On February 25-26, 2023, the 2022 New Consumer Brand Unicorn Summit, co-hosted by Lansha Consumption, Sina Finance, Xinchao Media, Tianyancha, Hudongba, and over 80 top-tier consumer investment institutions, was successfully held in Linping, Hangzhou. The summit, themed 'Crossing Cycles, Resilient Growth', was guided by the Linping District Government and hosted by the China Garment Technology Innovation Research Institute. With a strong lineup of over 40 guests, the summit covered consumer trends and investment directions, attracting over 1,000 attendees including founders of listed consumer companies like Baoli Food, representatives and investors from consumer investment institutions such as Sequoia China and Tiantu Capital, founders and executives of new consumer brand unicorns and future unicorns like Genki Forest, Dreame Technology, Benlai Group, and Xibei, as well as digital service providers for consumer brands like Qince and Fenbeitong. In addition, six live streaming channels including Sina Finance and Lansha Consumption's WeChat channel broadcast the summit, attracting a total of 835,000 views. Before and after the summit, Lansha Consumption released eight major lists: '2022 New Consumer Brand Unicorn TOP30', '2022 New Consumer Brand Future Unicorn TOP100', '2022 Annual Consumer Investment Institutions', '2022 Annual Consumer Investors TOP10', '2022 China Good Products TOP100', '2022 China Prepared Dishes Innovative Brands TOP50', '2022 China Consumer Industry Digital Products & Solutions TOP30', and '2022 China Consumer Industry Digital Benchmark Enterprises TOP100'. (Swipe through the images below to view the eight lists.) At the summit, Lansha Consumption facilitated government-enterprise connections between representatives of new consumer brand unicorns and future unicorns, top-tier consumer investment institutions, and consumer digital enterprises with the Linping District Government through speeches, dialogues, roundtable forums, and private dinners. It also enabled consumer enterprises to quickly connect with digital channels, digital enterprise spending, and other digital products and solutions, reducing costs and increasing efficiency to achieve resilient growth. During the event, Lansha Consumption showcased a batch of excellent Chinese products, such as Dreame Technology, Genki Forest, Guanzhan, and Narwal, as well as excellent digital products and solutions like Qince and Fenbeitong, attracting the attention of investors and partners, and expanding opportunities for investment and business cooperation. The Summit Enters a Pioneer Consumer Region for the First Time The 2022 New Consumer Brand Unicorn Summit moved from Beijing to Linping, Hangzhou for the first time, receiving a warm welcome from the local government. Ge Jianwei, Member of the Standing Committee of the Linping District Party Committee and Executive Deputy District Mayor, first expressed congratulations on behalf of the district party committee and government. He then introduced Linping's overview: Linping is the heart of the Yangtze River Delta with superior transportation. Linping is also a holy land for intelligent manufacturing; among Zhejiang Province's 12 future factories, Linping has 3, such as Robam Appliances. Linping is also a highland for digital fashion, with Yishang Town gathering over 1,000 upstream and downstream enterprises. From Wahaha to Nongfu Spring, and then to the consumer platform Alibaba, Hangzhou (Linping) has always been a pioneer in consumption. Ge Jianwei hopes that new consumer brand unicorns and future unicorns from across the country will further gather in Linping. He cited Linping's fashion and apparel industry as an example: first, attract core supply chain enterprises such as smart factories. Second, attract design, branding, and other sectors; Yishang Town attracted over 30 famous designers at its inception. Third, strengthen digital technology and other sectors. The agglomeration of digital technology ecosystems and enterprises such as craftsmanship, live streaming, and private domain will strongly promote the growth of new consumer brands. At the summit, Ge Jianwei hoped that the new consumer technology ecosystem and digital ecosystem represented by new consumer brand unicorns and future unicorns from across the country would find an important meeting point in Linping, Hangzhou, and also hoped that consumer investment institutions from across the country would look favorably on Linping and invest in Linping. Liu Juan, founder of Lansha, stated: As a leading comprehensive business service provider in the consumer industry, Lansha chose to hold the 2022 New Consumer Brand Unicorn Summit in Linping, Hangzhou, precisely because it values Linping's advantages as a highland for intelligent manufacturing, a holy land for digital fashion, and a pioneer in consumption. Lansha hopes to leverage its strengths in training, community (Lansha membership), and capital, together with the Linping District Government, to attract, support, and incubate more new consumer brand unicorns and future unicorns. As a super unicorn enterprise, Wang Hui, General Manager of Dreame Technology China, shared in his opening speech that Dreame Technology aims to become a world-class technology company serving millions of households—using technology to free people's hands so they can do more creative things. Dreame Technology has been increasing R&D investment to ensure sustainable technological upgrades, building business models such as short video, e-commerce, retail, and large private domain, and continuously expanding. "How to seize every small business opportunity? Through organizational empowerment and resource investment, seize every opportunity. You must pay attention to details and extreme execution. Success or failure depends on every detail," Wang Hui said. Li Kanglin, Partner at Tiantu Capital: "Whether young people can sustain consumption power, whether we can increase the income of young people and high-spending or willing-to-spend groups, and whether the market can maintain lasting openness are the three key factors for consumption recovery," said Wang Qi, Partner at Yuanjing Capital. He believes that for entrepreneurs in daily consumer goods or offline chain industries, cash flow is king. 2023 is a 'recovery year'; companies should first let themselves recover. In addition, 'China's intelligent manufacturing' is facing huge opportunities in the global market. China can produce a batch of leading global tech products. Chinese brands have great opportunities to lead global markets in areas like smart hardware and smart home. Wang Yijie, Founding Partner of Jinding Capital, said: "Consumer recovery has a rhythm. Due to the significant impact on income, the first to recover are industries that bring pleasure with small spending, followed by higher-value durable consumer goods and non-essential consumer goods. In the next stage, brands that create more value by improving efficiency will get better opportunities. I believe perseverance and foresight are essential qualities for brand founders. Only perseverance can break through circles and deepen products from a cross-industry perspective. Foresight means not sticking to the domestic market but also seizing opportunities like 'going global'." Luo Yueting, Managing Partner at Wenrun Investment, also stated that this year everyone will return to rationality and pragmatic consumption. As consumers, they will distinguish between 'needs' and 'wants'. Entrepreneurs in the post-pandemic era should maintain resilience, pay attention to the supply chain, reduce costs and increase efficiency, and pursue quality growth. Wenrun is currently focusing on travel services and upstream raw materials because market recovery gives the industry strong 'certainty'. How Can Consumer Enterprises Break Through Growth Bottlenecks? In 2023, although China's consumer industry is rapidly recovering, there are still variables. How should founders of consumer enterprises respond and break through growth bottlenecks? Ma Jun, Partner at Cathay Capital, believes: "Consumer enterprises should build internal strength, stay optimistic, remain sensitive to technology and users, maintain a learning state and a global perspective, and leave time for important but not urgent matters. The world changes too fast; the CEO's cognition and decisions determine the company's ceiling, which requires the CEO to continue learning quickly and not be constrained by past frameworks," Ma Jun said. Yao Zhen, Managing Partner at Toutoutaodao Fund, encouraged the consumer industry to break through growth bottlenecks with the phrase "uphold traditions while remaining bold." She believes that China's consumer industry is in a recovery period at the tail end of dividends, not an expansion period. Rather than horizontal involution within the industry, it's better to self-iterate, consolidate the business architecture based on ecological niches, and achieve effective, rapid organizational improvement and self-breakthrough development. She suggested that consumer entrepreneurs be pragmatic and focus on the health of their business models. "If a business is always profitable, why take capital? If capital assistance and empowerment cannot improve iteration efficiency, it's indeed okay not to raise funds," Yao Zhen said. To break through growth bottlenecks, consumer enterprises also need to focus on brand building. Zhang Jixue, founder of Xinchao Media, said that whenever new traffic or new channels emerge, it's easier to create new brands. Not every enterprise should advertise when it starts; before product strength and channels are ready, don't advertise, otherwise consumers who order after seeing ads will complain. But when product strength and channels are ready, you can leverage media like Xinchao Media to build the brand. Are Consumer Supply Chain Enterprises Favored? In 2022, consumer supply chain enterprises experienced a wave of IPOs, giving birth to listed consumer companies with supply chain as their core competitiveness, such as Baoli Food and Gambol. Why is the supply chain increasingly valued in the consumer industry? Shi Weiguang, Partner at Housheng Investment, brought Chu Orange from the depths of Ailao Mountain at an altitude of over 2,000 meters to Beijing and became an instant hit. Benlai Group also tasted the benefits of strengthening its supply chain. Its COO Ding Xiuhong shared on-site: "Over the years, Benlai Life has learned one truth—only by going deeper upstream can we ensure the quality of the product. All our traffic, funds, technology, and talent jointly help the entire industry chain enhance competitiveness." How Can Consumer Enterprises Create Hit Products? In 2022, many new consumer brands in China faced significant challenges, some even disappeared, but many enterprises still achieved growth because they have strong capabilities in creating good products. On February 26, during the China Good Products session, Lansha Consumption invited a group of future unicorn founders who are adept at creating good products and even hit products to share their insights. Bai Xiao T, established only three and a half years ago, with annual revenue exceeding 1 billion yuan, became the category king of T-shirts. How did they do it? The answer is extreme differentiation that consumers strongly perceive. The apparel market is highly competitive; imitating others leaves no opportunity. He believes: "In products, you must truly form your own unique differentiation, which must be explicit, not implicit. You don't need to explain it; it should instantly create a strong memory in everyone's mind—the products he develops are indeed extremely different from previous products." On this basis, Zhang Yong leveraged his background as a media person and his strength in creating content on Douyin, expressing it through video, so consumers deeply feel the differentiation of Bai Xiao T products. Huang Tian'e also achieved revenue exceeding 1 billion yuan in 2022 through the differentiated positioning of edible raw eggs. Feng Bin, founder of Huang Tian'e and Chairman of Fengji Food Group, said, "We redefined a good egg, hoping it is safe, delicious, nutritious, and tasty, with a good appearance." In the dialogue "How to Bring a Good Egg to Every Household," Wang Weiwei, Managing Partner at Huaying Capital, raised his question: "How can we ensure the production of a good egg?" Feng Bin explained: "Through heavy asset investment in the entire industry chain, we establish standard breeding farms and feed factories in China, controlling risks from feed introduction, vertical transmission, and antibiotics." Feng Bin does not advocate pure money-burning promotion, but occasionally uses Xiaohongshu and Douyin to amplify brand voice, spreading the brand from one circle to another, hoping consumers will actively seek out Huang Tian'e. Huang Feiyong, COO of Royal Little Tiger, shared his product operation experience with the theme "From Making a Good Sausage to Creating a Matrix of Hit Products." "Royal Little Tiger started with meat sausages. Due to the team's strong e-commerce genes, we could initially acquire some traffic at a lower cost, while consumers could buy a meat sausage at the price of an ordinary ham sausage, leading to continuous repurchases. After establishing the first single product, we developed horizontally and continuously upgraded. During this process, infrastructure, marketing tactics, and all resources can be reused, making it easy to create multiple hit products." Butong Technology (BeBeBus) has achieved revenue of nearly 1 billion yuan since its establishment, relying on hit products. Founder and Chairman Wang Boyan summarized the '80/20 principle' for creating hit products: 20% of categories determine 80% of the value of the track, and 20% of SKUs determine 80% of the value within a category. "Consumers don't buy the product itself, but the scenario and value behind it. Consumers experience emotional lows and highs during product use. Whether a brand can provide an over-delivering experience at critical moments and create unexpected value truly defines the product," Wang Boyan said. Canban entered the toothpaste main battlefield from mouthwash in 2022, achieving extremely high growth and becoming one of the best-selling toothpaste brands on Douyin. Why can Canban continuously create hit products on Douyin? He believes: "When looking at a long track like oral care consumption, don't view it in parallel or from a single dimension; instead, differentiate by usage scenario, frequency, and consumption logic. Through such differentiation, we can easily understand the attributes of each product and then define and promote products accordingly. When creating products in a segmented track, don't think with the logic of existing products; sometimes it can lead you in a wrong direction." During the 2023 Spring Festival, Nowwa Coffee's average daily sales increased by 223% year-on-year, hitting a record high, with multiple stores exceeding 100,000 yuan in revenue during the 7-day holiday. Sun Binbin, co-founder of Nowwa Coffee, shared his thoughts: "In our development, Nowwa Coffee places great emphasis on product R&D. We pioneered the fruit coffee category in the industry, blending fruit or sweet milk to make the bitterness and astringency of coffee very light, lowering the barrier for consumers to try. The social scenarios built by over 1,800 stores nationwide, combined with viral spread and upstream supply chain quality control, have allowed Nowwa Coffee to quickly penetrate lower-tier markets." Qiang Xiaoming, founder of Shark Fit, said that Shark Fit was originally a sales-driven company. Through e-commerce traffic data, it can quickly gain insights into consumer demand, target health-conscious, weight-loss, sports, and fitness groups, and launch innovative chicken breast solutions. This solution comes with its own traffic, requiring no large promotional fees to make the product a hit. Digitalization Becomes a Focus for Consumer Enterprises In 2022, due to factors such as the pandemic and inflation, new consumer brand unicorns and future unicorns turned their attention to cost reduction and efficiency improvement, with digital capabilities becoming a key focus for consumer enterprises. Fenbeitong is an enterprise spending management platform integrating business travel, expense control, and payment. In the past few years, Fenbeitong has served new consumer brand unicorns and future unicorns like Genki Forest, committed to providing more enterprises with an employee-friendly, finance-saving, and cost-effective payment experience. Shi Wei, President of Fenbeitong, said that since 2019, the rate of labor cost increase has exceeded that of software cost increase. Using software to save labor is a long-term correct thing, and this trend will become more pronounced. Especially as consumer enterprises grow larger, if they have high operational efficiency, the return on investment is considerable. Dong Yang, Vice President of Qince, also said, "New consumer brands, whether growing through online operations or large-scale offline channel expansion, cannot do without one thing: channel construction. How to accelerate channel construction? Using advanced digital tools and management concepts is an important aid." As a SaaS software company focused on channel digitalization, Qince serves hundreds of companies across dozens of categories including food and beverages, alcohol, dairy, condiments, and daily chemicals. Dong Yang believes, "In the future, consumer goods companies should not only set up a CIO but also a CDO, because CDOs mainly use data to identify business growth points, focusing on external market expansion, revenue growth, and innovation." For consumer enterprises seeking development in 2023, this is a key position. Innovation and Development of Prepared Dishes In 2022, the keyword for prepared dishes was simply: hot. The 2022 New Consumer Brand Unicorn Summit specially planned the China Prepared Dishes Industry Innovation Forum on the afternoon of February 25. At the event, guests had in-depth discussions on innovation in prepared dishes. "What is a good prepared dish enterprise? Our judgment standard is simple: the product must be excellent, not just good, and ordinary ones are not worth considering. If you can't achieve excellent products, it's hard to survive in competition," pointed out Li Zhujie, Founding Partner of Buhuo Ventures. He noted that with the development of supply-side food industrialization, cold chain logistics, IT systems, and data, and demand-side changes like large-scale agricultural production, two-way resonance has become the core factor driving the development of prepared dishes. He also mentioned that in the early stages of a prepared dish brand, you must focus on one end rather than doing everything. "We see that prepared dishes have quickly occupied the C-end dining table. We believe that C-end prepared dishes are about to form scale and spark a revolution," said Xiong Jiale, co-founder of Xiaoniu Kaixi. Xiaoniu Kaixi focuses on the steak track, with refined construction management, distinctive product creation, and novel marketing to stand out, continuously accumulating brand momentum. In 2022, revenue exceeded 1 billion yuan, and with a layout of 3,000 outlets nationwide, it has solidified its position as the expert in home-cooked steak. Weng Bocheng, founder of Maizima, introduced that Maizima's original intention for making prepared dishes was to make them for family. To this end, Maizima built its own food factory at the start, attached great importance to food safety, selected high-quality materials and clean formulas, used extreme quick-freezing technology, and sought master chefs for seasoning, attracting a group of post-90s mothers who are not skilled in cooking and have no time. He hopes that prepared dishes can not only free more people from fatigue but also become an efficient solution for upgrading home cooking. Currently, prepared dish products are highly homogeneous. Luo Yun, Deputy General Manager of Hangzhou Hema Network Technology Co., Ltd., believes that fresher, richer, and more regional seasonal dishes are the way to break the homogeneity. On one hand, Hema must adhere to the high quality of traditional foods. On the other hand, Hema refuses to be identical, making differences in raw materials and taste. Hema will use data to move from meeting customer needs to creating needs, rely on a strong R&D team to empower suppliers, and use strong supply chain integration capabilities to sell southern goods in the north, driving industry transformation and upgrading, and promoting standardization and retailization of prepared dishes. Wu Junfeng, Chairman of Pandalicious, believes that one must have reverence when making prepared dishes. Prepared dishes have always had conflicts between taste and industrialization, and between production standardization and product personalization. He believes that from material selection (raw materials, auxiliary materials, seasonings, spices) to processing techniques, every step must be standardized. Only by implementing standardization can quality be ensured, stable supply formed, and large-scale production achieved, reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Who can stand out from the prepared dish track? Lin Zhiyong, Chairman of Dongpin Online (Sancan Youliao), said: Prepared dishes reflect comprehensive capabilities. To ultimately win, you must focus on the supply chain, where production capacity (raw material advantages + R&D process advantages + cost advantages) and delivery capacity (long-distance delivery & short-distance delivery) are both indispensable. Dongpin Online has established the largest frozen food 2B distribution network in the country, and its Yixian Cold Chain has built a nationwide urban cold chain infrastructure; Sancan Youliao plans to establish tens of thousands of 2C cold chain community front warehouses. In the roundtable forum "Innovation Traps in Prepared Dishes," Liu Zehui, Founding Partner of Xintuo Capital, said that consumer brands need to create long-term memories, with something associative behind them. Pu Wenming, founder of Zhenwei Xiaomeiyuan, emphasized that the management of OEM factories is also crucial for prepared dish brands. Whether OEM factories can produce according to the enterprise's required SOP and whether raw materials can be traced are core issues. Xiao Xin, founder of Benwei Xianwu, also said that every link is interconnected, but to truly achieve efficiency, cost, and standardization in every link, there is still much to do to turn sausages into a staple ingredient for families. Zheng Jinqing, founder of Wuzhua, said that start-up brands should still do what they are good at, focus resources, first establish a foothold in their base market, and then gradually expand outward. On the evening of February 25, Lansha Consumption and the Linping District Government held a reception dinner. Zhao Xingwen, Director of the Linping District Commerce Bureau, and other government leaders, along with over 30 founders of new consumer brand unicorns and future unicorns, and partners of top-tier domestic consumer investment institutions, attended. Guests also tasted the sauce-flavored liquor Benyuan Chengyi Shaofang. At the event, Lansha Consumption, together with sponsors such as Genki Forest, Dreame Technology, Guanzhan, Narwal, Xige Winery, Seesaw Coffee, Nowwa Coffee, and Xingqiling, held multiple lucky draws, with founders and executives of consumer enterprises enthusiastically participating.