Five consumer companies secure new funding; Proya exclusively invests in domestic makeup brand Flortte; Molly Tea signs a co-branded partnership with Shanghai Animation Film Studio | Venture Capital Insights
Compiled by | Lan Jie
Busy Money
Flower Knows Announces Completion of Series B Financing Exclusively Invested by Proya
According to IT Juzi on September 2nd, domestic makeup brand Flower Knows announced the completion of Series B financing, exclusively invested by Proya, with Chishan Capital serving as the long - term exclusive financial advisor. This financing will be used for brand globalization expansion, supply chain integration, and content innovation.
Flower Knows positions itself as a makeup brand for young girls, and its products cover categories such as eyeshadows and lipsticks. The brand has previously completed two rounds of financing - in late 2020, it received tens of millions of RMB in Pre - A round investment from Tiantu Capital; in March 2021, it received nearly 100 million yuan in Series A financing exclusively invested by Kunyan Capital. The exclusive investment from Proya this time is another strategic boost from an industry leading enterprise for Flower Knows after its equity restructuring and the introduction of industrial capital in 2024.
“Weiyi Culture” Completes Angel - Round Financing of Tens of Millions
36Kr learned that recently, “Weiyi Culture”, which focuses on immersive panoramic entertainment experience services, completed angel - round financing of tens of millions. The investor is Shanjia Investment (Hainan) Co., Ltd. This round of financing will be used for key businesses such as the development of immersive panoramic projects and the operation of self - owned IPs. Weiyi Culture was established in 2023 and currently has two core business segments, namely immersive panoramic entertainment experience projects and the series development around its self - owned IP “Green and Blue Universe”.
Craft Beer Brand “TAGSIU” Completes Nearly Ten Million Yuan in Pre - A Round Financing
36Kr learned that craft beer brand “TAGSIU” has completed nearly ten million yuan in Pre - A round financing. The investors are MinIPO, Cool Mouse Brewery, and Jiangzhen Venture Capital. This round of financing will mainly be used for store chain expansion, retail channel development, and supply chain R & D.
TAGSIU was established in 2020 and is a craft beer brand with both offline store space experience and retail channel layout. In May 2023, TAGSIU completed nearly ten million yuan in angel - round financing. Its retail segment mainly features canned products and bottled beer, which are sold through various chain restaurants, e - commerce platforms, and supermarket channels.
Nightlife Complex INS New Paradise (New Electric Hero) Recently Obtained Nearly 3 Billion Yuan in Series A Financing
According to “LatePost”, the nightlife complex INS New Paradise (New Electric Hero) recently obtained nearly 3 billion yuan in Series A financing, led by BAI Capital, one of the angel - round investors. After the investment, its valuation reached 26 billion yuan.
Currently, INS has only one opened paradise, located in Fuxing Park, Shanghai, with a construction area of 20,000 square meters. It houses 10 self - operated bars, nightclubs, and several leased catering stores. It operates the urban commercial complex in a self - operated manner and pioneered the “all - access pass” model, breaking the traditional night - economy situation where high - consumption booth users support the revenue with affordable consumption. In 2024, the company's revenue was close to 1 billion yuan and it achieved annual profitability.
It is reported that INS's next paradise in preparation is located in Chaoyang Park, Beijing, and it will open as early as 2027. Its operating area is larger than that of the Shanghai store, and more complex business forms are designed to further expand the consumer circle.
Healthy Beverage Brand Haojise Completes Hundreds of Millions of Yuan in Financing
According to IT Juzi, Haojise recently received strategic investment from Guoyang Fund. Haojise is a healthy beverage brand focusing on the fast - moving consumer goods track of homologous medicine and food. Its sub - brand Yuexiangke is an innovator in the healthy beverage field, with “homologous medicine and food” as the core, and has launched multiple products, including double - pomelo juice, freshly squeezed corn juice, and indigo juice.
Company Intelligence
ByteDance's Seed Department Grants Stock Option Allowances, and Relevant Technical Employees Can Receive Additional ByteDance Stock Options Worth 90,000/110,000/135,000 Yuan per Month
ByteDance's emphasis on AI business is further verified.
36Kr learned that ByteDance recently granted stock option allowances to its Seed department, mainly covering technical employees in the large - model direction. Depending on comprehensive performance and job levels, employees can receive ByteDance stock options worth 90,000/110,000/135,000 yuan per month, which are attributed monthly. The first batch of allowances will be continuously issued for 18 months.
It is also learned that the calculation price of the first batch of additional stock options is 189.9 US dollars per share, lower than ByteDance's latest stock option repurchase price of 200 US dollars. This means that relevant employees can obtain a larger number of stock options. Calculated according to the rumored repurchase price of ByteDance, the value of the first 18 - month stock options is about 1.7 million to 2.56 million yuan.
AI has become a strategic business that all major Internet companies, including ByteDance, are betting on and competing for. Talent is an essential part of it. At the same time, AI is also a business that significantly increases costs. In the past year, ByteDance's profit margin has been dragged down by the investment in AI - related businesses, and its growth has also slowed down.
Xiaohongshu Expects Annual Profit to Triple Year - on - Year to 3 Billion US Dollars
Xiaohongshu is one step closer to going public.
According to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter, Xiaohongshu's profit is expected to triple year - on - year to 3 billion US dollars (about HK$23.4 billion) this year, and its latest valuation has reached 31 billion US dollars.
The report said that this profit forecast makes Xiaohongshu the profit leader in the global visual social platform field. Its expected profit scale is 50% higher than Pinterest's full - year profit in 2024 and far ahead of Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, which has not achieved full profitability.
Xiaohongshu has completed multiple rounds of financing before, and its valuation once dropped below 20 billion US dollars. Now it has returned to a high point. According to industry insiders, Xiaohongshu's IPO may be launched as early as this year, and the specific time will depend on market conditions.
Since this year, Xiaohongshu has had multiple dynamics of accelerating commercialization, including but not limited to reaching cooperation with Tmall and JD.com successively, hosting the large - scale second - dimension marketing event “RED LAND”, and inviting platform - characteristic merchants to set up the “Xiaohongshu Market” offline.
HFA Global Report: Lek Fitness Ranks Fifth in the World in Terms of Store Quantity
Lek Fitness, which is cheap and ubiquitous, has achieved large - scale success.
According to the “2025 HFA Global Report” released by the Health & Fitness Association in the United States, as of the end of 2024, Chinese fitness brand Lek Fitness performed outstandingly in the global market. Its total number of stores ranked fifth in the world, and it is the only Chinese brand among the top five. At the same time, Lek Fitness's cumulative registered members have exceeded 14 million, ranking second in the world.
Compared with traditional gyms that charge tens of thousands of yuan for annual memberships, Lek Fitness is cheaper and more flexible, catering to the current working people's mentality of wanting to exercise while facing rising living costs and pressure.
We can also see this trend from the above report - Planet Fitness, another gym brand also ranked in the top five, has nearly 3,000 stores, but its basic membership fee is only 10 US dollars per month.
Therefore, Lek Fitness, which was the first to recognize this trend, has become the new winner in the growing fitness market.
Pet’em Announces That Its Paid Members Pet’em Prime Exceeded 100,000 in Five Months
After the store - closing storm, Pet’em has made new progress in its commercialization process.
On September 1st, pet service brand Pet’em announced that its paid members Pet’em Prime exceeded 100,000 in five months. In addition, Pet’em officially became the general distributor of New Zealand high - end pet food brand Sunday Pets in the Chinese mainland.
Pet service brand Pet’em was established in 2015, focusing on pet health care services and pet product retail. It is committed to providing standardized and professional services to pet owners through the direct - chain model and digital means.
According to a relevant report by iiMedia Research, by 2028, the market scale of China's pet economy industry is expected to reach 1.15 trillion yuan. With the popularity of the pet economy, Pet’em has opened more than 200 stores, covering core first - tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.
At the beginning of this year, some media reported that Pet’em closed more than 20 stores. The brand's official response said that the total number of closed stores nationwide was more than ten, mainly due to rent issues, and new stores will be opened one after another in the future.
Future Idea
Jasmine Milk White Collaborates with Shanghai Animation Film Studio
In September, Jasmine Milk White collaborated with Shanghai Animation Film Studio. Inspired by the classic animated work “Ginseng Fruit”, it launched new products such as “Ginseng Fruit and Yellow Apricot Iced Tea” and “Bailan Jinxuan”.
Just after the summer vacation, “The Little Monster in Langlang Mountain” verified the potential of Chinese - style fashion. And tea - beverage brands that always use collaboration as a marketing tool also hope to catch this wave of popularity.
Official Derivative Offline Store of “Black Myth” Will Open in Xihu District, Hangzhou
On September 4th, Yang Qi, the co - founder of Game Science and the art director of “Black Myth: Wukong”, posted a recruitment notice on the social platform. The official derivative offline store of “Black Myth” will open in Xihu District, Hangzhou, and it is currently recruiting clerks and store managers.
According to the Aiqicha App, Hangzhou Youke Interactive Technology Co., Ltd., a related company of Game Science, has applied for copyrights for works such as “Black Myth: Wukong - Peripherals - Canvas Bag and T - Shirt Series”, “Black Myth: Wukong - Peripherals - Plate Series”, and “Black Myth: Wukong - Peripherals - Canvas Bag Printing and Shopping Bag Series”. The categories of these works are all art.
As a phenomenal 3A game, “Black Myth: Wukong” has sufficient potential to become an IP. With the new work “Black Myth: Zhong Kui” by Game Science making a grand appearance at the opening night of the Gamescom, the popularity of the “Black Myth Series” will continue.
Data - Driven Consumption
Movie Summer Box Office Increases Year - on - Year
Data from the professional version of Dengta shows that as of 18:00 on August 31st, the total box office (including pre - sales) of the 2025 summer season (June 1st - August 31st) reached 11.943 billion yuan, exceeding the box - office performance of the 2024 summer season. Among them, “Nanjing Photo Studio”, “The Little Monster in Langlang Mountain”, “Chasing the Wind and Shadows”, “The Lychees in Chang'an”, “Jurassic World: Reborn”, and “Black Cat Detective 2” ranked among the top six in the season's box office.
Demand for Smart Home Cleaning Robots Soars
36Kr learned that the “Quarterly Tracking Report on the Global Smart Home Cleaning Robot Device Market, Q2 2025” recently released by the International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that in the first half of the year, the global smart home cleaning robot market shipped 15.352 million units, a year - on - year increase of 33%, indicating strong market demand for this category. Among them, lawn - mowing robots shipped 2.343 million units in the first half of the year, a year - on - year increase of 327.2%.
Under the “Battle of AR Glasses”, the AR Market Further Grows
36Kr learned that according to the latest report released by TrendForce, in 2025, as international brands successively launched AR - glasses prototypes and Meta is expected to release its AR glasses Celeste soon, the market's attention to AR devices has begun to heat up. Coupled with the price decline of OLEDoS products, the global AR shipments are expected to reach 600,000 units in 2025. In the long run, the growth momentum of the AR market for information - prompting is strong. Starting from 2028, as the high - end full - color AR technology becomes more mature and more sophisticated products from international giants are launched, the shipments will be boosted to reach 32.1 million units in 2030.