Gao Dao and Haidilao lead the cornerstone! Meet Xiaomian (02408) global stock offering, the institutional lineup highlights the value of the track
The Zhitong Finance App learned that on November 27, Meet Xiaomian (02408) officially launched the Hong Kong stock IPO prospecting process. It plans to sell 97.3645 million shares globally, including the Hong Kong public sale of about 9.736,500 H shares (10%), the international sale of about 87.6281 thousand H shares (90%), and 5% over-allotment rights. The sale price is HK$5.64-7.04 per share, with a maximum entry fee of HK$3,520 for each lot. The net amount raised is approximately HK$552 million. The company expects to be listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on December 5, and is expected to become the “first Chinese noodle restaurant stock” in Hong Kong stocks.
Meet Xiaomian Hong Kong West Kowloon High Speed Rail Station
One of the highlights of this IPO was the introduction of a strong lineup of cornerstone investors. According to the announcement, five well-known investment institutions participated in this cornerstone investment, including Gao Lin Capital, Haidilao, Junyi Capital, Shengying Investment, Zeta Fund, etc., covering top private equity, strategic industrial capital and well-known long-term funds. Cornerstone investors subscribed for a total of US$22 million, accounting for about 25% of the total capital raised.
As the number one brand of noodles in Sichuan and Chongqing and the fourth largest Chinese noodle shop operator in China, Meet Xiaomian showed strong growth momentum from 2022 to 2024. Revenue jumped from 418 million yuan to 1.154 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 66.2%, which is significantly higher than the industry average. The capital raised by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will mainly be used to expand the restaurant network, build a supply chain system, and improve digital capabilities.
Seize market development opportunities, and the restaurant network and performance are growing rapidly
Chinese noodles are an important part of the Chinese fast food market, accounting for 29.8% of the Chinese fast food market in 2024. According to Frost & Sullivan data, the total commodity transaction volume of the Chinese noodle market in China increased from 183.3 billion yuan in 2020 to 296.2 billion yuan in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.7%. It is estimated that by 2029, the total commodity transaction volume will further increase to 510 billion yuan, and the average annual growth rate will remain above 10%.
The current market pattern is highly fragmented. The total market share of the top five brands in 2024 is less than 3%, providing room for integration and expansion for chain enterprises with scale advantages and brand influence. Achieving large-scale operations through strategic mergers and acquisitions and organic expansion has become a key path for leading companies in the industry to enhance their competitiveness.
Meet Xiaomen's signature products
On this high-speed track, Meet Xiaomen achieved rapid expansion with a clear strategic layout and efficient operation management. The company opened its first store in Guangzhou in 2014. From the beginning of the track record period to the last practical date, the number of restaurants increased by 249.6% from 133 to 465, covering 22 cities in 9 provinces in mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. With strong growth momentum, 115 new restaurants were in the pre-opening stage by the last practical date, and the total number of restaurants is expected to exceed 500 by the end of this year.
Its business focus is on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Guangzhou and Shenzhen stores have surpassed 100 stores. The Hong Kong market is a new strategic growth pole. Since officially entering in 2024, the number of stores has expanded to 14. In the first half of 2025, total product transactions in Hong Kong stores reached 42.272 million yuan, an increase of more than 10 times over the previous year, contributing significantly to the company's overall growth.
Along with the rapid expansion of the restaurant network and continuous optimization of operational efficiency, its financial performance improved simultaneously. From 2022 to 2024, the company's total revenue increased from 418 million yuan to 1.154 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 66.2%; in terms of net profit, the loss was 35.973 million yuan in 2022, which turned a loss into a profit in 2023. Net profit reached 45.914 million yuan, and further increased to 60.7 million yuan in 2024. In the first half of 2025, the company achieved revenue of 703 million yuan, up 33.8% year on year; adjusted net profit reached 52.175 million yuan, up 131.56% year on year, and adjusted profit margin increased 3.1 percentage points over the same period last year to 7.4%. What is more noteworthy is the steady increase in operating profit margin at the company's direct-run restaurant level, from 13.3% in 2024 to 15.1% in the first half of 2025. Operational refinement and cost control capabilities continue to improve.
Lead the development trend of the industry and build a highly large-scale business model
Currently, the Chinese fast food market is undergoing a structural transformation driven by chainization. Although the non-chain business still dominates the scale, with a chain penetration rate of only 32.5% in 2024, the growth momentum of chain brands has completely surpassed the non-chain sector. Within the chain system, the self-operated and franchised models contributed 9.3% and 23.2% of the total turnover of Chinese fast food products, respectively. Among them, the franchise model has become the core engine of the brand's national layout due to its light assets and high expansion efficiency.
Store traffic is booming
According to forecasts, by 2029, the market size of Chinese fast food restaurant chains in mainland China will reach RMB 477.8 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of about 10%. Over the same period, the overall chain penetration rate will increase to 33.8%. Behind this trend is a significant increase in consumer demand for “predictable quality, stable taste, and efficient experience,” while chain brands are systematically replacing individual stores with standardized product research and development, centralized supply chains, digital operation, and cross-regional replication capabilities, becoming the first choice for mainstream consumption scenarios.
In this context, competition among Chinese fast food chains has also officially entered the “system capability” competition stage. The number of stores is only an external manifestation of standardization capabilities, supply chain resilience, and management innovation.
As a leader in the Chinese noodle restaurant circuit, Meet Xiaomen is regarded as a typical example of the industry under the new trend of Chinese fast food development. With “delicious, fast, polite, clean and affordable” as its core value, Meet Xiaomen is committed to providing consumers with a cost-effective dining experience. Its product line focuses on a variety of flavors from Sichuan and Chongqing, focusing on classic categories such as the signature red bowl of mixed pea noodles, golden bowl of hot and sour noodles, and old sesame sauce. Each store usually offers 30 to 40 SKUs, and regularly updates the menu to enhance the customer's dining experience. According to Frost & Sullivan data, from 2022 to 2024, its Chongqing noodles, red bowl pea noodles, and golden bowl hot and sour noodles ranked first in offline sales among all Chinese restaurant chains for three consecutive years. In terms of pricing strategy, the unit price range for staple foods is RMB 12 to RMB 34, and the per capita consumption of dine-in in the mainland is about RMB 27, which fits the mass consumer market exactly. As of the latest practical date, the company's membership system has attracted more than 22.1 million registered members. In 2024, the repurchase rate for stored value members reached 44.5%, which is significantly higher than the industry average.
At the management level, I met Xiaomen successfully integrating the traditional charm of Chinese noodle restaurants with the modern restaurant management system. As of June 30, 2025, the company's operating network consists of 331 direct-run restaurants and 86 franchised restaurants, forming a driving pattern of “stable direct management and expanded franchise coverage”. The company implements centralized headquarters management for all stores, and establishes a standardized, systematized and digital management system covering the entire chain of food R&D, procurement, supply chain, site selection and construction, operation support, personnel training, marketing and quality control to ensure that brand consistency is not diluted in expansion, and has become a benchmark for the few people in the industry to achieve “scaling” and “standardization” in parallel.
In addition, Meet Xiaomen is at the forefront of the industry in digital construction and has independently developed a full-link store operation system, covering core aspects such as front-end ordering, takeout fulfillment, back-end duty management, product control, procurement planning, inventory management, supply chain collaboration, human resource allocation, employee training and performance evaluation. Functions such as contactless ordering, intelligent scheduling, accurate member marketing, and data-driven inventory optimization have been upgraded from “value-added services” to infrastructure that maintains high floor efficiency, low store closing rates, and strong repurchase rates, creating operational barriers that are difficult to replicate.
The listing accelerates global expansion and has become a new paradigm for the development of Chinese noodle restaurants
In the next five years, chainization and branding will become a must-answer question for the survival and growth of the Chinese fast food industry. In the context of the continuous expansion of the Chinese noodle restaurant market and the concentration of consumer preferences on standardization and predictable experiences, only brands with systematic operation capabilities can achieve large-scale replication and long-term competitiveness.
As the fastest growing and most stable Chinese noodle restaurant chain brand in mainland China, Meet Xiaomian has established a highly large-scale business model. Its standardized restaurant operations have gone through multiple rounds of verification in nearly 500 stores, showing the remarkable characteristics of high ping efficiency, strong repurchase, and low operating fluctuations, laying a solid foundation for subsequent expansion.
Meet the opening of a new store in Xiaomian
Based on this, Meet Xiaomian clarified its expansion plans for the next three years: it plans to open about 150 to 180, 170 to 200, and 200 to 230 new restaurants in 2026, 2027, and 2028, respectively. According to this plan, 520 to 610 new stores will be added within three years, which is equivalent to rebuilding an operating network of the current scale. At the same time, the company has begun an international layout, and the first stop is in Singapore. The store is being prepared and is expected to officially open in December 2025. With similar food culture, high-density urban consumption, and strong takeout penetration, the Southeast Asian market is expected to become its second growth curve.
As the “first stock in a Chinese noodle restaurant”, Meet Xiaomian's listing process will not only provide it with more sufficient capital support and brand credibility, but will also accelerate the spillover of its standardized system and the iterative upgrading of its digital capabilities. Under the general trend of continuous increase in chain penetration, Meet Xiaomian is rapidly moving from a local Chinese brand to the global market, and its systematic operation capability is becoming a key force defining new standards in the Chinese noodle industry.
In the future, competition for Chinese fast food will eventually return to “whose system is more efficient and whose replication is more stable”. I met Xiaomen, and I am currently at the center of this transformation.