EqualOcean learned on June 16, the popular food media DayDayCook submitted an F-1 filing prospectus to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with plans to go public on the New York Stock Exchange through the issuance of Class A common stock. CMB International（招银国际）, The Benchmark Company, Guotai Junan International（国泰君安国际）, Eddid Securities and Futures Limited（艾德证券）, and Tiger Brokers（老虎证券） will jointly serve as underwriters.
Founded in 2012 by former investment banker Norma Chu（朱嘉盈） in Hong Kong, DayDayCook provides users with a wealth of recipes and food videos, allowing food enthusiasts to record and share their culinary experiences. Norma Chu, the founder, chairman, and CEO of DayDayCook, previously held a managerial position in the HSBC after graduating from the University of Washington. Norma Chu initially started regularly sharing recipe videos on Facebook, quickly gaining a large number of followers. Subsequently, she left her job at HSBC to pursue entrepreneurship full-time.
During its initial stages, DayDayCook entered the market with short cooking videos and established a food community on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. In 2017, DayDayCook began expanding into content e-commerce and in 2019, ventured into convenient food products. Currently, DayDayCook has evolved from a short video-sharing website to a brand focused on food and lifestyle. It primarily teaches cooking skills and also engages in various food product sales and advertising services. DayDayCook currently has culinary experience centers in Shanghai, Wuhan, and Guangzhou. The estimated valuation of DayDayCook is nearly HKD 3 billion, making it one of the largest food information service platforms and food communities in Asia.
Since its inception, DayDayCook has enjoyed favorable attention from the capital market. According to publicly disclosed information, DayDayCook has undergone eight rounds of financing, with investors including HEYI CAPITAL（合一资本）, MFund（魔量基金）, well-known Silicon Valley accelerator 500Startups, K11 Investment, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund（阿里巴巴创业者基金）, Talis Capital, Ironfire Ventures, Henderson Land Development（恒基地产）, and Proterra Investment（璞瑞基金）.
In 2021, DayDayCook planned to go public on NASDAQ through a SPAC, but in 2022, the company decided to pursue an IPO in the United States. In October 2022, DayDayCook submitted its DRS (Registration Statement on Form F-1) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the first time.
DayDayCook currently operates three major brands in mainland China, namely "DayDayCook," "YUJIAWEN（渔家翁）," and "Meng Wei（猛味）," which specialize in ready-to-eat fast food products. In terms of online sales channels, DayDayCook has already covered major domestic e-commerce platforms and content platforms such as Tmall（天猫）, JD.com（京东），Pinduoduo（拼多多）, Douyin（Chinese Tiktok）, Bilibili（哔哩哔哩）, Weibo（微博）, Xiaohongshu（小红书）, Kuaishou（快手）, and Meituan（美团）. Additionally, the company's products are available in offline channels such as 7-11, Lawson, Carrefour, Freshippo（盒马鲜生）, Ole', and G-Super.
DayDayCook believes that its merger and acquisition strategy will continue to be a growth path in the future. Through acquisitions and collaborations with different brands, DayDayCook aims to further expand its market share both domestically and internationally.
In July 2022, DayDayCook entered the U.S. market through Yamibuy.com, further expanding its overseas operations. In order to expand market channels and increase sources of revenue, DayDayCook completed four acquisitions in 2022 and an additional three acquisitions from 2023 onwards. Among them, DayDayCook signed an acquisition agreement with "Nona Lim," an Asian food brand based in San Francisco, to gain access to their distribution network in the United States, enabling the sale of Asian noodle products and various soup ingredients to customers.
In terms of financial data, according to the disclosed information, DayDayCook's revenue in 2021 and 2022 was CNY 205 million and CNY 180 million, respectively. The gross profit margin increased from 17.8% in 2021 to 24.5% in 2022. In terms of operating losses, it decreased from CNY 459 million in 2021 to CNY 122 million in 2022.
DayDayCook clearly stated in its prospectus that 50% of the funds raised through the IPO will be used for business expansion, 25% for the acquisition of suitable targets operating RTC/RTE brands to strengthen existing sales channels and customer base, 15% for the repayment of loans to shareholders and related parties, and the remaining 10% for cash reserves.