BEIJING: He Shuang, a student at a US university stranded in her home city of Chongqing in southwest China during the pandemic, has added more than 300 domestic brands to her list of favourites on Alibaba's Taobao online mall.
Maia Active, a Sequoia Capital-backed athleisure wear maker, said its products were designed based on body measurements of Asian women and, therefore, offered local customers a better fit and more comfort than western counterparts.AdvertisementChinese consumer firms raised 69.7 billion yuan from primary market investors in the first five months, more than double the year-earlier amount, according to Cygnus Equity, a Chinese boutique investment bank.
Sequoia-backed Genki Forest, a soft drink brand seeking to challenge Coca Cola, said it was valued at US$6 billion after an April fundraising, ten times more than 18 months earlier. Chris Mulliken, a Shanghai-based partner at consultancy EY, said nationalism was a factor driving the popularity of local brands, including pride in China's recovery from COVID-19 even as several other countries battle high infection rates.