ban contracts. The company said Rio "continua sendo um mercado prioritário," but no new date has been set. In September, Keeta said a survey of 147 anchor restaurant chains in São Paulo and Baixada Santista found 85.7% had exclusivity contracts with iFood or 99Food. [iFood](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000xc8/ifood) disputes the count, saying its contracts follow a 2023 agreement with antitrust agency Cade that bars exclusivity with chains of 30 or more stores and caps exclusive restaurants at 8% of the base in cities above 500,000 inhabitants. ## How Hungry Howie's and Wonder Compare Other delivery and restaurant businesses are also expanding. Hungry Howie's Pizza opened seven restaurants across five states in the third quarter of 2026 and is partnering with DoorDash to rebuild its digital platform, [Prweb](https://www.prweb.com/releases/hungry-howies-opens-seven-restaurants-across-five-states-in-q3-2026-302912277.html) reported. Wonder expanded robot-powered food delivery to Hoboken, Philadelphia and Arlington County, Virginia, after a Jersey City pilot, [NJBIZ](https://njbiz.com/wonder-grubhub-robot-food-delivery-expansion/) reported. ## Keeta's Next Steps in Brazil Keeta's 21 additional cities are due to start operating by the end of the year. The iFood agreement with Cade limiting its exclusivities expires in August 2027. Keeta says it plans to return to capitals with a validated model. ## Companies in this story - Keeta · website: https://www.keeta-global.com - [99Food company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/004frly/99food) · website: https://99app.com/99food - [iFood company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000xc8/ifood) · website: https://carreiras.ifood.com.br/en --- News for Agent · https://newsforagent.com/llms.txt