The CEO of Soul App, Zhang Lu, has reported stable profitability since 2023. Last year, this social networking platform reported adjusted net profits of RMB 337 million, and in the first eight months of 2025, this figure stood at RMB 286 million. These earnings point to a 15 percent compound annual growth rate from 2022 to 2024.
The performance is clearly remarkable, and it suggests that social platforms can create sustainable business models by harnessing emotional value. But, make no mistake, this effect can only be achieved if emotional value is embedded into the platform design and not simply served as an afterthought.
Now, this is something that Soul Zhang Lu was quick to understand. From the get-go, as a social networking platform, Soul was designed to encourage the creation of emotional communities. To achieve this goal, the app moved away from real-world identifiers such as names, photos, and social status markers.
This one-of-its-kind approach lowered inclusivity friction. In simple words, Soul gave users the freedom to choose where they belong, when they engage, and how deeply they participate. This platform design did not come about by chance; Soul Zhang Lu meticulously planned it with the exclusive aim of aligning the app’s central theme and everything it had to offer with Generation Z’s preference for affinity-based belonging.
The fact is that for Zoomers, emotional compatibility matters a lot; it most certainly scores higher than demographic similarity. Also, today’s youth are inclined more towards emotional value than older purchase variables such as product durability, functionality, and even quality.
Of course, these factors still matter in some areas, but they have been relegated to the background when it comes to digital spending, and Gen Z'ers sure are spending a lot of money on digital purchases. For instance, on average, each paying user on Soul spends more than RMB 104 per month on emotional value in-app services. These include virtual goods and membership features, among others.
Such purchases accounted for more than 90% of Soul’s revenue in the first eight months of 2025. Also, social platforms that center on emotional value have the inherent ability to capture trends at the very beginning, which is another aspect that attracts young users.
The best part is that often these trends start organically, and the wave of popularity swells as more people talk about them. Case in point, Labubu toys, which have been a trending topic on Soul. In the second quarter of 2025, posts related to these popular collectible figures saw an uptick of more than 3,100 percent year over year.
A notable observation here is that these surges are not driven solely by marketing. Actually, they stem from moments when a symbol captures shared feelings. And this phenomenon isn’t restricted to just collectibles or even objects. Features of the app that appeal at the emotional level receive a similar level of interest and rise in popularity, which can then be monetized.
For instance, avatars on Soul App are not merely decorative features. They are symbolic of representations of selfhood, capable of expressing mood, personality, and aspiration. By giving users the ability to customize their avatars, Soul Zhang Lu allows users to externalize identity without permanence.
In this sense, digital identity becomes a canvas rather than a label. Paying for avatar customization is therefore less about acquisition and more about narrative. Users are not buying objects; they are essentially spending on how they appear and how they feel.
Having said that, it is worth mentioning here that this cultural shift is also rooted in two other factors besides Gen Z’s desire to get emotional value from their spending. The first of these is Soul Zhang Lu’s use of AI, not as a replacement, but as a tool for emotional mediation.
On Soul App, AI systems assist with matching users to compatible communities, recommending content, and supporting communication through features like conversation suggestions and text refinement. So, these systems are not positioned as substitutes for human connection. Instead, they act as mediators that reduce friction in social interaction.
The effect is that for users who struggle to articulate thoughts or initiate conversation, AI assistance can make participation feel safer and less intimidating. This matters because emotional platforms succeed more by widening access than by maximizing output.
The second factor is Gen Z’s need for affinity-based belonging. Emotional compatibility matters a lot to this demographic. So, by eliminating or at least by reducing participation barriers, Soul Zhang Lu makes emotional exchange more inclusive, thus enhancing the sense of shared interests and the feeling of being a part of a like-minded community.
These figures and observations clarify that Generation Z’s willingness to pay for emotional value is about adaptation, and not extravagance. The world around these youngsters is marked by emotional overload and institutional gaps. So, a platform like that of Soul Zhang Lu’s is profitable because it fulfills real needs by acknowledging that emotional consumption is not escapism; rather, it is a structured response to modern pressures.
