Consumption and investment are starting to heat up.
“This year, the situation of competing for projects has resurfaced. For popular projects, it's even impossible to secure a share,” said Joyce, the investment director of a medium - large investment institution in Beijing. The last time such a situation occurred was in 2021.
When Duan Ran, the founder of HeTun Family, sought financing in 2024, he often encountered situations where investors didn't follow up after receiving the business plan. However, the situation has reversed this year, and many investors are actively approaching for discussions.
On July 11, HeTun Family announced the completion of a 30 - million - yuan Series B financing. The company not only has the terminal catering brand “April River Puffer” restaurant but also has a full industrial chain for breeding, slaughtering, and processing river puffers.
In mid - 2025, the enthusiasm for consumer investment began to pick up. Institutions such as Huaying Capital, Qicheng Capital, and Guangdian Capital all stated that the number of consumer projects reviewed internally this year is increasing.
“This year, the situation of competing for projects has resurfaced. For popular projects, it's even impossible to secure a share,” said Joyce, the investment director of a medium - large investment institution in Beijing. The last time such a situation occurred was in 2021.
In the past three years, consumer investment has gone through its “darkest moment”. Relevant data from IT Juzi shows that in 2022, the number of financing events in the consumer goods industry decreased by about 43% compared with the previous year. And in that year, Series C and above financing events only accounted for 5%.
In 2023, consumer investment and financing hit rock bottom. According to the joint statistics of Lijin, a consumer venture capital think - tank, and the China National Light Industry Enterprises Investment and Development Association, the number of investment and financing events in the consumer industry dropped significantly in 2023, with only 683 events, a year - on - year decline of 30.4%. This situation didn't improve in 2024. There were 719 investment and financing events in the consumer field throughout the year, a slight year - on - year increase of 5.3%, still lower than the 982 events in 2022.
Many investors told Economic Observer that the warming - up of consumer investment has only happened in the past quarter. Since the recovery has just begun, it takes time from project contact to the completion of due diligence and investment. A large number of investment cases haven't been announced yet, and it is expected that the data will reflect the change in the second half of the year.
Behind this change may be related to the fact that many consumer companies have listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this year and their valuations have risen. Since 2025, the market value of Laopu Gold (06181.HK) has increased by more than three times, the market value of Pop Mart (09992.HK) has doubled, and the listing of Michelle Ice Cream (02097.HK) set a record for the largest - scale consumer - related IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in recent years.
The performance of these companies in the secondary market has boosted the confidence of the primary market. Many consumer investors are very familiar with the stock prices and market values of the “Three Sisters of the Hong Kong Stock Market” (Michelle Ice Cream, Pop Mart, and Laopu Gold).
However, many institutions reported to the Economic Observer that different consumer investment tracks still have uneven popularity. Currently, the investment enthusiasm is mainly concentrated in areas such as IP incubation, consumer electronics, AI toys, and chain brands with the potential to open 10,000 stores.
Although consumer investment has heated up, in the view of Wang Weiwei, the managing partner of Huaying Capital, the overall valuation of consumer projects hasn't changed significantly this year. Most projects still maintain a PE (price - to - earnings ratio) valuation of around 10 times.
Recovery
The founder of a commercialization platform for IP incubation told Joyce that in the past quarter, he has received more than 50 institutions with investment intentions.
This number surprised Joyce. In her perception, there aren't that many investment institutions focusing on the consumer field at present.
Joyce asked which institutions they were and found that some comprehensive investment institutions that were more focused on the technology track in the past have also started to re - layout the consumer field this year.
This change is not an isolated case. The head of a well - known investment institution told Economic Observer that during recent on - the - spot investigations of several consumer startup projects, he encountered comprehensive investment institutions such as Fosun Investment that had faded out of the consumer field.
As investors re - enter the market, some consumer projects have also started to obtain financing.
On July 11, Duan Ran, the founder of HeTun Family, revealed to a reporter from Economic Observer that the company has completed a 30 - million - yuan Series B financing, with a post - investment valuation of 450 million yuan. The investor in this round is Jingya Capital. HeTun Family's specific business covers two sectors: one is the breeding, cultivation, slaughtering, processing, and sales of river puffers; the other is the operation of the catering brand “April River Puffer” restaurant.
Compared with last year, Duan Ran clearly felt that the investment and financing market is recovering this year. The number of investors approaching him actively in the first half of the year has tripled. Even for the institutions he approached actively, the project progress has accelerated significantly. “Last year, many institutions had been in contact for more than half a year, and the projects were still stuck at the review stage. But this year, some investors completed due diligence in just two months.”
Joyce also said that recently, the number of projects in contact, internal review, and final approval has increased significantly, especially in the past quarter.
Linkage
The recovery of consumer investment may be related to the fact that many consumer companies have listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this year and their valuations have risen.
On March 3, Michelle Ice Cream listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at an issue price of HK$202.5 per share. Its closing price on the first day was HK$290, a rise of 43.21%. Its market value quickly exceeded HK$100 billion, setting a record for the largest - scale consumer - related IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in recent years.
In addition to Michelle Ice Cream, Pop Mart and Laopu Gold also performed outstandingly. The stock price of Pop Mart increased by 200% in 2025, and its market value exceeded HK$300 billion. The market value of Laopu Gold exceeded HK$250 billion, with a year - to - date increase of 300%, surpassing traditional jewelry companies such as Chow Tai Fook.
These three companies are also known as the “Three Sisters of the Hong Kong Stock Market” in the market. The total market value of the three companies once exceeded HK$700 billion, driving the overall upward movement of the consumer sector on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The popularity of the “Three Sisters of the Hong Kong Stock Market” has also become a hot topic among consumer investors.
In the view of Zheng Bo, the vice - president of Qicheng Capital, the cyclical fluctuations of consumer investment are closely related to the performance of the secondary market. The high valuations of consumer stocks in the secondary market will be transmitted to the primary market. In 2020, when the market value of Haidilao approached HK$500 billion, it drove the primary market to pursue consumer brands. There was even an extreme case where the post - investment valuation of a single store of a catering company reached HK$100 million. However, as the consumer stocks in the secondary market significantly corrected, consumer investment in the primary market also cooled down.
Many investors told Economic Observer that many of their invested consumer companies have realized that the approval process for IPOs on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has accelerated, the listing threshold has been lowered, and the opportunity cost is relatively low, making it a good choice for listing.
On June 18, at the 2025 Lujiazui Forum, Chen Yiting, the chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, said that there are currently more than 160 companies queuing for IPOs on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In May alone, more than 40 companies submitted listing applications, setting a new high in recent years. Among these potential candidates, consumer - related companies account for a significant proportion, covering various industries such as catering chains, trendy toys, and clothing retail.
Policy support has also injected confidence into investors.
On June 24, six departments including the People's Bank of China, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission jointly issued the “Guiding Opinions on Financial Support for Boosting and Expanding Consumption” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”).
The “Opinions” pointed out that it is necessary to support eligible high - quality enterprises in the consumer industry chain, including production, distribution, and terminals, to raise funds through listing, listing on the “New Third Board”, etc.; guide social capital to increase investment in key areas of service consumption and meet the long - cycle financing needs of the consumer industry through “long - term capital” and “patient capital”.
Uneven Popularity
Although the investment enthusiasm has recovered, the “popularity” of different consumer tracks is uneven.
In the fields of emotional consumption and consumer electronics, Joyce has had in - depth discussions on projects. Kuai Lemeng, an investment manager at Guangdian Capital, is also focusing on AI toys, building block toys, and card - related projects. Recently, a consumer electronics project will be submitted for internal discussion.
Centering on the two investment themes of “New Generation of National Brands” and “New Generation of National Chains”, Qicheng Capital is more optimistic about the opportunities for brand upgrading in structural and large - category areas. Similar companies include October Rice Field and Yuan's Wood Furniture.
Zheng Bo himself is particularly concerned about new trends such as outdoor consumption and emotional consumption. In his view, emotional consumption not only includes trendy toy IP brands represented by Pop Mart, which meet consumers' needs for collection and entertainment, but also includes a wider range of self - indulgent consumption, such as small - scale food and beverage, pet economy, and fashion accessories and bags, which bring immediate pleasure to consumers through small but certain happiness experiences.
Take Mr. Wildman Ice Cream in the small - scale food and beverage track as an example. Jiang Bo, the founder, told Economic Observer that many investment institutions have actively approached this year, but the founding team hasn't finally decided which institution to cooperate with.
An unnamed investor said that the reason for favoring Mr. Wildman Ice Cream is mainly due to its amazing store expansion speed. It only had 100 stores last year, and it is expected to exceed 1,000 stores this year.
Although consumer investment has heated up, in the view of Wang Weiwei, the overall valuation of consumer projects hasn't changed significantly this year. Most projects still maintain a PE (price - to - earnings ratio) valuation of around 10 times.
Although the valuation of some projects in the emotional consumption track is relatively high, Wang Weiwei believes that this is the result of the transmission effect of Pop Mart's hundred - fold valuation in the secondary market on the investment sentiment in the primary market. In his view, companies like Pop Mart with a complete industrial chain are rare, and he takes a cautious attitude towards the valuation of emotional consumption projects.
This article is from the WeChat official account “Economic Observer”. Author: Zheng Yuxin. Republished by 36Kr with permission.