While the retail sector continues to debate the boundaries of "stock competition," the bulk snack track has already established itself as a mainstream format through its inherent advantages, carving out entirely new growth space. On January 28, China's leading leisure food and beverage chain retailer BUSYMING (01768.HK) made its debut on the capital market, earning the title of "the first bulk snack stock on the Hong Kong stock market." Its opening share price surged 88.08% to HKD 445, corresponding to a total market capitalization of HKD 95.275 billion.
This debut was packed with highlights. The global offering involved 14.101 million H shares, with the public offering stage being oversubscribed by more than 1,500 times. Eight cornerstone investors collectively subscribed to HKD 1.5 billion. The warm reception from the capital market underscores the immense potential of the bulk snack track. This milestone event not only marks BUSYMING's evolution from a small community store into a giant with over 20,000 stores nationwide but also deciphers the industry's growth code, indicating it is "far from saturated." BUSYMING's founder, chairman, and CEO Yan Zhou stated that starting from a single community shop to now having over 20,000 stores nationwide, they have become a staple in people's lives. Even with the potential to become the largest offline retail channel in China in the future, their original aspiration remains unchanged: to let consumers "be able to get and afford" good snacks and experience the joy of "being able to buy a big bag for just tens of yuan." They also aim to enable their franchisees to earn money through their own hard work and build a promising life. He said, "'Creating a happy life and becoming the people's snack brand' is our corporate vision and the direction that every BUSYMING person will steadfastly pursue in the future. We will strive to run further, reaching more and more distant places. Wherever there are people, there can be BUSYMING, bringing that simple happiness to more people." Driven by both consumption upgrades and the dividends from lower-tier markets, the track that Yan Zhou is striving on is entering a new cycle shifting from "scale expansion" to "efficiency refinement," with BUSYMING serving as a prime example.
Many people have the misconception that "there are already enough bulk snack stores." But the numbers don't lie. China's retail market size for leisure food and beverages reached 3.7 trillion yuan in 2024, and Frost & Sullivan forecasts it will further climb to 4.9 trillion yuan by 2029, implying growth of 1.2 trillion yuan over five years. Among the channels, the specialty store channel, where bulk snacks reside, has performed particularly well. Its GMV share increased from 7.3% in 2019 to 11.2% in 2024, with the scale growing from 207.6 billion yuan to 419 billion yuan, and its share is expected to continue rising. The potential of lower-tier markets is even more不容小觑不容小觑不容小觑. In 2024, the GMV for leisure food and beverages in lower-tier markets reached 2.3 trillion yuan. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past five years was 6.5%, significantly higher than the 4.0% growth in higher-tier markets. The CAGR from 2024 to 2029 is expected to remain high at 6.8%, continuing to lead the industry. This vast market, once overlooked by traditional retail, is now becoming a "blue ocean of growth" for bulk snacks.
In essence, BUSYMING's success lies in making bulk snacks an "incremental business" rather than a mere replacement for the traditional retail market. A key breakthrough has been infusing snacks with "emotional value," thereby activating entirely new consumer demand. Today's consumers, especially young people, demand more from snacks than just "eating." From energy replenishment after overtime work and stress-relieving companionship while binge-watching at home, to setting the mood for social gatherings, snacks have become a low-threshold carrier of happiness in daily life. Consumption in these scenarios often represents new demand that traditional retail failed to tap into – the snack sections of traditional supermarkets, with their limited variety and bulky packaging, neither satisfy diverse tastes nor keep the cost of "trying new things" low. To meet this demand, BUSYMING has built a rich and flexible product system. The company maintains nearly 4,000 SKUs in its warehouse, with at least 1,800 items per store – double that of a comparable supermarket. It covers almost all scenarios, from viral hits to local specialties, and from healthy meal replacements to binge-watching snacks. Thirty-eight percent of products are sold by weight, and 34% are custom-made for the company, which both lowers the consumer's cost of trying new items and allows for precise matching with diverse consumption scenarios. BUSYMING revealed that its hugely popular Sesame Sauce Flavored Vegetarian Tripe, which sold 960 million units, was a custom-made hit developed jointly with manufacturers after identifying consumer taste preferences through its "National Product Selection" mini-program. This combination of "low price + variety + freshness" has turned snack consumption from an "occasional treat" into a "daily habit." The data provides the best evidence. By the end of September 2025, BUSYMING's registered membership had surpassed 180 million, with a member repurchase rate of 77% and 135 million member store visits. The penetrating power of "emotional consumption" is evident. Another source of increment is opening snack stores in "places traditional retail can't reach." Traditional retail outlets have long been concentrated in urban cores, leaving county and township markets facing a dilemma of "difficult access to quality snacks and scarce affordable options." BUSYMING has completely broken this pattern. Relying on its dual brands "Snack Busy" and "Zhao Yiming Snacks," it has built a store network covering 1,341 counties across 28 provinces. Fifty-nine percent of its stores are rooted in counties and townships, and stores in third-tier and lower cities account for over 66.2%, making it the first bulk snack brand to achieve "stores in every county." On a township street in Yichun, Jiangxi, a BUSYMING store shines brightly, its shelves stocked with branded snacks of the same quality as those in first-tier cities, yet priced 25% lower than supermarkets. At a county intersection in Longshan, Hunan, aunts select weighed candies with their children, while young people scan codes to buy trendy snacks; it has become a "social check-in spot" for local youth. This expansion into lower-tier markets is not merely simple store replication. It represents a supply upgrade through "high quality at fair prices," driving the continuous release of consumption potential in these markets and becoming a major engine for industry growth. Having accurately timed the industry's rhythm, BUSYMING's growth curve is particularly striking. From 2022 to 2024, the company's revenue soared from 4.286 billion yuan to 39.344 billion yuan, achieving a three-year CAGR of 203%. Its adjusted net profit grew from 81 million yuan to 913 million yuan, with a three-year CAGR of 234.6%. In the first nine months of 2025, revenue reached 46.371 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 75.2%, while adjusted net profit surged 240.8% year-on-year to 1.81 billion yuan. According to Frost & Sullivan data, based on the GMV of leisure food and beverage products in 2024, BUSYMING (55.5 billion yuan) is the largest chain retailer in China.
The highly efficient and replicable business model provides crucial support for the industry's sustained growth. The bulk snack model is a hard discount format characterized by low margins and high turnover, which is its core distinction from traditional retail. Supply chain efficiency is key to determining the turnover rate. BUSYMING has restructured the snack retail supply chain system, adopting a "direct procurement from manufacturers + bulk purchasing" model that eliminates middlemen. It collaborates with about 50% of the companies on the "2024 Hurun China Food Industry Top 100 List," ensuring product quality while optimizing costs. Comprehensive empowerment through digital capabilities has further elevated operational efficiency and laid a solid foundation for future expansion. BUSYMING disclosed that it has assembled a 385-person digital team, the largest in the industry, to build a fully digitalized management system. This ranges from the "National Product Selection" mini-program that accurately captures market demand, to intelligent checkout systems and remote store inspection systems that enable standardized store operations. Its 48 smart warehousing and distribution centers cover a total area of 1.06 million square meters, enabling 24-hour delivery within a 300-kilometer radius. In 2024, inventory turnover days were just 11.6 days, and warehousing and logistics costs accounted for a low 1.7%, both leading the industry. This efficiency advantage is directly reflected in the financial data – in the first three quarters of 2025, BUSYMING's adjusted net profit reached 1.81 billion yuan, up 240.8% year-on-year, and its gross profit margin increased from 7.6% in 2024 to 9.7%.
Innovations in the franchise model have further amplified the industry's growth potential. BUSYMING revealed that since 2024, it has waived franchise and management fees. Through systems like professional site selection support, full-cycle training empowerment, and standardized operation supervision, it has created a low-barrier, high-security entrepreneurial path for franchisees. By September 2025, 9,552 franchisees had opened 19,494 stores. The average number of stores per franchisee increased from 1.91 in 2022 to 2.04 in 2025, with franchise stores accounting for a high 99.9% of the total. This win-win model of "brand empowerment + franchisee profitability" attracts more entrepreneurs, providing sustained momentum for the industry's scale expansion. From an industry structure perspective, the fragmented market still leaves ample space for leading players. According to Frost & Sullivan data, in 2024, BUSYMING led the leisure food and beverage chain retail sector with a 1.5% market share, but the combined share of the top five chain retailers was only 6%, indicating significant room for increased industry concentration. As the industry shifts from the early stage of "price wars" to "efficiency wars and value wars," leading companies with advantages in supply chain, digitalization, and product innovation will further capture market share, driving the industry towards higher-quality development. It is worth noting that BUSYMING's development has also created a social value loop where "small snacks serve major livelihoods," opening new dimensions for long-term growth. By steadily purchasing agricultural raw materials, it has facilitated the entry of products like Golden Crown yellow peaches from Pingyi County, Shandong, and strawberries from Huize County, Yunnan, into industrial processing channels, broadening the pathway for agricultural products to reach urban markets. Its over 20,000 stores nationwide, rooted in communities and counties, inject vitality into local economies. While supporting over 9,500 franchisees in starting businesses, it has also created over 100,000 jobs, driving synergistic development in upstream and downstream industries like logistics and manufacturing, forming a growth model that combines both economic and social value. For BUSYMING, the bell-ringing ceremony for its listing is not the finish line but a new starting point for long-term development. In the future, as the store network continues to upgrade, product iteration accelerates, and supply chain and digital capabilities are continuously optimized, the bulk snack track will keep releasing its growth potential. Just as its corporate vision states, "Create a happy life and become the people's snack brand," the aim is to bring quality snacks into every household, every county, and every township. The market space for this is far from hitting its ceiling.
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