Ele me, known in Chinese as 饿了么 (È le me, literally “Are you hungry?”), is a food delivery and local life services platform founded in Shanghai in 2009. The brand’s visual identity has been defined by a blue color scheme and a distinctive tilted “e” icon, though the platform was renamed Taobao Shangou in December 2025 as part of an Alibaba Group integration.
Design and History
When Ele me launched in 2009, its logo was simply the domain name “ele.me” rendered in text, with no Chinese characters or graphic symbol. Over the next few years, the English lettering underwent minor changes, but the domain-based wordmark remained the primary logo. In 2012, the “e” icon that would later become the brand’s signature mark first appeared, initially used in the mobile app and website favicon. Gradually, the domain wordmark was replaced by a combination of the “e” icon and the Chinese characters 饿了么 set inside a rounded capsule-shaped border.[1]
A significant redesign took place in July 2016, unveiled at a press event where CEO Zhang Xuhao introduced the new logo alongside basketball player Kobe Bryant as a brand ambassador.[2] The redesign removed the outer border, flattened the design, and redrew the Chinese characters with rounded corners. The “e” icon was tilted upward to a 57-degree angle.[1] This was Ele me’s first logo change since its founding.[2]
In late 2019, Ele me updated its brand color without altering the logo itself. The blue was changed from sky blue (#0080cb) to a lighter blue (#009be2).[3] The same period brought a new brand slogan, “好而不贵，有滋有味” (“Good but not expensive, flavorful and tasty”).[1]
In December 2025, Ele me was officially renamed Taobao Shangou (Taobao Flash Sale). The updated app logo features an orange “Taobao Shangou” mark, with the blue “Ele me” text retained in smaller type beneath it.[4] The rebrand removed Ele me’s long-standing blue identity, with delivery riders appearing in new orange-and-black uniforms reflecting Taobao’s visual style.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The “e” in the Ele me logo is the first letter of the pinyin for 饿 (è, “hungry”). Beyond that literal connection, the 2016 redesign embedded several documented details into the icon. The 57-degree tilt of the “e” is a homophone in Chinese for “我吃” (wǒ chī, “I eat”), reflecting the app’s purpose as a service for food lovers. The ratio of the horizontal bar in the “e” to the outer arc diameter is 0.618, the golden ratio, which the designers said symbolized a pursuit of perfection. The “e” shape itself was described as representing the user, with the dot to its right representing food, signifying the platform’s role in connecting users with meals.[2][6]
Typography and Design
The 2016 redesign applied rounded corners to the Chinese characters 饿了么 and optimized their structure, part of a broader flattening treatment that removed the previous capsule border. The design approach was described by the company as reflecting values of “极致、激情、创新” (extremeness, passion, innovation), with the simplified structure intended to give the logo a more technological feel.[6]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
