Over $2 Billion Raised: Fresh Food E-commerce and Community Group Buying Favored by Capital

In the massive fresh food retail market exceeding 4 trillion yuan, major players entering, capital injections, and platform failures have become commonplace. Amidst this turbulent environment, the fresh food sector has seen continuous segmentation, with fresh food e-commerce, fresh food supermarkets, convenience stores, and group buying models iterating rapidly. In recent months, several leading platforms have secured significant funding, pushing the fresh food retail track back into the spotlight and igniting a new competitive landscape.

-01- Capital Focus: Fresh Food Retail Welcomes Another Funding Wave According to statistics from Retail Circle, in the past three months, multiple fresh food retail platforms including Tongcheng Life, Xingsheng Youxuan, Shihuituan, Yipin Fresh, and Miss Fresh have secured funding.

On June 10, Tongcheng Life announced the completion of a $200 million Series C funding round; Subsequently, on July 22, Xingsheng Youxuan completed a Series C+ funding round of approximately $800 million; The veteran fresh food e-commerce platform using the front-warehouse model, Miss Fresh, also announced a new $495 million funding round on July 23; On July 29, Shihuituan announced the completion of an $80 million Series C2 funding round, following Series B and C rounds of $88.3 million and $81.4 million in January and May respectively; On August 5, Yipin Fresh announced a 2.5 billion yuan Series C funding round, bringing this wave of fresh food retail funding to its peak.

The fresh food market has once again sparked a capital funding wave, mainly due to the pandemic catalyzing online fresh food business as a crucial support for residents during the special period, leading to explosive growth in GMV and penetration rates across major platforms.

For example, Shihuituan saw its business order volume double during the pandemic, with growth in Wuhan even reaching 500%. In March, Shihuituan announced GMV surpassing 500 million yuan, and in April, its GMV exceeded 650 million yuan.

-02- Comparison of Models Among Mainstream Platforms In this funding wave, besides Hema backed by Alibaba and the fresh food layouts of traditional supermarket giants, almost all leading representatives of major mainstream models in the fresh food sector are included. For instance, Miss Fresh represents fresh food e-commerce with the front-warehouse model; Tongcheng Life and Xingsheng Youxuan represent community group buying; and Yipin Fresh represents community fresh food. In the 4 trillion yuan fresh food market, these players each hold advantages, operating actively in the fresh food retail market with their distinctive models.

Comparison of Mainstream Fresh Food Retail Platform Models Platform | Founded | Operating Model | Development Status Shihuituan | 2018 | Mothers + community stores + social groups | Merged with "Niwo Nin"; completed three funding rounds; leveraging supply chain advantages to create "one city, one flavor" Tongcheng Life | 2018 | Mini-program purchase + offline self-pickup | Strategically merged with Linlinyi; major business adjustments, launched localized life services, trending towards "Meituan-style" Xingsheng Youxuan | 2018 | Online pre-sale + offline self-pickup | Entered 13 provinces including Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, focusing on lower-tier markets Miss Fresh | 2014 | Front warehouse | Achieved full profitability, one of only two profitable models in the fresh food sector Yipin Fresh | 2013 | Store-warehouse integrated community fresh food stores + Yipin Daojia APP/mini-program | Launched "desperate sprint" mode, currently has 900 stores Table: Retail Circle

Using fresh food as an entry point, each platform leads in its operating model, occupying its own high ground.

Among fresh food e-commerce platforms, Miss Fresh, after five years of burning cash, has achieved full profitability and validated the front-warehouse model, deploying over 1,500 front warehouses across more than 20 cities. With $495 million in funding, it has created the largest funding round in the fresh food industry, becoming a leader among fresh food e-commerce platforms.

Meanwhile, community group buying platforms like Shihuituan, Tongcheng Life, and Xingsheng Youxuan, all founded in 2018, have emerged due to the pandemic's boost and advantages such as "centralized pre-sale, direct sourcing from origin, no rent, and low labor costs," aligning with major players. Among them, Xingsheng Youxuan and Tongcheng Life are backed by Tencent, while Shihuituan is backed by Alibaba.

Finally, in the community fresh food sector, Yipin Fresh is currently undergoing comprehensive online and offline business expansion and industry chain integration. It competes fiercely with Qian Dama, another community fresh food store, for market share.

The leading players under each mainstream model, despite different start times, have achieved phased development through their model advantages and strategies.

-03- Giants Enter, Opening a New Battlefield In the fresh food sector, besides the leading players achieving phased development and the enthusiastic capital side in the funding wave, there is a third party: the formidable internet giants.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in the first half of the year, giants have begun to enter community group buying one after another. Like fresh food e-commerce in previous years, community group buying has become a new hot market and a new trend that giants are flocking to.

In 2019, JD.com was the first to enter community group buying. Subsequently, under 7FRESH, multiple formats such as Youjia Puzi, Qixian Supermarket, and Qixian Life launched group buying services like Youjia Puzi, JD District Purchase, and Xiaoqi Pin; In mid-June 2020, Didi entered the fray. It launched the "Orange Heart优选" mini-program in Chengdu, quickly entering the community group buying market with low prices; At the end of June, Alibaba followed closely. Its Cainiao Post upgraded from courier services to digital community life service stations, partnering with supermarkets like RT-Mart and Auchan to open community group buying in 15 cities including Shanghai, Nanjing, and Suzhou; In July, Meituan, which originated from group buying, established a preferred business division and launched its community group buying business, Meituan优选.

With the successive entry of giants, a new battlefield in the fresh food sector—community group buying—has been opened. Giants are dividing the spoils, capital is entering, and then what?

In the new retail era, the development of fresh food retail is a chaotic mix of giants and small players, with various disruptors. Topics like "explosions," "financing," "expansion," and "profitability" are always buzzing. However, for an industry, these keywords represent an unsettled industry landscape and excellent entrepreneurial opportunities.

Source: Retail Circle (ID: retailsphere); Author: Zhuo Wenjun Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan upon adoption.