Weekly #17: The rising star of China’s sports drink is no Gatorade🤾‍♀️, Made-in-China films V.S. Barbie👙, Budget hotels are high in demand💸| Following the yuan

Essential China trend stories from July 18-25 -- this issue covers the beverage, film and tourism sectors.

In a truly altruistic manner, I’m happy to see that my favourite sports drink ELECTRO X announcing to have closed their Pre-A round this week. Despite being only two years old and offering just four SKUs, I believe this domestic brand's growth trajectory is worth learning from.

I particularly like the two products flavored grapefruit + peppermint and grape + jasmine tea, both enhanced with L-carnitine, an amino acid derivative that turns fat into energy. which makes me feel like my body fat is melting after having it (OK I know it’s not). But it tastes so good, refreshing and guilt-free, that I was willing to pay 12 yuan for each bottle in this economy. (It's the same price as a bottle of Perrier in China, btw.)

Also, bear in mind that this is not 2016 where Chinese CPG brands get money thrown at them. In the economic climate of 2023, consumer VCs in China are seen as the underdog. With all above in mind, let’s take a closer look:

1. The rising star of China’s sports drink is the opposite of Gatorade 🤾‍♀️

ELECTRO X is the brain child of LI Yu, who previously founded Tang Hotpot and noodle bar The Tang in NYC. As Tang Hotpot closed doors under Covid impact, Li came to China in 2021 and founded ELECTRO X. The sports drink brand recently closed its Pre-A round, securing tens of millions yuan from EverYi Capital and Tohkin Group.