Rising Demand Promoting Innovation

The fact that a middle-class shopper in a metropolis lingers over a 69,000-yuan ($9,612) filigree pendant from Laopu Gold, Gen Z crowds queue through the night for a 340-yuan Labubu blind box from Pop Mart, and young people in a small town flock to social media platforms for a 2-yuan ice cream from Mixue is evidence of the rapid development of China's consumer market.

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Three groups are now driving China's consumption: the urban middle-income group, Gen Z, and youths in lower-tier markets, often referred to as the "small-town youth".

The meteoric rise of brands like Pop Mart, Laopu Gold and Mixue is not a coincidence. Each is meeting the demand of distinct consumer groups, leveraging digital innovation in branding, product design, distribution and promotion to orchestrate a cycle of demand-led market growth.