For consumption sector, we at EqualOcean have identified 20 companies worth watching in Q1 2023. The core criterion is to receive venture capital investments of over USD 10 million on average or the equivalent value in CNY in a single round. When compiling the list, we also considered factors such as growth prospects, brand influences and reputation, as well as planned expansions.
In the first quarter of 2023, China's startups continue to attract enormous venture funds despite multiple challenges. The companies spotlighted are of all sizes and at different levels of maturity, consisting of Series C firms to growth-stage startups whose innovations are currently nothing more than a much-hyped concept. We believe that this mix of players, large and small, well-known and obscure, established and incipient, and the investors that throw their weight behind them, present our readers with a Who's Who: It shines a light on the future directions of China's industry and tech evolution. What's more, we hope the EqualOcean series will offer insights for interested investors, entrepreneurs and China-focused observers.
From SMEs about to make their mark on the market, to well-established companies that have already raised significant funds and are still seeking further capital injections, here's a list you won't want to miss.
1. Yanding.com
Yanding.com (Chinese: 上海研鼎信息技术有限公司) has completed a series A+ financing round of hundreds of millions of CNY, led by CICC Capital, followed by XYuan Capital (Chinese: 轩元资本), NovaStar (Chinese: 诺瓦星云), etc.
Headquartered in Shanghai, China, Yanding.com is a technical engineer portal operator. This round of financing focuses on talent pool and capacity reserve, continuously improving and promoting independent, innovative test software, developing breakthrough products and solutions, and laying out global R&D and service centers.
2. TASOGARE
On March 27, the retail coffee brand TASOGARE (Chinese: 隅田川咖啡) received hundreds of millions of CNY series C financing, jointly led by Yijing Capital (Chinese: 沂景资本) and Jiandai Holding (Chinese: 建德国控), followed by Buer Capital (Chinese: 不二资本) and Qiming Venture Partners (Chinese: 启明创投), with INVESTARGET (Chinese: 多维资本) acting as financial advisor.
TASOGARE was founded in 2015 and is dedicated to creating retail coffee products with high-cost performance, high convenience and high health value.
3. Qian Zhuang Jiu Ye
Qian Zhuang Jiu Ye (Chinese: 黔庄酒业) completed its strategic financing of hundreds of millions of CNY on March 20, led by Zhiding365 (Chinese: 直订网). This round of financing will be used to promote cost-effective products to create more revenue.
Qian Zhuang Jiu Ye was rebuilt in 1983 and is a large-scale comprehensive enterprise with production, research, supply and marketing as its main focus.
4. Xiaocaiyuan
China's leading chain restaurant company, Xiaocaiyuan (Chinese: 小菜园), which represents the new cuisine of Anhui, announced the completion of a multi-million USD financing round on March 9, 2023. Harvest Capital, a top consumer-focused investment firm in China, led the investment.
The Chinese-style dining restaurant chain was founded by Wang Shugao a decade ago. Since then, Xiaocaiyuan has opened more than 400 direct directly-operated stores across China.
5. Biaoguoworks
Fresh food supply chain platform Biaoguoworks (Chinese: 标果工厂) received USD 30 million in a strategic financing round from Source Code Capital and IDG. The company's platform empowers the entire fresh food supply chain and the new retail industry with advanced technologies such as the Internet, big data, and the Internet of Things, enabling retailers to purchase fresh food from a first-hand supply with quality assurance.
6. Aspire
Chinese e-cigarette maker Aspire (Chinese: 深圳易佳特科技有限公司) has completed a series C financing round of USD 100 million, led by Sequoia Capital SEA and Lightspeed. Established in 2010, Aspire specializes in the production of electronic cigarettes. The Shenzhen-based company applied to US regulators to withdraw its New York listing application in May last year.
7. VSPN
Based in Shanghai, VSPN announced the completion of a USD 265 million investment from Savvy Games Group, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund subsidiary, making Savvy the biggest global external investor shareholder of VSPO, an investment amount that also sets a record for the highest single investment in the domestic sports industry in the past two years.
VSPN has become a leading global esports operator and hosted a series of gaming esports tournaments such as KPL, PCL, etc, helping China's esports culture go global.
8. Lu Xi He
Chinese bakery chain Lu Xi He (Chinese: 泸溪河) secured CNY hundreds of millions in a Series A round led by Jiangsu Bailian Confitop Venture Capital Management (Chinese: 百联挚高资本) and Cypress Capital (Chinese: 龙柏资本) on January 13.
Proceeds from the round will be put into supply chain management and digitalization. Founded in Nanjing in 2013, Lu Xi He (Chinese: 泸溪河) is a bakery chain making Chinese pastries. It has over 360 directly operated stores nationwide.
Jiangsu Bailian Confitop Venture Capital Management stated that it would leverage abundant retail channel resources to assist Lu Xi He in expanding offline channels and growing into a leading bakery brand.
9. Surpath
Surpath (Chinese: 驿玛科技), a cross-border supply chain technology company, recently announced that it has completed a Series A financing round of tens of millions of USD. This round of financing was exclusively invested by eWTP Arabia Capital, with Index Capital as the exclusive financial advisor. The financing will be used to optimize the construction of technology R&D upgrades and overseas team building. Surpath also indicated that the Middle East is expected to be one of the potential markets for globalization of the company.
10. FreeYond
Tech company FreeYond (Chinese: 深圳自由跃动科技有限公司) completed an angel funding round on January 12, raising nearly CNY 100 million. The investment was made by a Malaysian consortium led by well-known Malaysian investor Datuk Chai Woon Chet.
FreeYond was founded in May 2022 and has launched 2 smartphones and 1 TWS headset. Its products are sold in Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Central, and Eastern Europe, etc. The company's online channels include AliExpress, Mercado Libre, Jumia, Amazon, and Shopee.
11. Bosie
Genderless apparel brand Bosie (Chinese: 伯喜) closed a CNY 100 million Series B2 round of funding on January 17 from individual investors, and the use of the proceeds was not disclosed.
Founded in 2018, Bosie has completed eight rounds of funding to date, with investors from organizations and companies including Eastern Bell Capital, 5Y Capital, Genesis Capital, Cyanhill Capital, GSR Ventures, Zhen Fund, and bilibili (BILI:NASDAQ).
According to its official social media account, bosie is a gender-neutral clothing brand targeting the "Generation Z" consumer group born after 1995. Currently, Bosie has 8 directly-managed shops and 24 affiliated shops in China, mainly in first-tier cities.
12. 4iNLOOK
On January 10, colored contact lenses brand 4iNLOOK announced the completion of a strategic investment of over CNY 100 million in SinoPharm-CICC.
This round of financing will be used to invest in the company's supply chain and brand building while introducing more cutting-edge talent, improving the underlying technical innovation and new product development, and benchmarking against leading overseas companies to build a more professional myopia prevention and control product and service system.
Currently, 4iNLOOK has over 300 color contact lens franchise chains nationwide in China.
13. Jiangsu Jideli
Chinese condiment maker Jiangsu Jideli Food Co., Ltd (Jideli, Chinese: 江苏吉得利食品有限公司) raised CNY 200 million from a series B round on January 19.
Investors of the round include the Jiangsu government, WZ Group (Chinese: 物产中大, SH600704), and Wens Investment (Chinese: 温润投资), an investment firm of Wens Food Group (Chinese: 温氏股份, SZ:300498).
Jiangsu Jideli was founded in 2017 and specializes in food-flavoring compounds. Its four sub-brands are Jideli (Chinese: 吉得利), Shi Guang Wang Shi (Chinese: 食光往事), Henry Morgan, and Snorlax (Chinese: 卡比兽).
14. Dream Blossom
Qingdao Dream Blossom Technology Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 青岛梦想绽放科技有限公司), formerly known as Beijing Dream Blossom Technology Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 北京梦想绽放科技有限公司) bagged CNY 400 million in a Series C round on January 10. The investment was made by Qingdao Economic Control Group (Chinse: 青岛经控集团) and Zhenzhi Capital (Chinese: 真知资本).
Dream Blossom is a technology company founded in 2016 and specializes in extended reality (XR) technology. It produces 4K VR devices, computer vision (CV) tools, and MR devices.
15. Xiaodu Technology
Artificial intelligence products developer Xiaodu Technology Limited (Chinese: 小度科技) completed a Series B round on January 19, with China Renaissance (Chinese: 华兴资本) acting as the exclusive financial advisor. After the financing, Xiaodu's valuation reached RMB35.5 billion.
Formed in 2014 and headquartered in Beijing, Xiaodu Technology is the developer of DuerOS, an AI-based voice assistant system that supports television, speakers, and other smart home appliances.
16. UGREEN
UGREEN (Chinese: 绿联科技) passed the listing hearing on January 6, scheduled to be listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, with Huatai Securities (Chinese: 华泰证券) as the sponsor.
Founded in 2012, UGREEN's main business is research, development, design, production, and sales of 3C consumer electronics products.
UGREEN completed a strategic financing of CNY 300 million in June 2022. GL Ventures was among the investors.
17. Ovodan Foods
Suzhou Ovodan Foods Co., Ltd (Chinese: 苏州欧福蛋业股份有限公司) was successfully listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange on 18 January 2023 at a price of CNY 2.50 per share, becoming the first foreign-funded listed company on the Beijing Stock Exchange.
Established in January 2004, Ovodan Foods is a Chinese member of the world-famous egg products supplier -OVODAN (formerly known as Sanovo Egg Group).
According to the firm's prospectus, it aims to get about CNY153.70 million to upgrade the assembly line, expand production, and add more liquidity.
18. Zhengwei Group
Zhengwei Group Holdings Company Limited (Chinese: 正味集团, 2147:HK) went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 13, issuing around 200 million shares at a price of HKD 0.68 per share.
Proceeds will be put into constructing a new factory and buying production lines, building up snack production capacity, enhancing marketing, and expanding sales channels, and some will go into business operations.
Founded in 2002, Zhengwei Group manufactures and distributes dried food products and started snack production in 2019. The Company produces dried vegetable products, mushrooms, dried aquatic products, condiments, and other products.
19. Fenbi
Fenbi LTD. (Chinese: 粉笔科技, 2469:HK), a Chinese career education institution, listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 9 at an issue price of HKD 9.90 apiece. CITI, CICC and BAS were joint sponsors.
The funds raised will be used to enrich course content, strengthen content and technology development capabilities, marketing, and expand the customer base.
Fenbi is a leading provider of career education and training services in China, dedicated to providing access to high-quality non-academic education and training services through technology and innovation.
20. MetteCashmere
MetteCashmere (Chinese: 羊绒世家) filed a prospectus on January 6, planning to list on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
The company expects to invest CNY 351 million in fundraising, and the money will be used for marketing network construction projects and intelligent production line construction projects.
MetteCashmere is an apparel company with cashmere, wool and other plush materials as its core, and its main businesses are apparel design, research and development, production and sales.