VMS Completed Series B Investment in Skincare Brand UNISKIN

VMS Completed Series B Investment in Skincare Brand UNISKIN

 

We are pleased to announce that VMS has completed its series B investment in UNISKIN (the “Company”). The series B round raised over RMB 100mn and was led by MSA Capital. Taihecap acted as the sole financial advisor of the transaction. The funding will mainly be used to facilitate brand building, R&D, promotional marketing and talent acquisition. The series A round, led by Hony Capital and co-invested by earlier round investor Sequoia Capital, has just been completed in May 2021.

UNISKIN was founded by Dr. Du Le in 2018 and markets itself as an anti-aging skincare brand. It is an emerging name in China’s functional skincare market and is known in the industry as a “scientific skincare artist”, revolutionizing beauty through biotechnology. Based on the skin characteristics of ethnic Chinese, UNISKIN has launched a series of skincare products such as eye care series, “Retinoid Skin Renewal” series and “Soothing Relief” series. During this year’s “Double 11” online shopping festival, UNISKIN’s Tmall flagship store recorded a cumulative transaction of nearly RMB 80mn and sales increased by 216% YoY. The “Smile Eye Cream” was the best-selling domestic eye cream product on Tmall. The majority of UNISKIN’s consumers is around 25 years old, consisting of mostly cutting-edge white-collar workers, exquisite mothers and it has about 10% of male users.

Vanessa Lee, Managing Director & Head of TMT and Consumer of VMS Group’s Private Equity Division, commented that “With the rise of new consumer groups and their pursuit of efficacy in skincare products, technology will reshape every consumer sector in the future and beauty is an indispensable part of it. With UNISKIN’s precise insight into consumer needs, understanding of the skin characteristics of ethnic Chinese and expertise in the effects of various skin care ingredients, it has created a multitude of products that are both artistic and efficacious. We believe under the leadership of a professional team headed by Dr. Du Le, UNISKIN will be a science-based skincare brand that spans the cycles and VMS is very honored to support UNISKIN along the way”.

UNISKIN’s founding team is inherently focused on research and development, and aims to develop high-efficacy, low-irritating anti-aging products and technologies that are more suitable for ethnic Chinese based on ingredients that are scientifically proven. UNISKIN has done an immense amount of scientific research on the skin characteristics of ethnic Chinese, covering aspects such as aging assessments, oil secretion and irritation tests, in order to complete the construction of a proprietary and comprehensive skin database. Furthermore, the Company has published four papers on the SCI dermatology area and owns more than 20 exclusive patents focusing on skin detection algorithms and technologies.

Dr. Du Le, founder of UNISKIN, graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a Major in Molecular Cell Biology. He then obtained a Doctorate of Medicine from the Albany Medical College in the US and later became a medical resident at a UCLA-affiliated hospital. The core members of the founding team all have scientific research experience from overseas universities. There are several PhDs in the R&D team specializing in 5 different professional fields including clinical medicine, computational molecular biology and chemical engineering. UNISKIN is also working with its partners to promote the in-depth development of anti-aging ingredients. In the third quarter of this year, UNISKIN has reached strategic cooperation with world-renowned companies such as Lubrizol and SIYO Bio-Tech.

The beauty & skincare industry in China has developed steadily in recent years and the rise of Chinese beauty & skincare brands has been phenomenal. Chinese beauty brands offer an exceptional value upgrade and are advocated by the newly-emerged powerful consumer group. We are very pleased with the opportunity to invest in UNISKIN. The decision to invest in UNISKIN shows not only our confidence in the team but also the Chinese beauty & skincare industry as well as the trend of consumption upgrade in China at large.

If you would like to hear the latest updates on the Firm and the Fund, please feel free to contact our Investor Relations team at IR@VMSIG.COM.