Why has Nowwa, the dark horse of the year, received consistent additional investments from star institutions?

It seems that there has been no fresh news in the business narrative of the coffee market for a long time.

Price wars, new product wars, co - branding wars... As these terms gradually tire consumers, the market is entering a new chapter. In China, discussions about coffee are no longer just some kind of romantic imagination but are increasingly transforming into the simple need of the public for "a daily cup".

Meanwhile, the focus of capital is also shifting. It is moving from chasing trendy stories to verifying the systematic capabilities that can steadily weather economic cycles. The "remarkable success" of "NOWWA Coffee" serves as a powerful footnote in this new chapter.

Recently, NOWWA Coffee has completed a new round of financing worth hundreds of millions of RMB. The list of investors is eye - catching - Legend Capital, Shengwang Fund, Huaying Capital, Challenger Venture Capital, Source Star Capital, GSR Ventures and other investment institutions have placed their bets.

It is worth mentioning that for NOWWA Coffee, this round of financing is more like a consensus - based increase from "old friends". It is reported that Source Star Capital has made consecutive investments in four rounds since 2020, and many old shareholders such as GSR Ventures have also continued to follow up. This is also the largest - scale financing in the Chinese food service industry in the past year.

In the current market environment, when the most shrewd capital reaches a rare consensus with real money, what kind of future do they see in NOWWA Coffee?

When "Smart Money" Votes Collectively

Every investment decision by capital is always a dual judgment of trends and feasibility. NOWWA Coffee's popularity this time stems first from its business model precisely hitting the rhythm of the structural changes in the coffee consumption market.

In the past year, NOWWA Coffee's business has grown several times. The highest number of new stores opened in a single month reached 1,800, and it has accelerated its coverage to more than 300 cities across China and overseas markets such as Australia and Southeast Asia. On December 11, 2025, NOWWA Coffee officially announced that the total number of its global stores had exceeded 10,000, ranking among the top 5 global coffee chain brands.

Ge Xinyu, the co - chief investment officer of Legend Capital, vividly compares NOWWA to "an army of ants and tiny cell - like stores". This description reveals NOWWA's core logic - through lightweight, quickly replicable stores that can be flexibly embedded in diverse scenarios, it achieves low - risk and high - efficiency network penetration.

"The Chinese coffee market is still in a stage of structural growth. The core opportunity lies in rapid penetration and expansion into lower - tier markets. NOWWA Coffee has found a scalable path in a complex and highly competitive market through efficient organizational execution," said Yang Ying, the managing director of Source Star Capital. The word "found" means that its scale of ten - thousand - store is based on sustainable operation rather than relying on unsustainable subsidies.

Fan Guanting, the managing partner of Shengwang Fund, put forward another key concept - "the highest accessibility". In his view, the innovation of NOWWA lies in "transforming standardized freshly - made coffee into an 'infrastructure - type' product that is available everywhere and can be instantly satisfied".

The internal logic behind this "infrastructure" thinking is that when coffee is no longer just a social currency for urban white - collar workers but becomes a part of ordinary people's daily lives, its market boundaries will be greatly expanded. The incremental part lies in extreme convenience and accessibility.

Wang Weiwei, the managing partner of Huaying Capital, gave an interpretation from the perspective of investment strategy: "We have long been optimistic about the Chinese consumer market and are concerned about innovation and structural opportunities in it." The case of NOWWA precisely fits this investment logic - in a seemingly crowded track, it has found structural growth opportunities through model innovation.

Regardless of the interpretation, under the narrative of high - speed and high - penetration growth, NOWWA's strong supply - chain capabilities have played a non - negligible role.

There is a basic consensus in the coffee industry: the greater value of the supply chain in future competition. According to 36Kr, NOWWA's own coffee roasting factory was officially put into operation in 2025. The highly automated production line has not only increased the product quality by more than 30% but also reduced the raw material cost by about 5% and the labor cost by 40%.

Combined with 15 national warehousing and distribution centers and digital operation capabilities, the solid back - end capabilities not only ensure the consistent quality and stable supply of NOWWA's ten - thousand - store scale but also leave considerable profit margins for partners through cost optimization, becoming a barrier to support its high - speed and healthy expansion.

Another profound meaning of this round of financing is that the six institutions each have core advantages in industrial empowerment, jointly forming a strategic "empowerment alliance".

Take Shengwang Fund as an example. Backed by New Hope Grassroots Zhiben, it can provide the ability to integrate the entire food industry chain and optimize supply - chain costs. Challenger Venture Capital is expected to rely on its consumer ecosystem resources to provide NOWWA with experience in chain operation and ideas for global brand layout.

In other words, this round of financing not only reflects the capital's confidence in NOWWA's long - term value but also provides matrix - style industrial resource support covering key capabilities for NOWWA's next - stage refined operation and global layout.

Redefining Daily Coffee with "Health" and "Convenience"

Capital bets on models and trends, while consumers vote with real purchasing behavior.

The key to NOWWA's success in the market competition is that it has redesigned the daily coffee experience with the two most fundamental consumer demands of "health" and "convenience", opening up a differentiated blue - ocean route in the red - ocean market.

At the product level, NOWWA uses "health" as an anchor point to reshape users' perception.

When interviewed by 36Kr in 2024, Guo Xingjun, the founder of NOWWA Coffee, once said that the explosion of the Chinese coffee market is related to the trends of coffee becoming "more daily" and "tastier". During this process, he found that many users were obviously very concerned about health indicators. Therefore, NOWWA found a long - term goal - "to return the menu to a healthier state". This is why they announced a brand upgrade at the end of 2023, positioning themselves as "healthy and low - calorie".

Later, "health" became an enduring concept for NOWWA. Take the industry - first "0 - fat latte" as an example. Relying on high - quality fresh milk and using advanced membrane concentration technology, this product can lock in the high - quality protein and sweet flavor of milk while removing fat. Its fat content is 99% lower than that of ordinary lattes.

In addition, NOWWA has successively launched sugar - controlled coconut latte, 0 - lactose A2 latte, etc. Continuously filling the gap in the healthy coffee market, it has firmly occupied the cognitive position of the "healthy coffee" niche category and stood out from the competition of various flavored coffees.

If product innovation solves the problem of "what to drink", then the operation system centered on digitization redefines the experience of "how to drink" and is also the engine driving NOWWA's large - scale growth.

NOWWA Coffee's online operation capabilities have shown amazing explosive power. According to 36Kr, in the cooperation between NOWWA and a leading instant delivery platform at the end of 2024, just four days after the event was launched, the average daily sales volume of 650 stores in seven cities soared by 210%, and 80% of the stores had orders beyond their capacity.

This means that for partner stores, connecting with NOWWA means directly obtaining a mature online customer - acquisition and operation system, which can expand the service radius from walking distance to a 3 - kilometer living circle, bringing in incremental revenue and a younger customer base. As Zhu Xiaohu, the managing partner of GSR Ventures, commented - "NOWWA Coffee redefines 'daily coffee' in a way closer to users, efficiently connects users with stores through digital capabilities, and covers diverse scenarios with flexible delivery and in - store experiences."

Deeply understanding and integrating into the young consumer culture is the key for NOWWA's brand to maintain its vitality.

In marketing, NOWWA frequently conducts cross - border collaborations with IPs loved by young people. From "Punishing Gray Raven", "Miracle Nikki" to the trendy toy Wakuku, almost every co - branding can trigger hot topics: during the co - branding cooperation between NOWWA and "Punishing Gray Raven", the turnover of its Guangzhou stores skyrocketed by 480%, and that of Shanghai stores increased by 220% year - on - year; on the day when the co - branding with Wakuku was launched, the average daily sales volume of participating stores was nearly a thousand cups, and the efficiency of new member acquisition increased by more than 1100% month - on - month; after the co - branding of NOWWA with "The Mysterious Cases of Tang Dynasty" and the popular IP "Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow" from Gansu Museum, the packages in thousands of stores were sold out.

This combination of "product innovation + digital efficiency + brand resonance" enables NOWWA to go beyond simple coffee sales and truly build a brand that is deeply connected with contemporary consumers, especially the younger generation.

After Reaching Ten - Thousand - Store Scale, Where is the Future of Chinese Coffee?

NOWWA Coffee's achievement of the ten - thousand - store scale and its subsequent support from leading funds have implications for the Chinese coffee market and the broader consumer field in terms of changes in growth paradigms and how brands can adapt to the times.

Firstly, it reveals the shift of the focus of competition in the coffee market. Consumers are moving from competing for "space" and other experiential factors to building a "convenient network anytime, anywhere". The attribute of coffee as a daily consumer product has been unprecedentedly strengthened.

Secondly, it shows the deepening of the competition dimension. The battle is rapidly spreading from front - end marketing and product innovation to the ultimate competition of back - end supply - chain efficiency and full - chain digital capabilities. Self - owned factories and flexible supply chains have become indispensable core barriers for leading players.

In addition, it also verifies that scale and healthy development can go hand in hand. Zhou Hua, the managing partner & CEO of Challenger Venture Capital, pointed out that "NOWWA's achievement of ten - thousand - store scale last year not only verifies the growth potential of the coffee market but also explores a solid Chinese path for brand development in a mature market - that is, through efficient online and offline operations and model innovation, transform a good cup of coffee into a stable and accessible daily service."

After reaching the ten - thousand - store scale, challenges still remain. How to continuously conduct product R & D to keep the brand fresh; how to make local adaptations when penetrating into the broader and more complex lower - tier markets; when embarking on the global journey, how to cross cultural differences and build international brand recognition? These are all new issues that NOWWA needs to address.

This consensus - based investment by capital is not only a comprehensive assessment of the "product - operation - supply - chain - ecosystem" systematic capabilities that NOWWA has built in the past but also a long - term letter of trust in its ability to successfully handle new challenges based on this solid system in the future.

The story of NOWWA Coffee is no longer just a growth legend of a brand. It is evolving into a typical sample for observing the evolution path of Chinese local consumer brands. Its path shows how, in a highly competitive market, with a clear strategy, tenacious operation and continuous iteration, a brand can steadily move from the "explosive period" relying on opportunities and momentum to the "mature period" driven by systematic resilience.

NOWWA's next journey is not only about whether it can stand among global coffee brands but also about accumulating valuable practical experience for the overall advancement and global exploration of the Chinese consumer industry.