Eastroc  Beverage: Twelve Consecutive Limit-Ups and Over RMB 6 Billion in Returns for Early Investors

Eastroc Beverage (SH: 605499) has delivered exceptional performance since its listing on May 27, 2021. As of June 11, the company recorded twelve consecutive limit-up trading days, pushing its share price to RMB 190.09 per share and lifting its market capitalization to RMB 76.04 billion, a new all-time high. Investors who obtained allocations at the IPO price of RMB 46.27 per share saw significant gains, reflecting both strong market confidence and a notably low selling rate among shareholders.

From an investment standpoint, early backers of Eastroc Beverage have realized substantial value. In June 2017, the company received a strategic investment of RMB 357 million from Harvest Capital, the only institutional investor outside the founding family. Alan Song, Founder and Chairman of Harvest Capital, also serves on Eastroc Beverage’s board.

According to Alan Song, Eastroc Special Drink—the company’s flagship product—has the potential to become “China’s next Red Bull.” He has repeatedly emphasized Eastroc Beverage’s rapid expansion and its strong growth relative to peers, calling its trajectory “rare in today’s market.”

Before the IPO, founder Lin Muqin held 55.27% of the company’s shares, with Junzheng Investment holding 10%. Junzheng Investment corresponds to Harvest Capital, the sole strategic investor. After listing, Harvest Capital held 36 million shares, or approximately 9% of the company. Based on the June 11 closing price, the value of Harvest Capital’s shareholding reached RMB 6.843 billion—a book multiple of roughly 19x in four years.

The company’s fundamentals continue to validate its market performance. According to its prospectus, Eastroc Beverage reported revenue of RMB 3.037 billion, RMB 4.208 billion, and RMB 4.959 billion in 2018, 2019, and 2020 respectively—demonstrating consistent and strong growth. As China’s leading national energy drink brand, Eastroc Beverage’s commercial value is increasingly evident, and its long-term market potential remains highly compelling.

Alan Song has stated that the IPO is “just the beginning” for Eastroc  Beverage. He believes the company’s journey toward tens of billions—and eventually hundreds of billions—in market value is a natural extension of its continued innovation, category leadership, and disciplined expansion.

The strategic partnership between Eastroc Beverage and Harvest Capital has also proved significant. Chairman Lin Muqin previously noted that he had declined dozens of investment proposals before choosing Harvest Capital, citing the need for a partner with aligned values, industry insight, and long-term commitment—not merely capital.

Harvest Capital has provided resources to accelerate Eastroc Beverage’s growth, including facilitating partnerships such as its collaboration with Qiaqia Food, and supporting the rapid rollout of the “Eastroc Qi” sparkling energy drink across nearly 30,000 convenience stores through the Meiyijia retail system.

The energy drink category continues to expand rapidly. According to Euromonitor International, energy drink sales in China grew at a compound annual growth rate of 15.02% between 2014 and 2019. Analysts expect Eastroc Beverage to further enhance its product innovation, strengthen distribution, and increase market share with continued capital and operational support.

Beyond Eastroc Beverage, Harvest Capital has invested in multiple consumer and food brands such as Babi Food, Qiaqia Food, Xiao Guan Tea, Laiyifen, Jiajia Food, and others—many of which have successfully gone public. These portfolio companies have consistently become category leaders, earning Harvest Capital the reputation of a “champion builder” in China’s consumer sector.

As Alan Song has noted, China’s private equity industry must evolve from passive investment to value-added partnership. This includes both internal capability building and external value realization. Benchmarking against world-class institutions, Harvest Capital continues to invest in leading Chinese companies and support their ascent.

Eastroc Beverage is positioned to become China’s first national beverage brand to reach a market capitalization of RMB 100 billion. Its rise represents not only the strength of Chinese brands but also the collective confidence of hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers—and a milestone in the story of China’s consumption upgrade.