(Yicai) June 5 -- Many new consumer companies in China have seen the price of their shares surge over the past year, mainly thanks to increased hedonistic consumption among young people, according to experts.

Generation Z, or those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, is the driving force behind "self-pleasing" consumption, with its potential reflected in the expansion and innovation of consumer categories, said Zhou Wenbo, manager of Fullgoal Consumption Selected 30 Equity Fund.

Despite Pop Mart International Group [HKG: 9992], a leading maker of toy collectibles, including Labubu and Molly, closed 1.22 percent lower to HKD243.00 (USD30.95) a share today, its stock has soared more than 535 percent from a year earlier. In addition, its market capitalization has exceeded CNY320 billion (USD44.5 billion).

Shares of Laopu Gold [HKG: 6181] plunged 9.05 percent to HKD904 (USD115.14) today but have skyrocketed over 1,290 percent since the luxury goods maker went public on June 28 last year. Mixue Group's stock [HKG: 2097] tumbled 7.72 percent to HKD568, but China's biggest ice cream and bubble tea store operator has seen its shares surge 119 percent since it listed on March 3. The stock of Bloks Group [HKG: 0325] fell 3.64 percent to HKD166.6 but has surged 52 percent since the toy maker went public on Jan. 10.

The rally stems from these companies adapting to economic shifts and evolving consumer behavior, focusing on new demand, innovative models, and global expansion, according to Zhou. "Their key traits include clear growth drivers, sustained rapid performance growth, and promising development prospects."

Unlike luxury or traditional consumer goods, trendy toys convey content and emotion through instant engagement, Wang Ying, fund manager at Zhong Ou Asset Management, told Yicai. "With the young generation moving beyond basic survival anxieties, they devote greater energy to their inner worlds," Wang noted, adding that career and self-fulfillment pressures persist, so they "need emotional outlets."

Investors have also shifted their sentiment and are bullish on the new consumer sector, with 39 funds putting Laopu Gold among their top 10 holdings as of March 31, up from 15 at the end of last year. Since the start of this quarter, at least 19 brokerages have recommended buying Pop Mart shares.

Mixue has over 41,000 stores in China and nearly 5,000 outlets across 11 overseas markets, according to the Zhengzhou-based company's latest financial report.

Pop Mart's revenue more than doubled to CNY13 billion (USD1.8 billion) last year from the previous one, with income from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas markets surging 375 percent to over CNY5 billion (USD694 million), it said in its annual earnings report. In addition, revenue from its The Monsters series surged 727 percent to CNY3 billion thanks to Labubu becoming a viral global phenomenon.

Editor: Martin Kadiev