Trendy consumption stories in investor crosshairs

Investor interest is shifting toward emerging consumer trends, such as trendy IP-driven toys, the booming pet economy, and a rise of guochao gold jewelry and innovative tea brands, which are expected to become the next breakout consumption stories.

Since the second quarter, shares of several new consumption companies have posted large gains, including Pop Mart, Laopu Gold and China Pet Foods.

For example, fashionable gold jewelry, once considered traditional, has become a hot pursuit for young consumers who seek self-pleasure — a term used in China to describe individual-driven consumption for personal satisfaction.

That trend is lifting names like CHJ Jewellery, whose shares have jumped 75.7 percent since April and about 189 percent since last year.

CHJ has expanded aggressively even as broader retail growth slows. In 2025, it pushed into international markets by opening stores in Cambodia's Aeon Mall Phnom Penh, which the company said has laid the groundwork for its global ambitions.

Chow Tai Seng Jewellery has also reported expansion. On June 19, the company announced the opening of seven new self-operated stores in May, focused on plain gold and inlaid jewelry products.

The pet economy, another key pillar of new consumption, is also attracting institutional attention. Hangzhou Tianyuan Pet Products, a leading player in the segment, sells pet beds, cat trees, toys and electronic gear, reflecting rising consumer expectations for pet companionship as a lifestyle. Tianyuan has rallied 40.6 percent since April, driven by growing demand for pet lifestyle upgrades — from smart devices and clothing to gourmet food.

According to market research agency Mintel, China's urban pet market reached 279.3 billion yuan ($38.9 billion) in 2023 and is forecast to grow steadily — albeit at a slower pace — through 2029.

Victoria Li, associate director of lifestyles and trends at Mintel China, said, "With more single-person households, an aging population, and a 'low-desire lifestyle' taking hold, pets are becoming emotional anchors in the lives of younger consumers."

The pet food market alone is expected to reach 76.3 billion yuan by 2029 even as growth moderates into single digits, said Li.

In a recent report, Guosen Securities outlined seven macro trends that are reshaping China's consumer investment logic: digital consumption, self-pleasing consumption (such as personal care), emotional-value consumption (including pets and the guzi economy), health-oriented products, the convenience economy (like instant meals and on-demand delivery), value-for-money substitutes, and new identity-driven trends such as guochao and sustainability.

BA Capital, a leading consumer-focused private equity firm in China, has backed brands including Pop Mart, Laopu Gold, and Urban Revivo. The firm describes a key demographic tailwind it calls the "Aesthetic Generation" — younger consumers raised amid material abundance who are both willing and able to pay for design, storytelling and immersive brand experiences.

That sentiment is backed by Mintel. According to Victoria Li at Mintel China, 45 percent of consumers — rising to 51 percent among high-income groups — said that limited-edition collaborations with beloved IPs or collectible toys significantly enhance brand appeal. But the deeper shift, she said, is in the emotional architecture of consumption itself.

"For Gen Z, trendy toys are no longer toys — they're cultural shorthand for identity, values and taste," Li said. "In today's market, emotional resonance, symbolic meaning and scarcity can outweigh the material product itself."