Hexin Life: Cup Supplier to Luckin and Heytea Bets RMB 538M on PLA

This is an English adaptation of a FoodBud historical article originally published on February 20, 2025.

For operators thinking about cup and packaging suppliers, Hexin Life (恒鑫生活) is a second case — alongside Fuling — of a paper/plastic foodservice-ware maker tied to China's coffee and new-tea boom, now betting on biodegradables.

2024 results and the PLA bet

• 9M 2024 revenue RMB 1.158 billion (+9.71%), but ex-items net profit up just 0.47% as unit prices fell and gross margin slipped 2.48 points; Q3 revenue +8.19% on Luckin and Heytea demand. Full-year revenue was guided to RMB 1.52–1.6 billion (+6.66–12.27%). For context, full-year revenue was RMB 1.425 billion (2023), RMB 1.088 billion (2022), RMB 0.719 billion (2021); net profit RMB 221M (2023), RMB 166M (2022), RMB 81M (2021).
• Product mix (H1 2024): paper foodservice-ware RMB 380M (52.94%) and plastic RMB 338M (47.06%) — together 99%+ of revenue.
• The IPO raise funds a 30,000-ton PLA compostable-products project (RMB 538M, 64.9% of proceeds), plus automation (RMB 85M), an R&D center (RMB 55.6M) and working capital (RMB 150M) — a push from contract cup-maker toward green materials.

Customer concentration — the double-edged sword

Fresh coffee, new-tea and QSR clients are ~49% of revenue; the model rode an 81.3% revenue CAGR on those clients' expansion, but that slowed to +15.36% in 2024 as chain growth cooled. Top-five customers were 40.2% of H1 2024 revenue; Luckin + Heytea (via Shenzhen Xingmi) alone were 26.55%. Notably, Luckin's purchases fell from RMB 227M (2023) to RMB 120M in H1 2024, while newer names (Chagee ~3% of revenue, Cotti, Mixue) and international clients (Staples since 2016, Biopak since 2014) diversified the base. The supplementary channels — supermarket export (10.22%) and trading-company channels (36.95%, mostly export) — cushion domestic concentration.

Receivables risk

Top-five receivables ran 33–54% of the total over four years (Staples, Luckin, Heytea, Starbucks recurring), peaking at 54.2% in 2023 (Heytea alone 17.32%); the H1 2024 balance eased to 43.82%. The aggregate top-five receivable grew ~185% over four years — a cash-flow and concentration risk to watch as the chain-customer cycle turns. IPO use-of-proceeds and guidance are historical (early 2025).