Haitian Flavoring goes public! A+H dual platform debuts, condiments industry leader begins new global capital journey.
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.]
In the context of capital markets increasingly focusing on the consumer sector and seeking stable assets, Foshan Haitian Flavouring and Food Company Ltd. (3288.HK), as a leading consumer blue-chip enterprise with stable profits, abundant cash flow, and outstanding growth resilience, has attracted attention from the capital markets.
On June 19, this condiments industry leader was officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, providing international investors with a high-quality entry point to "Chinese consumption". Leveraging the A+H dual capital platform, Haitian Flavoring is expected to accelerate its internationalization strategy and embark on a new journey from a Chinese brand to a global brand.
Hong Kong listing marks a "highlight moment" in the capital market
As a giant in the Chinese consumer sector, the international capital market has long been anticipating the listing of Haitian Flavoring. Every move the Company has made, from submitting its listing application to its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has drawn significant market attention.
From the submission of application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 13, 2025, to the hearing on May 23rd, the entire listing process was completed in a "lightning pace" of just over 4 months, which is rare among all companies listed in Hong Kong.
In this IPO, Haitian Flavoring has raised over $1.4 billion, making it the largest IPO project in the global consumer industry in 2025, the largest IPO in the global food and beverage industry since 2021, the largest IPO in the global condiments industry since 2000, and the third largest IPO project by a Chinese company since 2023. It is also the second largest IPO in Hong Kong this year, second only to CATL (3750.HK).
Public data shows that during the entire subscription period, Haitian Flavoring triggered a buying frenzy in the market, with a public offering oversubscription rate of 900 times. The international offering was likewise vibrant, attracting institutional investors to submit subscription applications, with a final oversubscription rate of 22.9 times and early close due to strong demand.
In addition, a group of eight top-tier institutional investors, including Hillhouse Capital, Singapore's Government Investment Corporation (GIC), UBS Asset Management, Royal Bank of Canada, CITIC Industrial Fund, Sequoia Capital, and Boyu Capital, subscribed for a total of nearly HK$4.7 billion of shares offered by Haitian Flavoring. Based on the issue price of HK$36.30, the shares subscribed by the 8 cornerstone investors account for nearly 50% of the total shares issued. It is worth noting that the joint entry of sovereign wealth funds and industry capital shows clear strategic synergies - GIC's involvement implies resource support for expanding into Southeast Asian markets, while Hillhouse Capital's experience in investing in the consumer sector serves as a global endorsement for Haitian Flavoring. This cornerstone structure of "financial investment + industry empowerment" reflects the consistent positive outlook of global capital on its long-term value.
As a company already listed on the A-share market, Haitian Flavoring, after its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, not only opens up domestic and international financing channels, but also aligns its valuation system with global consumer giants through the international pricing mechanism of the Hong Kong stock market.
Seizing growth opportunities with a multi-dimensional approach, the outstanding leader continuously navigates through business cycles
Haitian Flavoring has a diverse product matrix, covering categories such as soy sauce, oyster sauce, flavored sauce, vinegar, and cooking wine, and has established a widespread sales network covering the entire country, making it an influential and well-known condiments enterprise in China. Its "Haday" brand is deeply rooted in people's hearts, with a household penetration rate of over 80% in 2024, ranking fourth among China’s consumers’ preferred brands and first among China’s condiments brands. According to Brand Finance (Food 100) in 2024, Haitian Flavoring ranked third among global food brands in the “Top 10 Strongest Food Brands” and first among condiments brands in the “World’s Most Valuable Food Brand Top 100.”
However, Haitian Flavoring goes beyond that. As the undisputed industry leader, Haitian Flavoring continues to grasp diversification opportunities and promote its own continuous growth on the basis of steady development. In terms of technological empowerment, Haitian Flavoring has been continuously breaking through in core areas such as fermentation core technology, brewing key equipment, nutrition, raw materials, and formulas for decades, and has formed a high technological barrier. On the one hand, the Company adheres to a long-term value orientation and constantly expands its product categories, with a total of over 1,450 SKUs, covering all the delicious needs in the kitchen and dining table scenes. On the other hand, by achieving high automation in the production process, it has built a leading efficiency barrier in the industry and has become the Chinese condiments listed company with the highest average output value per employee.
Facing the structural growth opportunities in the Chinese condiments market, Haitian Flavoring actively takes action. Targeting the lower per capita condiments consumption expenditure and huge growth potential in the third-tier and below markets, it promotes channel sinking through "distributor empowerment + refined end-to-end operation" and taps into the potential of household consumption, with virtually 100% coverage at the municipal level and nearly 90% coverage at the county-level. In response to the industry trends of safety, health, and natural consumption in the condiments industry, it upgrades existing mature categories and launches multiple healthy product series, including organic, low-sodium, and other nutrition and health series products. At the same time, it replicates its successful experience in more emerging categories and trend products, developing products such as sauce for boiled food and sauce for cold dish to create new growth drivers. In the first quarter of 2025, the sauce for cold dish series products recorded 220% year-on-year growth in revenue, with full-year sales revenue expected to achieve even greater breakthroughs.
With its diversified development strategy, Haitian Flavoring continues to navigate through business cycles and solidify its leading position. From 2013 to 2024, Haitian Flavoring achieved a compound annual growth rate of 11.2% in revenue, making it the only condiments company in the world to achieve double-digit growth in revenue. During the same period, the Company's net profit margin has consistently remained above 20%, reaching 23.6% in 2024, ranking among the top in its international peers.
Listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange: Advancing from Chinese leader to world brand
Looking globally, the expansion of international market demand provides vast development space for Chinese condiments companies such as Haitian Flavoring. According to Frost & Sullivan, the global condiments market is expected to reach RMB 2.1438 trillion in 2024 and is projected to reach RMB 2.8917 trillion from 2024 to 2029, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.2%. In terms of regional distribution, the United States, Europe, and China are the top three largest condiments markets in the world, with market sizes of RMB 534.1 billion, RMB 519.4 billion, and RMB 498.1 billion respectively in 2024. In terms of growth potential, the Southeast Asian and Latin American markets will be the fastest-growing regions, with compound annual growth rates of 9.1% and 7.8% respectively from 2024 to 2029.
The Hong Kong listing of Haitian Flavoring is not only a milestone in terms of capital, but also a strategic platform for its transition from "Chinese leader" to "world brand". With its rich experience in technology, product development, supply chain management, and production operations accumulated through long-term production practice, Haitian Flavoring has the ability to promote its brand globally and open up new possibilities for global growth. For investors, the new round of value reassessment of Haitian Flavoring has just begun.