Best Food Holding (01488.HK) Hot Stock Analysis: Lenovo Hony-backed Food & Beverage Investment Platform Faces Industry Headwinds

Best Food Holding Limited (stock code: 01488.HK) is a professional F&B investment platform under Lenovo Hony. It has invested in or acquired 14 well-known F&B brands to date, building a diversified investment portfolio covering the segmented markets of Chinese fast food, Western cuisine, hot pot, and emerging healthy F&B [1][4]. Its key invested brands include PizzaMarzano, Hehegu, Xinalaodao Fish Hot Pot, Quanjincheng Roast Beef, Quanwei, Mr. Xi Roujiamo, Meet Noodles, and Vibrant Salad, forming a complete layout ranging from high-end Italian casual dining to affordable fast food [1].

In terms of shareholding structure, as of December 31, 2025, the company’s total issued shares amount to 1,578,664,000, with an authorized share capital of 50 million shares and a par value of HK$0.1 per share. In addition, the company has an outstanding 3% annual interest convertible bond maturing on November 23, 2025, with a total issued amount of HK$610,676,480, which may result in the issuance of 517,522,440 shares [3]. This change in debt structure will have a significant impact on the company’s future equity dilution level.

The listing of Meet Noodles and its subsequent stock performance have become core events affecting market attention on Best Food Holding. As the second-largest shareholder of Meet Noodles, Best Food Holding offloaded shares in August 2025 ahead of Meet Noodles’ IPO, and the timing of this move has attracted high market attention. Feng Wenhui, Senior Analyst at Futu Securities, pointed out, “In fact, Best Food Holding’s share sale of Meet Noodles in August this year was already a negative signal” [2].

Meet Noodles’ stock price plummeted on its first trading day after listing, and it was embroiled in a pre-made food controversy, causing substantial losses for retail investors who participated in the IPO [2]. From a fundamental perspective, Meet Noodles’ average daily sales per store dropped from over RMB13,000 in 2023 to approximately RMB11,000, representing a year-on-year decline of over 7% [2]. The company’s revenue growth is mainly driven by store expansion (increasing from 133 to 451 stores) rather than improved single-store sales efficiency, and the sustainability of this growth model has been questioned by the market.

Despite facing industry headwinds, Best Food Holding has maintained an active pace of capital operations. Best Food Unit recently invested RMB20 million in an F&B cooperation project, a news that once drove the company’s stock price up by approximately 2% [1]. In addition, the company spent RMB19.95 million to establish a joint-venture F&B investment company, demonstrating the management’s confidence in the long-term value of the F&B track [1]. These investment measures indicate that the company is continuously optimizing its investment portfolio structure, seeking opportunities to capture high-quality assets during the industry consolidation period.

The current Chinese F&B industry is undergoing profound structural adjustments, with the dual pressures of consumption downgrade and industry involution. The weak performance of Meet Noodles’ core operating indicators such as per capita consumption decline and table turnover rate reflects the in-depth impact of changes in consumer behavior [2]. Lin Jiaqi, an industry analyst, pointed out that against the backdrop of no growth or even decline in single-store sales, once expansion slows down, profit growth momentum will disappear, and the stock price needs to be halved from the listing price to be reasonable [2]. This judgment reveals the widespread valuation restructuring pressure faced by the Hong Kong-listed F&B sector — the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of Hong Kong-listed F&B stocks generally ranges from 15 to 30 times, while Meet Noodles’ valuation of over 60 times at the time of its IPO clearly lacks fundamental support.

Best Food Holding’s share sale ahead of Meet Noodles’ IPO provides an important window to understand the capital operation logic of major shareholders. From a positive perspective, this may be a strategic move by the Lenovo Hony Group to optimize its investment portfolio, recycle capital, and allocate it more effectively; however, from the perspective of the secondary market, the timing of this move has sent a signal of reserved attitude towards the project’s short-term prospects to the market. Investors need to closely monitor Best Food Holding’s future capital operation arrangements for other invested brands to assess the adjustment direction of its overall investment strategy.

The potential conversion of the HK$610,676,480 convertible bond will lead to a substantial increase of approximately 32.8% in the company’s total number of shares (calculated based on the proportion of 517,522,440 shares to the current issued shares). This structural change will have a substantial dilutive impact on the shareholding ratio and earnings per share (EPS) of existing shareholders. Investors need to fully consider the timing and conversion conditions of this financial factor when evaluating the company’s value [3].

: The stock price crash of Meet Noodles after its IPO has directly affected the market’s judgment on the fair value of Best Food Holding’s investment portfolio, and the pre-made food controversy has further exacerbated brand reputation risks. As the second-largest shareholder, Best Food Holding is facing dual pressures of shrinking investment income and damaged market confidence [2].

: The trend of consumption downgrade in the mainland is difficult to reverse in the short term, and the highly competitive (involutionary) landscape of the F&B industry will continue to compress industry profit margins. Multiple brands in the company’s investment portfolio may face the dual pressure of declining same-store sales and rigid cost increases.

: The growth path relying on store expansion to boost revenue rather than improving single-store operational efficiency faces challenges during the industry’s slowdown phase. Once expansion speed cannot be maintained, revenue growth momentum will weaken significantly.

: The company’s stock has limited coverage in regular financial data sources, which may cause investors to obtain information later than market changes, increasing the uncertainty of investment decisions.

: The downturn period of the F&B industry often breeds M&A windows for high-quality assets. The industrial resources and capital operation capabilities of the Lenovo Hony Group may help Best Food Holding integrate high-quality F&B brands on more favorable terms.

: The company’s diversified brand portfolio covers different price ranges and consumption scenarios, providing flexibility to seek structural opportunities amid the trend of consumption differentiation.

: The recent RMB20 million investment by Best Food Unit indicates that the company still has sufficient capital strength and investment willingness [1]. The progress of subsequent investment projects deserves continuous tracking.

As an F&B investment platform under Lenovo Hony, Best Food Holding (01488.HK) is currently in a critical period of industry headwinds and investment portfolio adjustment. The company has received close attention due to the market performance of its associated company Meet Noodles after its IPO, and the second-largest shareholder’s share sale ahead of the IPO has been interpreted by the market as a negative signal [2]. Under the dual pressures of consumption downgrade and industry involution in the mainland, the company’s growth model relying on store expansion rather than improving single-store efficiency faces sustainability challenges [2]. The company has maintained an active investment pace recently; the RMB20 million investment by Best Food Unit and the establishment of a joint-venture F&B investment company demonstrate confidence in the long-term value of the industry [1]. The potential conversion of convertible bonds will have a dilutive effect on the company’s shareholding structure, and investors need to closely monitor subsequent developments [3]. In the current market environment, it is recommended that investors maintain a prudent attitude and conduct in-depth assessments of the substantive impact of macro-environmental changes on the company’s investment portfolio.