The Shifting Landscape of Luxury Consumption in China

We have such a fun episode and letter for you this week! Our friend, Yaling of @Following The Yuan, who you all know well from my countless references, agreed to do a special China edition of the newsletter and come on the pod to discuss it.

As always, the lens of this letter is a best-of-the-best on culture, trends, marketing, etc. What I’m dropping to friends on Slack or finding useful in meetings with brands. This time with an amazingly insightful Chinese lens!

Let’s dive in!

CULTURE

TOMORROWLAND CHINA // Tomorrowland is known for its free-spirited outdoor extravaganzas, and a global celebration of electronic music. In a highly censored environment, my first impression is that its China edition is poised to be quite different. Judging by its collaboration between Tomorrowland, esports company Hero Esports, and local entertainment venue INS Land, the launch in November would be an indoor club night at best.

NEZHA 2 SUNSET // China’s mystical cartoon Nezha 2, which became the highest-grossing film in the world, finally sunsets after 153 days on June 30 in China. Its success is seen by patriots as evidence of the country’s soft power. But how much advantage has it received from preferential treatment, as most movies come off after a month?

F&B

LOVING LYCHEE // From Chagee’s “One Ride in Red Dust” (lychee black tea with milk) to Chapanda’s sea salt lychee milk tea, fresh Lychee beverages are shaping up to be this season’s MVP flavor in China. That perhaps has something to do with a surge in lychee production in the Canto area, which is 4 times higher than last year.

DRUGS & BOOZE

CHINESE CRAFT // A panel at the recent Craft Beer China 2025 trade show spotlighted the growing appeal of “dual-use” ingredients—substances rooted in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that serve both culinary and therapeutic purposes, like goji berries and Sichuan peppercorn. The market for such functional alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages is expected to reach 26–30 billion RMB by 2025. But brands should stick to the 110 officially approved ingredients—or risk being accused of “TCM-washing.” A craft beer that doubles as a hangover cure? Sounds ideal.

SILVERS, ALPHAS & ZS

TEEN PRODIGY // 15-year-old climber Li Meini, a new Arc’teryx athlete, completed a 5.14a-level climb in Yangshuo when she was just 10. Climbing hasn’t been accessible at a mass level in China. It’s always encouraging to see brands investing in next-gen athletes. (Chris: China has been investing heavily in outdoor sports, more here.)

RETAIL

STARBUCKS FENG SHUI // After Louis Vuitton revealed its new multi-purpose space in Shanghai, The Louis, combining retail, Le Café Louis Vuitton, and an exhibition area. People noticed that it's facing Starbucks’ largest store in China, Starbucks Reserve Roastery. That's bad feng shui. As chatter spread through Shanghai WeChat groups about this, Starbucks turned to RedNote to ask for help to counter the narrative. That’s a great example of making people feel that they’ve been heard, and that you aren’t taking yourself too seriously.

TECH

ELECTRIC POP // Labubu’s maker, Pop Mart, is now eyeing the consumer electronics sector, according to hiring posts of R&D engineers, quality experts, and category buyers for coffee machines, kettles, and more. Will we see Labubu-shaped kettles and coffee machines? I’m waiting to be surprised.

XIAOMI RACING AHEAD // Xiaomi’s newest fitness band is out in three styles: standard, NFC, and a luxe ceramic version. The Band 10 features a 21-day battery life and is compatible with Xiaomi’s smart home operating system. However, selling at 379 RMB ($53), it lacks built-in GPS, so tracking can be a bit off. Since 2024, Huawei has overtaken Apple to become the No. 1 smartwatch seller in China, with Xiaomi following in third place. Can Apple’s upcoming Ultra model handle the pressure?

SPORT

HYROX MILESTONE // Indoor fitness competition Hyrox now has more than 100 affiliated gyms in mainland China, across 23 cities including Beijing, Kunming, and Shenzhen. As multiple chain gyms shut doors, the rest are chasing for traffic and usp in an economic downturn, and Hyrox’s olive branch comes at the right time.

WELLNESS & BEAUTY

BIG RE-SET // Hong Kong-based PURE Group, known for its premium yoga and fitness chains in Asia and the US, is betting big on wellness with the global debut of Re:set on July 1 in Hong Kong. The smart wellness studio includes a cold shower system, and an integrated area combining red light therapy, compression, and zero-gravity recliners. As the traditional fitness industry gets threatened by the emergence of community sports like Hyrox and run clubs, it’s an interesting experiment to watch for fitness and wellness businesses as they ponder their next bet.

TRAVEL

HOTEL BAR // Popular Beijing bar brand Tiaohai (which literally means ‘jumping into the ocean’ in Chinese) is jumping into hospitality. Its first hotel, “Tiaohai Living,” will launch in Shenzhen’s Nantou Ancient Town in August. The positioning? A youth-centered community hotel for creative, adventurous souls to explore local living and of course, enjoying a good beer in the meantime.

FUN FOR THE WEEK

Brands and people you should be following:

* Luckin Coffee, the Chinese coffee brand that just entered the U.S., and language learning app/meme master, Duolingo, announced their July wedding and everyone’s invited (to try their green mung bean latte).

* Samuel Gui Yang — a trailblazer in new Chinese style fashion

* hu_die_gong_zhu — the queen bee of China’s “Too Cool” trend

* Barlotuschina — a creative bar concept that has 6 establishments in China and the UK (London). It’s on my list!

* fabric_qorn — an edgy Shanghai-based designer brand, where every piece feels like it belongs in a contemporary art gallery

* anguschiangofficial — I feel an immediate affection toward this playful Taipei brand maybe because I share the same surname as the designer/

* nazenaze.cn — a thoughtful project led by Chinese fashion group ZucZug to support ethnic minority communities in central China with making a living through ‘weaving slow’ (what the brand name means) while preserving the traditional technique

* zelamlim — first spotted him in an Arc'teryx Lunar New Year campaign — turns out he's a surfer, painter, and reminds me of both Chinese fine brushwork and surrealist paintings

* wofulcibei — memes are the best learning tool for a new language. If you’re learning Chinese and like chaos, start here.

* accentsisters — NYC-based bookstore throwing the coolest events celebrating Chinese regional accents and all things diasporic.

* yusu_suyu — multi-talented creative who DJs and cooks, sometimes she does those two things together

* she_shan_yu — Taiwanese tattoo artist based in London, I’ve been telling myself for a year that I should get my next tattoo from her.

* fengchenwang — one of the most commercially successful Chinese designer brands

* itsyue_yu — London-based fashion graduate, her imitation of a British accent is uncanny

* chazence_official — Macau-based studio that uses tea waste in designing products, shop fronts, and more

* daigasikfaan — (means ‘everyone, let’s eat!’ in Cantonese) London-based Hong Kong blogger who does easy-to-follow East Asian recipes

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