New LPs enter the scene, and the "Twist King" invests nearly 1 billion yuan.
The "warmth" in the primary market has been particularly palpable for industry practitioners this year.
Different from the pervasive pessimism in previous years, "busyness" has become the annual keyword across both investment and fundraising. Investors' schedules are packed; they are either conducting due diligence or on their way to the next project. IRs are also constantly on the go. Some even bluntly said, "I'm completely exhausted this year."
Behind this busyness is the real warmth coming from the market.
From a data perspective, the investment activity of institutional LPs has significantly increased. Some LPs who temporarily left the market are gradually returning, especially the US dollar LPs that have been dormant for a while, and their figures are reappearing.
What's even more noteworthy is that we've found that more and more "new money" from traditional industries is entering the market, with industrial players from the traditional consumer sector being particularly active.
Recently, even the time - honored brand, Tianjin Guifaxiang Mahua Food Group Co., Ltd., has quietly made its move. Since this year, it has invested nearly 1 billion yuan as an LP, becoming one of the unique representatives in the wave of "new money" from industries entering the market.
Tianjin Mahua Becomes an LP
At the end of the year in the cold winter, the atmosphere in the primary market is getting warmer.
In the past two years, the industry mainly talked about the chill and the wave of salary cuts and layoffs. However, this year, the market presents a different picture.
Firstly, the recruitment market has been bustling since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, the frequency and scale of investment by investment institutions have visibly increased.
"I've been extremely busy recently. The demand from institutional clients has soared, especially for investment and fundraising positions," revealed a senior headhunter specializing in the financial field. This is in sharp contrast to the situation a year ago when many headhunters scaled back or abandoned their VC/PE business.
The growth rate on the investment side is even more remarkable. A VC institution directly told us that the total number of investment projects of their institution by the end of this year will reach three times that of last year.
The warm current on the fundraising side is also obvious. Recently, there has been a surge in the market. Not only have multiple RMB funds announced their closures, but many US dollar institutions have also successively disclosed the fundraising progress of their new funds, adding more fuel to the overall confidence of the industry.
What's even more exciting is that the "new money" is starting to get eager and gradually pouring into the primary market. Among them, industrial capital is the most eye - catching.
Recently, we observed that a traditional mahua enterprise has entered the primary market and has made multiple investments as an LP this year. According to incomplete statistics from FOFWEEKLY, from March to August 2025, Tianjin Guifaxiang Mahua Food Group Co., Ltd. has made 5 external investments as an LP, with a total investment scale approaching 1 billion yuan. The GPs it invested in have diverse backgrounds, including state - owned GPs in Tianjin and market - oriented GPs. Some of the invested funds are not targeting traditional enterprises but are involved in cutting - edge technology tracks such as low - orbit satellites.
Some people pointed out that as a traditional food enterprise, the series of investment moves of Tianjin Guifaxiang Mahua Food Group Co., Ltd. are not accidental. It may be a way for the company to find its second growth curve.
It is reported that Guifaxiang Co., Ltd., a listed company controlled by the group, faced operational pressure in the first half of 2025. According to its semi - annual report in 2025, affected by the changes in the demand and purchasing power of the target consumer group, both the passenger flow and the average customer price in the direct - sales channels have declined. At the same time, in order to accelerate the expansion of the national market, the company's operating expenses have increased significantly, and the overall performance in the first half of the year was under pressure.
In this context, participating in industrial funds to find new growth points has become one of the stable strategic choices for the enterprise. And this investment as an LP is a direct confirmation of the market's recovery and also reflects the strategic needs of industrial players for emerging technology fields.
The "Consumer LP Legion"
"Tianjin Mahua" is not an isolated case.
In the past two years, a distinct trend is that a group of enterprises from the consumer industry with abundant cash flows are quietly gathering to form a considerable "consumer LP legion".
Coincidentally, recently, the so - called "OEM king", Nanjiren E - commerce Co., Ltd., has made another move.
On December 1, 2025, Nanjiren E - commerce Co., Ltd. issued an announcement stating that in order to fully leverage the resource advantages and professional capabilities of professional investment institutions, further enhance the company's asset operation and management capabilities, and broaden the company's industrial layout, the company (hereinafter referred to as "the Company", "the listed company") intends to be one of the limited partners (LP) and jointly establish Ningbo Heiyi No. 4 Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership) (provisional) with the general partner Xiamen Yidaihong Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership) and other limited partners. It plans to subscribe for the shares of Ningbo Heiyi No. 4 Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership) with its own funds of no more than 50 million yuan. The target scale of Ningbo Heiyi No. 4 Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership) is 500 million yuan, and the company's investment proportion is expected to be no more than 10%.
It is reported that Nanjiren E - commerce was formerly known as Nanjiren, founded in 1998 and headquartered in Shanghai. The company mainly focuses on the e - commerce channel and strives to build a world - class consumer goods giant through brand authorization and industrial chain services. The company's brands include Nanjiren, Crocodile, Classic Teddy, Nanjiren Premium, etc. The authorized operation categories include underwear, bedding, men's clothing, women's clothing, children's clothing and mother - and - baby products, healthy living products, etc. While providing brand authorization services to partners, the company also provides industrial chain services such as resource integration, data empowerment, R & D and design, quality management, and traffic management to partners.
This is not Nanjiren's first move. As early as 2021, Nanjiren entered the primary market as an LP of Heiyi Capital. By participating in funds, it indirectly invested in many well - known consumer enterprises, including Laopu Gold and Panpan Foods.
In fact, Nanjiren E - commerce is just one member of this growing "LP legion". Since this year, many listed companies in the consumer field, such as Septwolves, Juewei Duck Neck, Youyou Food, Lotus Holdings, Aima Technology, Liba Co., Ltd., etc., have all made investments as LPs. Among them, there are "old faces" that have become active again after being stagnant for many years, and there are also many "new players" who are trying equity investment for the first time. At the same time, Internet industry giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, and JD.com have also returned and started to invest as LPs.
An investor specializing in the consumer track pointed out: "When the competition among consumer brands gradually shifts from channel distribution and marketing battles to in - depth competition in supply chain efficiency, digital technology, and even the application of new materials, expanding the industrial layout or transforming has become an inevitable choice for enterprises to seek new growth points outside their main business."
Such industrial LPs usually have several distinct characteristics: mature main business, stable and abundant cash flow, clear intention for asset allocation or industrial expansion. And due to their non - state - owned and market - oriented nature, their decision - making mechanisms are often relatively flexible, making them valuable and potential partners in the eyes of many GPs.
As more and more industrial capital enters the market as LPs, a new round of evolution has quietly begun.
Full of Warmth
In the past few years, discussions about the "difficulty in finding money" in the primary market have been endless. Especially the market - oriented funds without investment promotion requirements have become scarce resources that GPs are vying for.
Affected by multiple factors such as the macro - economy and industry cycles, pessimism spread in the market in the previous two years. LPs were cautious in their investments, and the difficulty of fundraising continued to increase, which in turn restricted the investment speed on the investment side. Some institutions had few new projects throughout last year.
Since this year, the situation has changed positively. With the rising popularity of tracks such as AI, robotics, and low - altitude economy, and the continuous release of signals from the policy level to encourage the development of technological innovation and equity investment, the investment sentiment in the primary market has significantly recovered, and the willingness and actual actions of LPs to invest have also increased.
The "LP Panoramic Report 2025" recently released by FOFWEEKLY pointed out that in 2025, the private equity market in China presents a complex picture of "polar opposites" under the dual effects of policy guidance and market self - adjustment. On the one hand, after a deep adjustment, the market shows signs of recovery, with nearly 10% growth in both fundraising and investment. On the other hand, the traditional IPO exit channels, except for the Hong Kong stock market, continue to narrow, forcing the industry to explore diversified exit paths represented by S transactions and mergers and acquisitions, and the S transaction volume has increased significantly year - on - year.
From a data perspective, in the first three quarters of 2025, the committed investment scale of institutional LPs was about 1.24 trillion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 9%. The number of newly registered funds was 3,434, a year - on - year increase of 15.18%.
The market sentiment is the same.
Recently, many investment institutions reported that their investment pace this year is significantly faster than last year, and the efficiency of fundraising work has also improved synchronously. A partner of an early - stage investment institution in Beijing once told us that due to the active promotion of a first - tier regional government - guided fund and its hope to complete the investment as soon as possible, their planned new round of fundraising, which was originally scheduled for next year, has actually started earlier this year and achieved key progress.
The more crucial positive signal lies in the formation of a consensus among market participants.
Recently, the leaders of many leading institutions pointed out in exchanges or public occasions that the current venture capital industry is showing "positive signals of warming and improvement".
The investment enthusiasm in the primary market is rising steadily, and investors are becoming active again. Not only are GPs accelerating their layout, but the LP side is also giving positive feedback, and more industrial capital is starting to get eager. The return of market confidence is forming a positive cycle. The continuous support of the policy environment and the new tracks spawned by technological innovation are attracting more and more players to enter the market.
Looking forward, many industry experts have expressed positive expectations for the market situation next year.
Conclusion
After a brief period of dormancy and adjustment, the Chinese venture capital market is undergoing a new reconstruction. On the one hand, more and more "old LPs" who once left the market are cautiously returning. On the other hand, some industrial "new money" is starting to pour into the market.
The market's recovery is not simply repeating the past but showing profound structural changes. An industry consensus is being formed: the Chinese equity investment industry is moving from the arbitrage myth of "scale first" back to the cash reality of "quality first and real - money returns".
From pessimism and waiting to actual participation, the temperature in the primary market is still rising. The LPs who once "disappeared" are gradually coming back with their funds.
This article is from the WeChat official account "FOFWEEKLY", author: FOFWEEKLY. Republished by 36Kr with authorization.