Four consumer companies secure new funding; Xiaohongshu opens external links to Tmall; Guozishule announces its global brand ambassador | Venture Capital Insights

Compiled by Lan Jie

Busy Money

Pet food new retail brand "Pete Fresh" announces the completion of a $25 million angel round of financing

36Kr learned that "Pete Fresh" announced the completion of an angel round of financing. It is understood that the funds will be used for big - data customized product innovation, building an efficient supply chain system, and the refined operation and expansion of stores to meet the diverse requirements of pet owners.

The official mini - program shows that as of now, Pete Fresh has opened 12 stores, all located in Shanghai. On February 22, Pete Fresh opened its first store in the Haisu Cultural Square in Changning, Shanghai. It is also worth noting that its founder, Hou Yi, was the founder and CEO of Hema Fresh. Before joining Alibaba, he had long - term employment at JD.com and held important positions in JD Daojia, Asia No.1 Warehouse, and JD Logistics.

AI intelligent robot coffee brand WinnCafe secures tens of millions of yuan in financing

According to IT Juzi, WinnCafe, a brand under Appverse, successfully obtained tens of millions of yuan in angel - round financing, exclusively invested by a well - known venture capitalist in the industry. Relying on the Internet genes and technological background of Appverse, WinnCafe is committed to integrating AI intelligent robot technology with traditional coffee - making processes to ensure the quality and stability of coffee production.

Currently, WinnCafe's intelligent AI coffee machines have received thousands of intent orders. The tens of millions of yuan in angel - round financing obtained this time will be mainly used for technology R & D, business development, and brand promotion.

Game marketing solution provider Sett completes a $15 million Series A financing

According to IT Juzi, recently, Sett completed a $15 million Series A financing led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Saga VC, vgames, F2 Venture Capital, and Akin Babayigit, the founder and former head of the UK game unicorn company Tripledot and the current head of the venture capital firm Arcadia Gaming Advisors, also participated in the investment.

Sett's solution is an AI Agent for game publishers' marketing. Based on the in - game and marketing interaction moment flow constructed by game aesthetics, it aims to attract users to try new games or play more frequently.

"Qianjue Robotics" completes tens of millions of yuan in financing

36Kr learned that "Qianjue Robotics" recently completed tens of millions of yuan in financing. The latest round was invested by Yuanhe Origin, Gobi Partners, and Xiaomiao Langcheng. The funds will be used for technology R & D investment, product iteration, and accelerating mass - production and delivery. Qianjue Robotics was established in May 2024 and focuses on the R & D of multi - modal tactile perception and operation technologies for robots' fine operations. Its core products include high - resolution multi - modal tactile sensors and intelligent tactile perception and control modules.

Company Intelligence

Taobao Tmall and Xiaohongshu cooperate to launch the "Red Cat Project", opening up the performance advertising link

Should it build its own e - commerce closed - loop or consolidate its dominant position in the consumer decision - making level?

This time, Xiaohongshu chose the latter.

On May 7, Taobao Tmall and Xiaohongshu signed a strategic cooperation to create the "Red Cat Project", announcing further open integration between the two parties, opening up the entire link from product recommendation to purchase, and jointly boosting the business growth of merchants. In this project, Xiaohongshu will open external links to Taobao within the platform. Brand merchants can also observe the full - link advertising effects from product recommendation to conversion during this process. Currently, this function is still in the pilot stage and is not open to all brands.

This is undoubtedly a cooperation that complements each other's weaknesses. For Xiaohongshu, the process from "planting grass" (product recommendation) to "pulling grass" (purchase) is often interrupted by other e - commerce platforms. Opening the external link to Taobao this time can make the conversion path smoother. For Taobao Tmall, in the context of the stagnant growth of the e - commerce industry, breaking through from the traffic end has become an increasingly urgent issue. Xiaohongshu, a platform with a strong product - recommendation mindset, has thus become an excellent cooperation partner.

However, this cooperation goes against Xiaohongshu's direction of trying to build an e - commerce closed - loop in the past two years.

In August 2023, Xiaohongshu integrated its e - commerce and live - streaming businesses and established a first - level department, the "Trading Department", parallel to the "Commercial Department" responsible for advertising. Even earlier, in August 2021, Xiaohongshu cut off external links in notes and launched the "Account - Store Integration", which was an important sign of its attempt to build its own e - commerce closed - loop. In 2024 and 2025, Xiaohongshu invested heavily in marketing expenses to cooperate with the Spring Festival Gala to further promote the development of the platform's e - commerce. All these signs indicate that Xiaohongshu has made great efforts in building its own e - commerce closed - loop.

Now, reopening external links to Taobao Tmall is a measure for Xiaohongshu to better utilize the platform's content and traffic advantages, and perhaps also a turning point for Xiaohongshu to re - think its development positioning.

Since the full - scale launch of Taobao Flash Sale, the number of Ele.me orders for Mincun Bibimbap has increased by nearly 100% compared to April

In the platform war, consumer brands have become the winners.

On May 2, "Taobao Flash Sale", the upgraded instant retail business of Taobao Tmall from "Hour - Delivery", was officially launched nationwide. In cooperation with Ele.me, it provided the maximum subsidies to consumers, directly driving the explosive growth of the businesses of multiple brands, including Mincun Bibimbap, during the May Day holiday.

Liu Shuai, the online operation director of Mincun Bibimbap, said, "Since the full - scale launch of Taobao Flash Sale, the number of Ele.me orders for Mincun Bibimbap has increased by nearly 100% compared to April. Reaching this growth rate in a short period far exceeded our expectations."

In addition to Mincun Bibimbap, tea - beverage brands such as MoLiNaiBai and Nayuki's Tea also saw an increase in the number of orders and sales during the May Day holiday. The Ele.me platform shows that during the May Day holiday, the takeaway volume of multiple categories such as milk tea and coffee increased by more than 110% year - on - year under the stimulation of subsidies.

In March this year, JD Takeaway was officially launched on March 1. On April 11, it launched a "10 - billion subsidy" campaign. On the evening of April 22, it announced that the number of orders on that day exceeded 10 million, becoming the "catfish" that stirred up the takeaway industry. While JD and Meituan were in a stalemate, Taobao and Ele.me also joined the competition before the May Day holiday, thus forming a "three - way battle" situation in the takeaway industry.

When the battle situation among major platforms is still unclear, consumer brands cooperating with the platforms have become the winners first, enjoying a bumper harvest in sales with the boost of subsidies and traffic.

Future Idea

Fruit Ripe Sugar - free Tea officially announces that national actress Yang Zi has been promoted to "Global Brand Ambassador"

On May 7, the beverage brand Fruit Ripe Sugar - free Tea officially announced that national actress Yang Zi has been promoted to "Global Brand Ambassador". It is understood that Fruit Ripe Sugar - free Tea has launched more than 10 flavors combining floral and tea aromas, such as Gardenia Oolong and Osmanthus Oolong. From March 2024 to February 2025, its sales exceeded 400 million bottles.

Catering to the current young people's desire to drink healthily and deliciously, Fruit Ripe's sales have been rising steadily. Third - party data shows that in the past year, Fruit Ripe has ranked fourth in the market share of the sugar - free tea category and has maintained growth for four consecutive quarters. In the first half of 2024, its market share increased by 851.07% year - on - year.

Most of Yang Zi's fans are young women, which fits the target audience of Fruit Ripe's products. Announcing the promotion of Yang Zi to the brand's "Global Ambassador" is another step in its existing marketing strategy.

Data - driven Consumption

The tax - free shopping amount in Hainan during the "May Day" holiday reached 510 million yuan

According to CCTV News, during this year's "May Day" holiday (from May 1 to May 5, 2025), the tax - free shopping market in Hainan was booming. According to the statistics of Haikou Customs, the customs supervised a total tax - free shopping amount of 510 million yuan and 79,100 shopping person - times.

Douyin Life Services releases the "May Day" consumption data report, showing that the number of Douyin group - buying orders for accommodation and family meals increased by more than 70% year - on - year

36Kr learned that on May 5, Douyin Life Services released the "May Day" consumption data report, presenting the multi - dimensional consumption situation and users' travel preferences on the platform during the holiday. The data shows that the offline in - store consumption power was strong during the "May Day" holiday. The public's shopping needs in aspects such as food, clothing, housing, transportation, tourism, shopping, and entertainment have become more diverse. The number of Douyin group - buying orders for accommodation and family meals increased by more than 70% year - on - year, the number of group - buying orders for hotel - scenic - spot packages increased by 116%, and the in - store verification volume of group - buying orders for clothing chain merchants increased by 462%. "Family trips" and "Food - tasting trips" were very popular, and "New Chinese - style trips" became the trend.

The national sports equipment market scale will reach 602.1 billion yuan in 2025, a year - on - year increase of 14.2%

According to CCTV News, driven by sports events, the public's enthusiasm for sports has been stimulated, and the popularity of the sports consumption market has continued to rise. The production and sales of relevant sports equipment and outdoor equipment have increased significantly. The data shows that the national sports consumption market was active during this year's May Day holiday. The public's healthy sports consumption is expected to drive a consumption expenditure of 53.97 billion yuan. In 2025, the national sports equipment market scale will reach 602.1 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 14.2%.

The actual investment in China's clothing industry in the first quarter increased by nearly 23% year - on - year

According to CCTV Finance, the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in the first quarter of this year, the actual investment in China's clothing industry increased by nearly 23% year - on - year, with the growth rate exceeding that of many popular sectors. At this year's Guangdong Fashion Week Summer Ordering Fair, in addition to new Chinese - style clothing, "Urban Outdoor" clothing, which combines fashion with the functional needs of sports and outdoor activities, has also become a hot - selling category for summer clothing.