Wanchen Group's 2025 Net Profit Surges; Franchise Management Risks Remain Unresolved

On the evening of March 17, leading bulk snack company Wancheng Group (300972.SZ) disclosed its 2025 annual report, achieving an operating revenue of 51.459 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 59.17%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.345 billion yuan, a surge of 358.09% year-on-year.

Behind the significant profit growth, the franchise model played a crucial role. In October 2023, Wancheng Group merged its brands “Lu Xia Chan,” “Hao Xiang Lai,” “Lai You Pin,” and “A Di A Di” into the brand “Hao Xiang Lai,” and introduced a low-threshold policy of “0 franchise fee, 0 management fee, 0 delivery fee” to attract franchisees. As a result, the number of franchised stores grew rapidly. According to the financial report, by the end of 2025, the company operated a total of 18,314 stores nationwide. In terms of revenue, wholesale supply accounted for as much as 96.45% of the company’s total, with revenue increasing by 61.03% year-on-year.

However, behind the rapid growth, the company’s aggressive franchise expansion model also poses risks of uneven franchisee quality, and the company’s control over terminal services remains to be further observed.

According to media reports, on February 2, 2026, a “Hao Xiang Lai” snack store in Lixian County, Xianyang, Shaanxi, was suspected of theft after surveillance footage raised suspicion of two 14-year-old girls. The staff forcibly called the girls back and detained them for over 20 minutes after they had paid and left. During this time, the girls requested to contact their parents due to discomfort but were refused; eventually, they were forced to open their bags to prove innocence. Police verified that the two girls had not committed any theft.

After the incident gained attention, Wancheng Group closed and rectified the involved franchise store and issued an apology. This is not the first time “Hao Xiang Lai” has been involved in customer disputes. Since 2025, the brand has been involved in multiple similar incidents, including young children mistakenly taking products and being accused of theft, and staff insulting consumers. The Black Cat Complaint platform shows that there have been over 1,900 complaints related to “Hao Xiang Lai” stores.

Public information indicates that Wancheng Group listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s ChiNext Board in 2021 as the “First Stock of Edible Fungi,” and in 2022, it expanded into the bulk snack sector. Currently, nearly 99% of its revenue comes from the snack business. The financial report shows that in 2025, Wancheng Group’s bulk snack business revenue reached 50.857 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 59.98%; the gross profit margin for the snack business was 12.32%, up 1.46 percentage points year-on-year. (Intern Zou Wannuo also contributed to this article)