It is reported that the repurchase amount of FORYON exceeded 65% within 12 months and the average cost of per consumer exceeded $28.09. The cumulative sales of the Tmall flagship store in the first year of its launch exceeded $0.15 billion.
Efficacy skincare has become a new trend in Chinese beauty consumption. Unlike general cosmetics that focus on daily maintenance, efficacious skincare products precisely solve problems such as skin sensitivity and post-operative care, which have a high R&D threshold and strong repurchase attributes. It actually another quality category to be explored after beauty and medical beauty in the beauty value economy. Along with the upgrade of consumer skincare concept and Chinese brand product strength progression, the development prospect of Chinese efficacious skincare products is favored, especially since Chinese brands have great growth opportunities. One of them is an emerging brand that was just established last year – FORYON.
Founded in March 2000, FORYON focuses on the skincare needs of oily-prone skin users and is dedicated to building a functional oily-prone skincare professional brand. Targeting at 16-24 years old Generation Z users, FORYON has developed an exclusive solution for oily skincare based on oily skin texture and focuses on user experience and communication.
It is reported that the repurchase amount of FORYON exceeded 65% within 12 months and the average cost per consumer exceeded $28.09. The cumulative sales of Tmall flagship store in the first year of its launch exceeded $0.15 billion and it is now profitable with monthly sales stabilizing at more than $1.561 million. The functional skin care field once appeared “every new product must be suitable for sensitive skin”. But in China’s oil skin segmented category, a strong targeted brand has not yet formed.
According to the data provided by FORYON, about 99 million people in China’s Generation Z group have oily/mixed-oily skin and these oily skin users consider more about the functionality of skin care products and spend around $78.05-156.1 per month on skincare. While a large number of new generations with oily skin are willing to pay for effective products, most of them lack an understanding of their own skin type and the causes of skin problems. Thus it left a gap in the market for functional skin care for oily skin. FORYON realized the space for new brands to emerge to differentiated itself in the market with targeted oilskin skincare solutions.
FORYON started with a high-frequency basic product – lotion and cream set for oily skin. With the combination of cleanser, essence, and other products, it successfully raises the unit price per customer. It hopes to solve the problem of water-oil imbalance and barrier damage for oil skin users as a whole and reduce the screening time and selection cost for users. FORYON seized the core keywords of “oil skin” and “oil control” and proposed the concept of “oil control first, repair later” to occupy users’ minds. The founder of the brand, Tiancheng, said that the cumulative sales of the oil skin lotion and cream set exceeded 500,000 sets after its launch this year.
User experience and continuous increase in repurchase are the key concerns of FORYON. The brand has set up a “User’s Day”, in which all team members participate in monthly user visits. At present, it has accumulated 10,000+ real user data and continues to focus on analyzing bad reviews and reasons for non-repurchase to guide rapid product iteration.
In terms of product development, FORYON adopts the logic of constantly polishing and iterating large single products rather than frequently launching new ones. In conjunction with medical experts in the field of oily skin acne, FORYON follows the theory of controlling oil secretion and oily skin barrier repair and involves target customers in product definition which combines medical theory and user insights. On the production side, FORYON has partnered with global top efficacious skincare manufacturers, which can stabilize the process and production to a certain extent.
The team of FORYON adopts a multi-platform content reach approach to educate users and deepen consumers’ understanding of oily skin texture and the brand. After creating representative successful products, FORYON has continued to promote the brand through a combination of short and long videos and graphic content while it also builds trust to consumers in the brand with the Tmall flagship store as the main channel. Tiancheng said, the product polishing is formed and the promotion chain is verified in the middle of this year and the company began to make efforts in the second half of the year to TikTok live stream, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, Kwai, private domain, and other multi-channel operation.
As for the team, founder Tiancheng is a serial entrepreneur in the personal care field and the core team has rich experience in brand building and operations.
In September 2021, FORYON has completed a 10 million Series A+ Funding jointly invested by Gaofei Capital and Yunmu Capital with additional investment from former shareholder Qifu Capital. This round of funding will be mainly used for product development and brand building.
Fu Zhekuan, the co-founder of Qifu Capital said: “We have faith in the efficacious skincare category, which has good growth potential in terms of both penetration and growth trends.” The brand’s repurchase rate shows that it has accurately met the needs of the segmented population and gradually formed a mindset. The founding team is well positioned to handle the bigger opportunities and challenges ahead in terms of brand strategy and organizational capabilities in the beauty and personal care industry after years of experience.
Liu Jun, the Managing Partner of Gaofei Fund, said: “Less money, faster growth” is our simplest investment logic. The skincare category has intense competitiveness but it should not become commonplace for high premium and marketing. FORYON is a skincare brand with a clear positioning and functional appeal which specializes in product solutions for oily skin. It creates an expert brand by reaching directly to the user’s mind. Six months after its launch on Tmall, the re-purchase amount is over 65% and the re-purchase rate is over 30%, which is extremely rare in the industry. At the same time, the founder, Tiancheng, is a serial entrepreneur in the new consumer field and is well familiar with the traffic rules and operation methods of major platforms. What is even more valuable is that several partners of FORYON have strong empathy, which are the undertones and qualities of a consumer goods brand for sustained success.
