Consumer investors are about to get out of the water.

Consumer investors are experiencing long - awaited excitement.

It all starts with this event: On March 6th, Wu Qing, the Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, revealed at a press conference on economic topics during the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress that a more precise and inclusive set of listing criteria will be added to the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM). Actively support high - quality innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises in new - type consumption, modern service industries, etc. to issue and list on the GEM.

The words "new - type consumption" and "issuing and listing" carry great weight.

"After a long spell of bad luck, good luck is coming." A managing partner of a VC firm in Beijing wrote these four words to describe his mood. Behind this excitement is the situation in the past few years where there has not been a single consumer IPO on the A - share market, and consumer investment institutions have collectively faced difficulties in exiting their investments.

The door is slowly opening.

A long - awaited scene: Consumer companies are expected to list on the GEM

This scene will have far - reaching impacts.

In the eyes of consumer investors, the new listing criteria for the GEM no longer solely focus on "hard technology" but turn their attention to "new business forms and models" — those new - type consumer enterprises that may not necessarily have cutting - edge technologies but have innovation capabilities and high growth potential in aspects such as business models, brand building, supply - chain management, and digital operations are expected to regain the qualification to list on the A - share market.

This means that the GEM, which has given birth to numerous consumer blue - chip stocks in the past, will open its doors to consumer enterprises again.

"A smooth exit path is like a timely rain after a long drought," said Wang Lan, an investor focusing on the new - consumption track, unable to hide her excitement.

She admitted that previously, some excellent consumer projects had to turn to the Hong Kong stock market because there was no hope of an A - share IPO. However, the liquidity and valuation of the Hong Kong stock market are significantly differentiated, and the returns for LPs have generally been greatly reduced. "Now that the GEM clearly shows its support, the fund return rate is expected to be restored, which is undoubtedly a huge boon for subsequent fundraising."

In the past few years, the difficulty of exiting investments has been a major concern for consumer investors. This change is highly anticipated.

Perhaps soon, whether it is trendy toys that focus on emotional value, instant retail platforms that reconstruct the relationship between people, goods, and the marketplace, or smart home brands that integrate AI technology, as long as they meet the positioning of "high - quality innovation and entrepreneurship," they will have the opportunity to find their place on the GEM.

Currently, the entire venture - capital circle is immersed in the AI world, and consumer investment is becoming increasingly marginalized. An unnamed consumer investor analyzed that this reform is not just about allowing a few companies to list but is a correction of the over - pursuit of a single track in the past few years. The definition of "innovation" in the capital market is returning to diversity and inclusiveness.

"Finally, this day has come," sighed Lisa, who works in the consumer group of a well - known VC firm. "In the past two years, when we looked at projects, we always had to ask first, 'Does it have any hard - technology content?' Even for a coffee - selling business, it had to be somehow related to big - data algorithms." Now, the picture is becoming clearer.

It is reported that the overall plan for the GEM reform has basically taken shape and will be released and implemented at an appropriate time. The concept of new - type consumption also needs to be clarified. The venture - capital circle, including both consumer investors and consumer - startup companies, is eagerly looking forward to it.

Consumer companies have long suffered from the difficulty of IPO

"These years have been tough."

Consumer investors who have been in the field for many years are very emotional when talking about their experiences. There was even a time when the entire industry was very confused and suffered from the inability to exit investments.

There was a time when there was a large influx of consumer investors in China. Capital poured in crazily, and the valuations of consumer projects soared. It was an era when "as long as you had a good story, you could get funding." Star projects such as Perfect Diary, Heytea, and Pop Mart quickly emerged, creating countless wealth myths.

However, after the industry reached its peak in 2021, consumer investment took a sharp turn for the worse. Valuations declined, and there was no way to exit investments. Some consumer projects with huge valuation bubbles gradually showed their true nature, and the investors who had rushed to invest in them also left one after another.

For a while, consumer investment was even ridiculed as the track with the lowest threshold among all industries and fell to the bottom of the disdain chain. Even first - tier investment institutions began to directly cut their entire consumer investment groups.

The most difficult part was the inability to exit investments.

In the past few years, the IPO channels for traditional consumer enterprises have been restricted. As a result, many traditional consumer brands that rely heavily on marketing and lack core competitiveness have terminated their A - share IPO applications or been eliminated by the market. A consumer investor told us, "Projects that were invested in or had multiple rounds of additional investment during the prosperous period of consumer investment in previous years are now in an awkward situation. Firstly, the A - share consumer IPO exit channel is not smooth, making it difficult to continue; secondly, the overall consumer investment has cooled down significantly, and no one is willing to take over. Even trying to exit in the middle of a round is impossible."

Since the A - share market was not an option, consumer enterprises had to go to the Hong Kong stock market. In 2025, there was a large - scale wave of consumer enterprises listing in Hong Kong.

So we saw that the "Three Sisters of the Hong Kong Stock Market" became very popular. Pop Mart, Mixue Group, and Laopu Gold once soared in value, and new - consumption became one of the most eye - catching sectors in the Hong Kong stock market, with a strong money - making effect. At the same time, companies such as Mingming Busy, Maogeping, Linqingxuan, Brook, Shanghai Auntie, Guming, Saturday Fortune, Green Tea Group, Meet You Noodles, and Dongpeng Beverage have successively launched IPOs in Hong Kong, and there are still dozens more in the queue.

However, different companies have experienced different fates in the Hong Kong stock market. Some have thrived, while others have remained silent.

As time has passed, everyone is eagerly looking forward to a new IPO stage.

Working overtime on weekends to seize the first - wave window period

Opportunities always favor those who are prepared.

VC/PE firms with a keen sense of smell are moving at full speed. The investment community has learned that some VC institutions have held urgent internal meetings to re - inventory their reserve project libraries. High - quality consumer targets that were once judged as "hopeless for A - share listing" are back on the table.

At the same time, investors are actively communicating with potential invested companies to re - formulate listing plans and evaluate whether they meet the new criteria. Some are also discussing whether to withdraw their Hong Kong IPO applications and wait for opportunities in the A - share market again.

In addition, leading securities firms are also actively contacting investors to discuss the listing paths for new - type consumer enterprises. VCs are trying to secure a position for their projects before the detailed rules are officially announced.

The restoration of confidence will surely be transmitted to the fundraising end. A consumer investor predicted that their long - stalled special consumer - investment fund plan can finally be put on the agenda.

"Maybe more young people will be willing to join the consumer industry," said a managing partner of a consumer VC firm in Beijing. The start of 2026 has been good, and the internal recruitment plan is on schedule. He once told us helplessly last year that it is very difficult for consumer VC firms to recruit excellent young people now because they all prefer the technology track.

After all the ups and downs, a new narrative about new - consumption investment is in the making.

Actually, if we calm down and look at it, after years of reshuffling and waiting, China's consumer investment is entering a healthy stage. In China, with a population base of 1.4 billion, the world's second - largest consumer market, a culture where unity and diversity coexist, the world's top - ranked supply - chain advantages, and booming technological innovation, all these provide fertile soil for Chinese consumer brands.

As some people always believe, in China, the consumer market will always have "a long slope and thick snow."

The sentiment of "seizing the first - wave opportunity window" is spreading in the venture - capital circle. This is a listing race against time.

The curtain has been raised.

(Wang Lan and Lisa are pen names)

This article is from the WeChat official account "Investment World" (ID: pedaily2012), written by Yang Jiyun and published by 36Kr with authorization.