With names like Pechoin, Marie Dalgar, Three Squirrels and One Leaf, the companies are little known outside China, highlighting how they have emerged amid the transformation of the Chinese retail sector by focusing on local needs and tastes.

Such businesses are taking advantage of lower barriers to entry offered by the rise of the digital economy, Bain & Company said in the report on Chinese shopping trends, co-written with consultancy Kantar Worldpanel.