On March 9, 2023, Xiaocaiyuan, a leading enterprise in China's restaurant chain industry, announced the completion of tens of millions of dollars in financing, with Harvest Capital, a top-tier institution in China's consumer sector, as the investor.

Xiaocaiyuan represents Chinese New Anhui Cuisine and is a leading brand in modern Chinese dining chains. Since its establishment in 2013, Xiaocaiyuan has adhered to the business philosophy of "cooking with craftsmanship, serving with sincerity, and caring for family with love," providing customers with green, healthy, and nutritious dishes and quality service at affordable prices with mother's taste. To date, Xiaocaiyuan has over 400 directly-operated restaurants in more than a hundred cities across Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangdong, and other regions, with over 10,000 employees, holding a leading position in China's casual Chinese dining industry. In 2022, despite repeated impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, Xiaocaiyuan still achieved revenue of nearly RMB 4 billion. This year, riding the wave of consumption recovery, the company's restaurant count is expected to exceed 500, with operating revenue crossing RMB 5 billion.

Xiaocaiyuan represents another important strategic deployment by Harvest Capital in China's mass consumption sector. As the domestic investment institution "most infused with everyday life," Harvest Capital consistently adheres to value investment philosophy, focusing on grand consumption and modern service industries, and is one of the few value-creation funds in China with industrial investment capabilities that treats investment like real business. Since its establishment 16 years ago, Harvest Capital has deployed multiple excellent projects in the food, beverage, and restaurant sectors around "80% of the needs of 80% of consumers," including Eastroc Beverage, Babi Food, Laoxiangji, Wen He You, Qiaqia Food, Jiajia Soy Sauce, and Laiyifen.

At a time when China's economy faces overall pressure, market expectations urgently need boosting, and consumer confidence requires restoration, the investment in Xiaocaiyuan fully demonstrates Harvest Capital's firm confidence and commitment to China's restaurant industry and indeed the entire Chinese consumer market.

Xiaocaiyuan is an outstanding benchmark of Harvest Capital's advocated philosophy of "embracing everyday life and empowering people's livelihoods." Positioned as mass-market dining and community canteen, closely related to people's daily lives, Xiaocaiyuan takes creating consumer welfare as its mission, insisting with craftsmanship on on-site preparation at restaurants, providing customers with fresh, delicious, healthy, hygienic, and affordable home-style dishes. Xiaocaiyuan's corporate values propose that "everything done is to resolve customer confusion, saving customers worry, time, and money," making three major commitments to customers: "ordered dishes served late will be given free," "unconditional return or exchange for unsatisfactory dishes," and "guaranteed quality ingredients with tenfold compensation for any problems." Ten years of consistency and adherence to customer value have won Xiaocaiyuan the trust of consumers, enabling the company's rapid growth to come naturally.

Xiaocaiyuan is an Active Promoter of Chinese Dining Standardization and Modernization. Harvest Capital believes that against the backdrop of overall lackluster growth in the restaurant industry, Xiaocaiyuan has achieved high-quality counter-cyclical growth, inseparably linked to its efforts in Chinese dining standardization and modernization.

At the product R&D level, the company continuously optimizes product selection, refines processes and standards, creating multiple best-selling hit dishes;

At the restaurant operations level, Xiaocaiyuan has formed mature operational SOPs and business methodologies, with continuously improving operational efficiency;

At the supply chain level, around restaurant layout, it has established an efficient procurement, central kitchen, and warehousing-distribution network, providing one-stop support services for restaurants nationwide;

At the digitalization level, implementing information systems such as SAP, using digital tools to improve restaurant operational efficiency and corporate governance levels.

All-around extreme efficiency is Xiaocaiyuan's "confidence" in continuously creating consumer welfare.

Xiaocaiyuan is a Believer and Pioneer in Common Prosperity. Founder Mr. Wang Shugao, due to poverty in his youth, once worked as a chef. The original intention of establishing Xiaocaiyuan was to improve the status of chefs and servers, change their destinies, and enable them to become bosses. Accompanying Xiaocaiyuan's business development, many excellent employees have become company shareholders, viewing Xiaocaiyuan as their life career platform. Excellent corporate culture, the founder's sharing spirit, and advanced distribution systems are the source and important guarantee of Xiaocaiyuan's powerful organizational strength.

Mr. Alan Song, Founding Partner of Harvest Capital, pointed out: "The future is no longer an era for businesspeople but will enter an era testing entrepreneurial capabilities. A brand's ceiling is the hearts of people. By steadfastly providing good products and services to consumers and the market, ordinary people will continue to support it long-term. We highly recognize Chairman Wang Shugao and his team. We believe that under their leadership, Xiaocaiyuan will lead the modernization transformation of Chinese dining, continuously empower people's livelihoods, create more consumer welfare, and lead more Xiaocaiyuan team members toward common prosperity."

The Next Decade Will Usher in the Best Investment Opportunities for Restaurants. Leading enterprises in various subdivided sectors of China's restaurant industry will all complete the processes of chain operation, branding, modernization, and capitalization. As a "champion sparring partner" and business partner, Harvest Capital will accompany Xiaocaiyuan long-term, dedicating full efforts to empowering Xiaocaiyuan's capability enhancement and systematic improvement. We believe Xiaocaiyuan's goal will certainly be realized soon:

Xiaocaiyuan wherever there are Chinese people!