Konsuminvestoren wollen sich aus dem Geschäft zurückziehen.

Consumer investors are experiencing a long - awaited delight.

It all starts with a scenario: On March 6th, Wu Qing, the chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), announced at a press conference on economic affairs during the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress that a more precise and flexible listing criterion will be introduced on the ChiNext platform. It is actively supported that high - quality and more innovative start - ups in the new consumption and modern service sectors be listed on the ChiNext platform.

The terms "new consumption" and "listing" carry a great deal of weight.

"The turning point has come." A managing partner of a venture capital (VC) fund in Beijing described his feelings in these four words. Behind this enthusiasm lies the fact that in recent years, no single company from the consumer sector has gone public on the Chinese A - share stock market, and consumer investors generally had difficulties in liquidating their investments.

The door is slowly opening.

A long - awaited scenario: Consumer companies have opportunities to list on the ChiNext platform

This scenario has far - reaching impacts.

In the view of consumer investors, the new listing criterion of the ChiNext platform no longer only assesses "hard technologies", but focuses on "new business models and forms" – those new consumer companies that may not have leading technologies but are innovative and have strong growth in terms of business model, brand building, supply - chain management, and digital corporate governance, once again have the opportunity to be listed on the A - share stock market.

This means that the ChiNext platform, which has produced numerous successful consumer companies in the past, will open its doors to consumer companies again.

"A smooth repayment option is like the saving rain after a long drought." Wang Lan, an investor specializing in the new consumer sector, couldn't hide her enthusiasm.

She admitted that some excellent consumer projects that had no chance of an A - share listing were forced to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. But the liquidity and valuations on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange vary greatly, and the returns for limited partners (LPs) are generally severely restricted. "Now that the ChiNext platform has officially promised support, there is hope that the fund returns can be improved, which is undoubtedly a great advantage for subsequent fundraising."

In recent years, the difficulty in repaying investments has always been a thorn in the side of consumer investors. This change gives rise to hopes.

Maybe in the not - too - distant future, trendy toys targeting emotional values, real - time retail platforms reshaping the relationships between people, goods, and sales points, or intelligent home improvement industries integrating artificial intelligence, as long as they meet the criteria for "high - quality innovative start - ups", can find their place on the ChiNext platform.

Currently, the entire venture - capital industry is obsessed with the world of artificial intelligence, and consumer investments are moving further and further into the background. An anonymous consumer investor analyzed that this reform is not simply about a few companies going public, but a correction of the over - emphasis on a single sector in recent years – the definition of "innovation" in the capital market is returning to diversity and tolerance.

"Finally, this day has come." Lisa, who works in the consumer department of a well - known VC fund, regretted, "In the past two years, we always first asked if a project contained 'hard technologies'. Even if it was just a coffee company, we always had to somehow add big - data algorithms." Now the picture is becoming clearer.

It is known that the overall concept for the reform of the ChiNext platform is already largely completed and will be released and implemented at an appropriate time. The definition of new consumption still needs to be clarified. The venture - capital industry – both consumer investors and consumer start - ups – is eagerly awaiting.

The consumer sector has long suffered from a lack of listings

"The past few years have not been easy."

Consumer investors who have been involved in this field for years spoke with great emotion about their experiences. There was even a time when the entire industry was at a loss and faced difficulties in repaying investments.

There was once a time when many consumer investors flocked to China. Capital flowed wildly into the consumer sector, and the valuations of consumer projects rose rapidly. It was a time when "you only needed a good business model to get capital". Start - up projects like Perfect Diary, Heytea, and Pop Mart quickly established themselves and created countless wealth stories.

But since the peak of the industry in 2021, the situation in the consumer sector has rapidly deteriorated. The valuations have fallen, and the ability to repay investments has been restricted. Some consumer projects with large valuation bubbles have shown their true nature, and the investors who once enthusiastically embraced them have left the stage.

Suddenly, the consumer sector was ridiculed as the sector with the lowest entry barriers among all industries and was at the bottom of the devaluation hierarchy. Even leading investment companies began to abandon their entire consumer departments.

The most difficult part was the difficulty in repaying investments.

In recent years, the access for traditional consumer companies to go public has been restricted. Many traditional consumer markets that rely heavily on marketing expenses and have no core competencies have withdrawn their applications for an A - share listing or have been eliminated from the market. A consumer investor told us: "Projects that we invested in or reinvested in multiple rounds during the high - activity years in the consumer sector are now in a difficult situation. On the one hand, the way for consumer companies to list on the A - share stock market is blocked, and it is difficult to continue the investments. On the other hand, consumer investments have generally declined significantly, and no one is willing to take over these projects. Even an intermediate - round repayment is not possible."

Since the access to the A - share stock market was blocked, consumer companies had to turn to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In 2025, the trend of listing consumer companies on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was very strong.

So we have seen that the "Three Sisters on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange" – Pop Mart, Mixue, and Laopu Gold – suddenly became very successful. The new consumer sector was one of the most exciting sectors on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the profit opportunities were enormous. At the same time, companies like Mingming Busy, Maogeping, Linqingxuan, Brukko, Shanghai Auntie, Guming, Saturday Fortune, Green Tea Group, Meet Fresh, and Dongpeng Beverage have successively listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and there are still dozens of companies in the queue.

But different companies have had different experiences on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Some have succeeded, while others have remained silent.

Over time, everyone is waiting for a new listing stage.

Weekend work: Seize the first opportunities

The opportunities belong to those who prepare for them.

Quick - witted VC/PE companies are racing against time. The investment industry has learned that some VC companies have urgently held internal meetings to re - evaluate their project portfolios. High - quality consumer projects that were previously classified as "having no chance of an A - share listing" are back on the table.

At the same time, investors are actively communicating with potential portfolio companies to develop new listing plans and check if they meet the new criteria. Some are also discussing whether they should withdraw their applications for a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and wait for the opportunities on the A - share stock market.

In addition, leading brokers are actively contacting investors to talk about the listing possibilities for new consumer companies. VC companies are trying to put their projects in an advantageous position before the official release of the details.

The restoration of confidence will surely affect fundraising. A consumer investor believes that their slow - moving project for a consumer special fund can finally be included in the planning again.

"Maybe more young people will be willing to engage in the consumer sector." So said a managing partner of a consumer VC fund in Beijing. The year 2026 has started well, and the internal recruitment plan is running as planned. He told us last year in despair that it is difficult for consumer VC companies to recruit good young talents because they are more interested in the technology sector.

After the ups and downs of recent years, a new story about investments in the new consumer sector is unfolding.

If you look at things calmly, Chinese consumer investment is in a healthy state after the upheavals and waiting time of recent years. In China, there is a population of 1.4 billion, the world's second - largest consumer market, a culture where unity and diversity coexist, the world - leading supply chain, and strong technological innovation. All these are the foundation for the development of Chinese consumer markets.

As some people are always firmly convinced: In China, the consumer market always has great growth potential.

The pursuit of the first opportunities is spreading in the venture - capital industry. It is a race against time for listing.

The prelude begins.

(Wang Lan and Lisa are pseudonyms)

This article is from the WeChat account “Investment World” (ID: pedaily2012), written by Yang Jiyun and published with the permission of 36Kr.