On January 28, Hunan Busy Ming Group Commercial Chain Co., Ltd. (hereinafter
referred to as “Busy Ming Group”), China’s largest chain retailer in the snack
food and beverage segment, officially listed on the Main Board of The Stock
Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (HKEX) under the stock code 01768.HK. Based on
the offer price of HKD 236.60 per share, the IPO raised a total of HKD 3.67
billion . As of 09:45 on the first day of trading, the Company’s share price
stood at HKD 430.00, representing an increase of 81.74% over the offer price,
with a total market capitalization exceeding HKD 92.0 billion.
**Gaorong Ventures co-led Busy Ming Group’s first-round financing in 2021, and continued to oversubscribe in subsequent rounds.**
**Yan Zhou, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Busy Ming Group,** commented: “We started from a neighborhood store. Today, with more than 20,000 stores nationwide, we have become a daily staple for ordinary people. Even if we may one day become China’s largest offline retail channel, our original aspiration remains unchanged. We want consumers to be able to ‘find and afford’ great snacks, and to feel the joy of ‘getting a big bag for just a few dozen yuan.’ We also want our franchisees to earn money through their own hard work and live a life with promising prospects.
**‘Creating a joyful life and becoming the people’s snack brand’ is our corporate vision and the unwavering direction that every member of Busy Ming Group will continue to pursue.** We will keep running forward—going further and reaching more places. Wherever there are people, there can be Busy Ming Group—bringing simple happiness to more people.”
**Han Rui, Partner at Gaorong Ventures,** stated: “Congratulations to Busy Ming Group on its successful listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, making it the first bulk snack retailer to be listed on the HKEX. **We have long believed that the essence of retail is to ‘repeat simple actions consistently,’ and Yan Zhou is one of the few founders we have met who can take this principle to the extreme.** He is exceptionally good at focusing on what matters and letting go of the rest, which enables him to identify the simplest actions; and he is remarkably disciplined and patient, which enables him to repeat them over the long run.Moreover, in an industry so close to cash flow, Yan Zhou is a rare founder who consistently fosters a culture of trust with his team and partners. Today, that trust has been rewarded.”
**High-Speed Growth: From 450 Stores to Over 20,000 Nationwide**
Busy Ming Group operates two leading brands—“Snack Busy” and “Zhao Yiming Snacks”—and is a pioneer of the bulk retail model in China's food and beverage industry. In the first nine months of 2025, the Company achieved RMB 66.1 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV). The Group's stores now cover 28 provinces and cities of all tiers nationwide, with 59% penetrating into counties and townships, establishing itself as a significant physical retailer connecting mass consumption with China's food industry.
**When Gaorong Ventures co-led Busy Ming Group’s first-round financing in 2021, the Company had 450 stores and had just begun its nationwide expansion.** At that time, Gaorong’s investment team and research center conducted on-site research, visiting nearly 100 stores and producing a 98-page internal research report.
In recent years, Busy Ming Group has taken a distinctive path compared with traditional supermarkets and online platforms. Rooted in communities and lower-tier markets, it uses high-frequency, essential snack-and-beverage consumption as the entry point. By rebuilding the supply chain and compressing intermediaries, the Company brings genuine value-for-money to consumers. On top of that, it further delivers emotional value—creating a relaxed and enjoyable shopping experience.
As of November 30, 2025, Busy Ming Group operated 21,041 stores, many of which are located near county centers, townships, and residential communities—making high-quality, affordable, and diverse food offerings an everyday reality for ordinary households.
Gaorong Ventures has identified high-quality companies in offline retail along two overarching theses. First, Gaorong believe that mid-sized supermarkets represent an intermediate equilibrium in retail, as it is difficult for them to excel simultaneously at “variety, speed, quality, and low price.” Many categories within mid-sized supermarkets tend to be gradually “unbundled” by emerging retail formats. Given China’s population density, **this often leads to the rise of specialized stores**—for example, Qian Dama in fresh produce, Pagoda in fruit retail, and similarly strong opportunities in snacks.
Second, **Gaorong continue to seek unique offline experiences that remain difficult to replace even with highly advanced internet infrastructure. Borrowing the popular AI term “Vibe Coding”, snack specialty stores are a quintessential form of “Vibe Shopping”.** Consumers are surrounded by an abundant, visually compelling selection, while bulk and individually packaged items reduce decision-making costs—creating a highly satisfying “atmospheric shopping” experience. Busy Ming Group is a strong embodiment of both theses.
**Rebuilding the Supply Chain to Directly Connect Consumer Demand with Industrial Supply**
As a leader of the bulk retail model, Busy Ming Group unlocks value through enhanced efficiency. By directly connecting manufacturers and brand partners, and leveraging scale procurement, standardized operations, and a nationwide warehousing and distribution network, the Company significantly reduces circulation costs. Under strict food safety and quality assurance, it enables products of the same quality to reach consumers at more reasonable prices.
As of September 30, 2025, Busy Ming Group had established partnerships with over 2,500 high-quality manufacturers, including 50% of the companies on the Hurun China Food Industry Top 100 list. **The average price of comparable products is approximately 25% lower than offline supermarket channels.**
Today, Busy Ming Group has progressively become a vital hub connecting consumers' real needs with China's food manufacturing capabilities. The company curates and customizes products based on consumer preferences, establishing a standardized process of "initial selection—tasting—trial sales—full rollout," launching hundreds of new products monthly.This forms a product portfolio that is category-rich, high-frequency in iteration, and structurally diverse. As of September 30, 2025, Busy Ming Group maintained approximately 3,997 SKUs in stock, spanning 7 major categories and over 750 brands.
Building on this foundation, Busy Ming Group delves deep into product origins, collaborating with manufacturers to optimize specifications and formats. As of September 30, 2025, approximately 34% of SKUs were derived from customized collaborations with manufacturers, and 38% of products were sold in bulk by weight. Meanwhile, leveraging consumer data gathered close to the point of sale, Busy Ming Group actively participates in upstream R&D. For example, based on insights into flavor preferences, the company partnered with Yanjinpuzi to launch "Sesame Sauce Flavored Vegetarian Tripe," which achieved sales of 960 million units in the first nine months of 2025.
**Serving the Real Economy by Deepening Domestic Market Penetration**
Busy Ming Group’s rapid development is built on the solid foundations of China’s unified national market, improved logistics infrastructure, and enhanced digital capabilities. Through a nationwide warehousing and logistics network and standardized management systems, **the Company has achieved stable operation and high-quality development at a scale of over ten thousand stores.**
As of September 30, 2025, Busy Ming Group operated 48 digitalized modern warehousing and distribution centers. A single warehouse can cover a delivery radius of up to 300 kilometers, enabling 24-hour delivery to stores nationwide. In the first nine months of 2025, warehousing and logistics costs accounted for 1.7% of total revenue. In 2024, inventory turnover days were 11.6, both of which are among the best in the industry.
While serving consumer demand, Busy Ming Group continues to drive the real economy through tangible spillover effects. The Company connects the industrial chain from agricultural production and food processing to end retail, helping local food enterprises and agricultural raw materials reach broader markets through its nationwide store network—thereby promoting overall upgrades across China’s snack supply chain. It has supported 9,552 franchise partners in entrepreneurship, created substantial employment opportunities, and advanced the continuous improvement of county-level commercial systems through a standardized and replicable model.
**Making the Benefits of Industry Upgrading Accessible to Millions of Households**
In recent years, China’s snack food and beverage retail industry has grown significantly. According to reports from the National Bureau of Statistics and Frost & Sullivan, the market expanded from RMB 2.9 trillion in 2019 to RMB 3.7 trillion in 2024, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5%, and is expected to further grow to RMB 4.9 trillion by 2029.
Busy Ming Group’s listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange marks its entry into a more transparent and resilient stage of development. Looking ahead, the Company will remain committed to long-term value creation—strengthening store-level operations, serving consumers with excellence, and making high-quality, value-for-money snacks a readily accessible daily choice for more families. By delivering inclusive consumption through efficiency, and connecting joyful living through snacks, Busy Ming Group will continue to write a new chapter in China’s snack retail story.
Han Rui added: “Busy Ming Group has already become an industry leader, and it will assume even greater responsibilities as a leader going forward—bringing peace of mind and happiness to more consumers. We look forward to a day when, after finishing homework or doing well, more parents will say, ‘Come on—let’s go to Busy Ming Group as a reward.’ **We wish Busy Ming Group continued success, and we hope the Company will, with even better and healthier products, remain a long-standing part of our lives—so that the dividends of food industry upgrading can benefit millions of households**.”
