Food and Beverage

Kweichow Moutai

Maotai Town · est. 1951

Operating less like a beverage company and more like a Veblen luxury brand (like Hermes or Rolex), Kweichow Moutai is the most valuable liquor company on earth, functioning as an alternative currency and social lubricant for the Chinese elite.

Haidilao

Beijing · est. 1994

Functioning with the extreme, standardized customer service of Chick fil A and the high energy table turns of Texas Roadhouse, Haidilao built the largest hot pot empire on earth by turning dining into an over the top entertainment experience.

Master Kong (Tingyi)

Shanghai · est. 1992

Master Kong is the ultimate blue collar staple in China; having conquered the mainland by monopolizing the instant noodle market (like Nissin), it struck a masterstroke alliance to become the exclusive bottler and distributor for PepsiCo across China.

Heytea

Shenzhen · est. 2012

Combining the premium lifestyle aesthetic of Starbucks Reserve with the cult following of Shake Shack, Heytea invented the cheese tea phenomenon, elevating Chinese street food into a highly investable, global luxury beverage brand.

Three Squirrels

Wuhu · est. 2012

Functioning as the ultimate Taobao native brand, Three Squirrels disrupted the Chinese snack industry by using cute IP and extreme e commerce efficiency to sell nuts online, successfully pivoting to an offline discount retail model to survive the post pandemic market.

Yili Group

Hohhot · est. 1993

Functioning like the Nestle of Asia, Yili is a highly optimized distribution and supply chain network, consistently out executing its rival Mengniu by dominating lower tier cities and aggressively acquiring overseas premium dairy assets.

Tsingtao

Qingdao · est. 1903

Acting as the Anheuser Busch of China with the global export identity of Heineken, Tsingtao is the definitive Chinese beer brand, successfully driving profit growth by aggressively pivoting its portfolio toward high margin craft, draft, and premium stouts.

Uni-President

Shanghai · est. 1992

Locked in an eternal, brutal duopoly with Master Kong, Uni President China acts as the agile, premium focused younger sibling; it consistently out innovates its larger rival by launching viral, higher margin products targeting urban Gen Z consumers.

Mixue

Zhengzhou · est. 1997

Mixue is the McDonalds meets Dollar General of bubble tea; it does not actually make its money selling cheap ice cream to consumers - it prints cash by operating as a massive, vertically integrated B2B supply chain, manufacturing ingredients for its 36,000+ franchisees.

Luckin Coffee

Xiamen · est. 2017

Operating with the tech driven logistics of Dominos Pizza and the unpretentious volume of Dunkin, Luckin executed the greatest corporate turnaround in modern history, breaking Starbucks' monopoly with a 100 percent app based, pick up only franchise network.

Mengniu Dairy

Hohhot · est. 1999

Acting as one half of China's absolute dairy duopoly (mirroring Danone's scale), Mengniu is utilizing its state backed supply chain to execute a massive premiumization strategy - pushing high end cheeses and organic milk - to combat an industry wide slowdown.

Nongfu Spring

Hangzhou · est. 1996

Functioning as the Coca Cola of China, Nongfu Spring built an absolute monopoly on premium natural drinking water before executing a massive, multi billion dollar pivot into sugar free teas, turning its reclusive founder into China's richest man.

Wuliangye

Yibin · est. 1950

Acting as the high volume, accessible luxury alternative to Moutai (similar to how Pernod Ricard operates below LVMHs highest tier spirits), Wuliangye captures the massive tier of corporate and consumer wealth just below absolute exclusivity.