Author: Yao Lan (Yvonne)
Back in June, I asked a question in an article titled, "Is TNTSPACE Overpriced at 2% of Pop Mart's Market Cap?": Among all the designer toy brands in the primary market, is TNTSPACE the one most likely to grow into the next Pop Mart?
Perhaps because I've published quite a few exclusive reports (not fed by consumer brands), over the following three months, countless people in the primary and secondary markets have either asked me about TNTSPACE's funding news or shared the latest rumors they've heard. To put it in internet slang — the hype is real.
Wang Hai (pseudonym), a consumer goods investor, told me that TNTSPACE has been actively meeting with investment institutions since the second half of last year. It started to become highly sought-after in the first half of this year — its popularity is closely tied to Pop Mart's stock performance — with funding amounts reaching hundreds of millions of RMB.
"They've received over 10 term sheets, turned down dozens of institutions, but the deal still hasn't closed."
Investors are terrified of missing out on the next Pop Mart. It's an understandable sentiment, and I don't want to over-dramatize it.
Li Wen (pseudonym), another consumer goods investor, told me that TNTSPACE shares many of the same investors as Tastien China Burger (a dark-horse F&B brand aggressively chased by top-tier investment firms in 2023, with an extremely low-profile founder). As I understand, one of these investors first connected with TNTSPACE in mid-May.
The most persistent rumor I've heard is that TNTSPACE has taken money from Source Code Capital (an investor in Brook) . When I asked TNTSPACE for confirmation, their response was: "Wait for the announcement." When I asked Source Code Capital twice, they replied: "No comment."
Earlier, I published articles about TNTSPACE and Shanhun, and the readership wasn't particularly high. That didn't surprise me. Designer toys and trading cards are still niche categories, and compared to established names like Pop Mart and Kayou, these brands are simply too "new." Of course, my public account is also quite new.
But "new" also means there's plenty of room to grow.
TNTSPACE was founded in 2022 by Wu Wendong. Wu graduated from Sichuan University's Computer Science department, and his only corporate job was as a coder at Alipay. Since then, he has had three entrepreneurial ventures. In my view, Wu is an interesting, approachable, unassuming brand founder.
In January and October 2022, TNTSPACE launched its two flagship original IPs: DORA and Baby Zoraa. The former is edgy and cool — being herself, refusing to be defined. The latter is soft and cute — cuteness is justice. Both are top-tier IPs: each boasts over 3 million followers across all platforms, with GMV exceeding 300 million RMB in 2024. Its other key IPs include Liita, Boy Rayan, and ANMOO.
Zhang Zhang (pseudonym), a consumer goods investor, told me: In 2024, TNTSPACE saw rapid growth — its single-month GMV exceeded 100 million RMB in July, with full-year revenue reaching about 400 million RMB.
According to Wang Zequn, CEO of TNTSPACE, as of August this year, the brand's total exposure across all platforms has exceeded 1 billion views. It has over 500,000 private-domain followers and more than 4 million highly engaged paying members.
Zhang Zhang also told me that TNTSPACE's expected net profit for 2025 is between 150 million and 200 million RMB. The company declined to comment on this figure.
For comparison: Pop Mart was founded in 2010 and turned its first profit in 2017 — a net profit of 1.56 million RMB. In 2018, its revenue reached 515 million RMB, with a net profit of 99.5 million RMB, reflecting a net margin of 19.3%. After completing its final pre-IPO funding round in late April 2020, its valuation hit $2.5 billion (approximately 17.5 billion RMB).
Wang Zequn believes that TNTSPACE's core advantages lie in product and marketing. On the product side, one example is the "jumbo blind box" that TNTSPACE pioneered in early 2023, upgrading size, packaging, and craftsmanship. On the marketing side, a standout case is the "TNT Special Attack Squad" pop-up event held at IFS Chengdu during the 2024 May Day holiday, which brought together nine IPs and exceeded 10 million RMB in sales over five days, setting a new domestic record for designer toy pop-up sales.
At the end of May this year, TNTSPACE completed a brand upgrade, including a visual overhaul and revised value proposition. What left a strong impression on me was the logo change from uppercase TNT to lowercase tnt, along with a notable improvement in video production quality. As I've said before, animation with taste is a key reason I've fallen for brands like Jellycat and Pop Mart.
TNTSPACE primarily sells its products offline through 5,000 retail stores across the country and has not yet opened any directly operated stores. It is accelerating its global expansion, with a strategic focus on Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
In a media group interview last year, Wang Zequn said: "Because TNTSPACE's experience, energy, and resources are inherently limited, our best approach is to extend our strengths as far as they can go, while compensating for our channel weaknesses by partnering with high-quality distributors."
On the evening of August 19, Pop Mart released its semi-annual report for 2025, the first earnings report following its global organizational restructuring, with multiple operating metrics reaching historic highs.
In the first half of 2025, Pop Mart's revenue hit 13.88 billion RMB, up 204.4% year-over-year. Adjusted net profit was 4.71 billion RMB — surpassing the entire 2024 figure — a 362.8% year-over-year increase. Pop Mart also disclosed performance figures for four major regions for the first time:
- Greater China: 8.28 billion RMB, up 135.2%
- Asia-Pacific (excluding China): 2.85 billion RMB, up 257.8%
- Americas: 2.26 billion RMB, up 1,142.3%
- Europe and other regions: 480 million RMB, up 729.2%
Within specific IPs, THE MONSTERS series, which includes LABUBU, generated 4.81 billion RMB — 34.7% of total revenue. MOLLY, SKULLPANDA, CRYBABY, and DIMOO each surpassed 1 billion RMB in revenue. A total of 13 artist IPs exceeded 100 million RMB. As of market close on September 4, Pop Mart's market cap exceeded HK$410 billion.
At around 1 a.m. on September 5, a post-95s consumer investor reminded me over WeChat: "For young companies courted by capital, maybe they're just doing their jobs and talking normally. Meanwhile, it's you media people who swarm in, desperately trying to hype them up."
Assuming no surprises, TNTSPACE will officially announce its funding between September and December of this year. I'm not sure if this article is already part of the early buzz.
Cover image source: TNTSPACE
