Chinese new consumer sector continues to be the hot spot for investors. According to New Consumer Daily1, in May, the new consumer sector completed 76 rounds of financing, with a total amount of over 10 billion yuan. This figure does not include 11 rounds of undisclosed amounts.
Note: the term “new consumer” refers to the phenomenon that a new generation of entrepreneurial brands emerge and grow rapidly due to the development of China's internet and consumption upgrading.
Food & Beverage remains the hottest category in the new consumer sector, occupying 29 seats, accounting for nearly 40%.
There are three highlights in the financing of the food sector in May:
1. When a new brand begins to lead a segmented sector, it is easier for the head brands to get investment, such as Zihaiguo Hot Pot in the self-heating hot pot sector, Chicecream in the high-end ice cream sector, and Miss Berry, in the low-alcohol fruit wine sector.
2. Brands with healthy claims as the main selling points would gain more favor by the capital. Among the 29 rounds of financings in the Food & Beverage sector, healthy food brands obtained 15 rounds, accounting for more than half of the total. These healthy food brands can be mainly classified as:
Meal replacement and weight management: Dongchi, Sharkfit
Healthy snacks: Taste Lab, Cui Cui Mao, Boohee, Xifan Technology, BOONBOON
Plant-based: Liuyang, Grain Meat, Youkuai International, Coco 100
Healthy beverage: Qingquan Chushan
More and more new healthy snack brands and plant-based beverage/meat brands have stood out with their differentiated product concepts and portfolios. For example, compared with other oat milk brands, which generally highlight their product’s perfect match with coffee, Chinese startup plant-based milk brand Liu Yang differentiates itself by prioritizing the "direct drink" taste. Liuyang also plans to use Chinese traditional food ingredients to develop functional health products in the future.
3. The offline catering sector shows good growth momentum. Catering brands obtained seven rounds of financing, among which each of them reached or exceeded 100 million yuan. In particular, the popular offline coffee chain, Manner, has raised hundreds of millions of dollars, signifying the bright prospects of the Chinese coffee market.
