Meituan Launches 2025 Polaris Aesthetic Medicine Ranking to Strengthen Professional Consumer Decision-Making System

On August 22, Meituan released the 2025 Polaris Medical Aesthetics List. A total of 152 medical aesthetics institutions from 39 cities across China and 240 doctors from 26 cities were included in the list. Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen remained the key cities on the Polaris Institutions List. Twelve cities, including Urumqi, Dalian, Shijiazhuang, Changzhou, and Nanning, made their debut on the list, bringing high-quality institutions from more third- and fourth-tier cities into the public eye and reflecting a trend of brand expansion. Notably, medical aesthetics institutions from Hong Kong were included in the Polaris List for the first time this year.

This year, the Meituan Polaris Medical Aesthetics List has undergone a significant upgrade, merging the original Institution List and Sinan Doctor List into a single comprehensive ranking. This systematic enhancement focuses on improving professionalism, authenticity, and accuracy, aiming to reflect the true capabilities of institutions and physicians. First, ten leading industry professors were specially invited to form an expert review panel, which developed key evaluation dimensions and clinical standards tailored to specific sub-specialties across various categories, establishing 927 assessment criteria. In terms of the evaluation mechanism, the scale of user research has been further expanded. In addition to on-site inspections by mystery shoppers, telephone surveys of users served over the past year have been introduced, enabling more high-quality users to contribute insights and recommendations for institutions. Meanwhile, complete and detailed evaluation profiles are provided for each participating institution and physician, clearly identifying areas for improvement in service fulfillment experiences, helping institutions enhance their digital service capabilities and deliver more reliable services to users.

▲ Meituan Releases the 2025 North Star Medical Aesthetics List. Photo: Li Ao

When Meituan Medical Aesthetics first launched the Polaris Medical Aesthetics Ranking, it established a dual-track evaluation system based on the dual attributes of medical care and consumption in the medical aesthetics industry, focusing on “medical professionalism” and “user reputation.” On this basis, it also introduced the Sinan Physician Ranking. Leveraging the connectivity capabilities of internet platforms, a consumer decision-making framework for medical aesthetics centered on “professionalism” has continuously “driven” growth on both the supply and demand sides.

“Consumers’ demand for medical aesthetic services has become more rational, professional, and segmented, leading to corresponding changes in how such demand is met,” said Wang Dan, Head of Medical Aesthetics and Beauty Services at Meituan.

According to official data from Meituan, online platforms have become a critical channel for medical aesthetics consumers’ decision-making, encompassing activities such as reviewing guides, identifying clinics, selecting physicians, and purchasing group-buy deals. An increasing number of young people are completing the entire medical aesthetics consumption journey online—browsing the Polaris List to select listed clinics, purchasing services, and sharing reviews.

Li Fei (a pseudonym), a white-collar worker in Shanghai and a member of the post-1995 generation, has been undergoing medical aesthetic treatments for over three years. She undergoes four procedures annually, focusing primarily on hydration and anti-aging, with her yearly expenditure not exceeding RMB 20,000. “My needs are straightforward: I aim to maintain stable skin condition, so I prefer to directly identify institutions that best meet my requirements.”

Rational consumers like Li Fei are gradually becoming the mainstream among aesthetic treatment seekers. “This group of users not only has more personalized and rational aesthetic concepts, but their decision-making process is also shifting from ‘relying on others’ experiences’ to ‘prioritizing personal experience,’” said Liu Rong, Head of Medical Aesthetics Industry Operations at Meituan.

Li Fei admitted that she also wants to try some anti-aging and body contouring treatments this year, but she pursues a more natural and trace-free result. To meet Li Fei’s demand of “not wanting to end up with a generic, over-filled face,” it heavily relies on the doctor’s aesthetic sense and technical expertise.

Following the merger of the two rankings, Polaris continues to uphold the highest standards. In addition to leveraging evaluations from authoritative experts, public reviewers, and user reputation data as the foundation for assessment, the rankings also evaluate physicians’ comprehensive qualities and practical capabilities across dimensions such as clinical experience, aesthetic judgment, personalized treatment approaches, and treatment planning proficiency. With 140 evaluation criteria for institutions and 33 for physicians, users now have a clear basis for decision-making when selecting clinics and doctors, allowing a single ranking list to address specific needs. In short, the Institution Ranking focuses on “professionalism + service,” while the Physician Ranking emphasizes “technical expertise + aesthetics,” thereby helping users quickly identify high-quality options tailored to their individual requirements.

It is worth noting that the “safety” and “efficacy guarantee” of medical aesthetic services remain the primary factors influencing user decision-making.

Data shows that since the beginning of this year, more than 7 million people have used Meituan’s “Fangxin Mei” (Peace-of-Mind Beauty) service to verify the authenticity of products before undergoing medical aesthetic procedures. To date, Meituan’s self-developed AIoT smart authentication hardware has been deployed in 104 cities across China, covering nearly 2,000 medical aesthetic institutions, with user demand for authentication services continuing to rise.

“Medical aesthetics, as a convergence of medical technology, aesthetic appreciation, and commerce, is fundamentally an economy built on trust. Meituan Medical Aesthetics has collaborated with various stakeholders to establish evaluation standards for high-quality institutions and physicians. This objective, transparent, traceable, and improvable evaluation system holds significant value in enhancing consumer decision-making efficiency and safeguarding service experiences,” stated Song Jianxing, President of the Chinese Association of Plastics and Aesthetic Surgery.

“Users’ growing concerns about safety and the overall outcomes of medical aesthetics are accelerating the adoption of professional drug traceability systems and public disclosure of physicians’ qualifications as new industry standards,” added Liu Rong.

As of August 2025, nearly 9,500 new medical aesthetics institutions have been launched on the platform this year, maintaining a year-on-year growth trend, with over 200 upstream brands onboarded. Amidst the surging vitality of the medical aesthetics market, there are higher demands for the sustainable operation of these institutions.

Against this industry backdrop, rankings such as Meituan’s North Star List offer new guidance and pathways for institutions to navigate market cycles.

“Meituan Polaris is both an honor and a responsibility for medical aesthetic institutions. It not only helps reputable institutions gain visibility but also provides them with directions for optimization and upgrading,” said Fang Ruimin, founder of Boman Medical Aesthetics, an institution listed on the Meituan Polaris ranking. Since being included in the list last year, Boman has continuously improved its medical aesthetic service processes based on feedback and recommendations from Polaris, undertaking substantial efforts in product authentication and transparency of service procedures, thereby effectively enhancing trust between the institution and consumers.

▲Award ceremony for institutions listed on the 2025 Meituan Polaris List. Photo: Li Ao

More dedicated specialists have also achieved meaningful two-way engagement with consumers through online platforms.

As a physician twice featured on Meituan’s “North Star List,” Dr. Wang Manji, Associate Chief Physician at Shanghai Boman Guanghuan Medical Aesthetics Clinic, acknowledged that since being listed, the number of orders at her clinic has increased by approximately 300% year-on-year. She even receives aesthetic seekers traveling from cities hundreds of kilometers away, who come specifically due to her reputation, at regular intervals.

A representative from Meituan Medical Aesthetics stated at the conference that this year’s selection results reveal a growing number of medical aesthetic institutions are proactively offering professional medical services, such as QR code-based authenticity verification and in-person physician consultations. These seemingly minor trends serve as evidence that the industry is returning to its medical roots and continuing to develop in a positive direction.

It is reported that, in addition to rigorously screening listed institutions, Meituan’s Polaris Medical Aesthetics Ranking also provides each participating institution with a free, differentiated assessment profile and improvement plan, along with enhanced operational recommendations.

According to Meituan data, over the past year, online transaction growth for non-invasive anti-aging treatments, hydrating mesotherapy (water-shine injections), and injectable contouring has exceeded 30% annually, with nearly 70% of aesthetic medicine demand concentrated in maintenance and anti-aging procedures. These insights into operational trends have also introduced new strategic approaches for clinic management.

Polaris not only evaluates the comprehensive digitalization of processes but also pioneers the “Mystery Visitor” mechanism in the industry, helping institutions identify service issues through anonymous visits. Surprisingly, this seemingly stringent service mechanism has been widely welcomed by institution operators, many of whom believe that “mystery visitors have helped uncover numerous operational details.” It is understood that the “Black-Clad Mystery Visitor” mechanism will be further strengthened in the future, with the introduction of a routine store-visit system to engage in institutional assessments in a more frequent and efficient manner.

Meituan Medical Aesthetics has not only deepened its offline fulfillment guarantees but also continued to strengthen efforts in three key areas: authentication and traceability of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, transparent medication preparation procedures, and disclosure of physician credentials. This provides aesthetic medicine consumers with end-to-end consumption protection covering institutions, physicians, procedures, and products, while the number of authenticated users has reached a new high.

Meituan Medical Aesthetics has also made significant progress in its upstream supply chain. First, it launched the “Find Brands” feature, which enables one-click direct connections to clinics and doctors, substantially shortening the user decision-making process while improving clinic response times and inventory turnover efficiency. During this year’s 618 shopping festival, the number of brands partnering with the platform doubled. Driven by Meituan, numerous upstream brands have begun building product authentication capabilities. In the first half of 2025, more than 15 upstream brands joined Meituan’s “Worry-Free Beauty 100,000 Authentications Club,” with cumulative authentications exceeding 100,000. The overall scale of brands using the “Worry-Free Beauty” smart authentication devices increased by 13.1% compared to 2024.

At the press conference, Meituan also unveiled several new forward-looking initiatives. The “North Star” initiative will not only help medical aesthetic institutions build capabilities for digitalized operations and professionalized services—thereby achieving sustainable long-term growth—by publicly disclosing the evaluation criteria for North Star-certified institutions and physicians, establishing comprehensive profiles for both medical aesthetic providers and doctors, and expanding the scale of user feedback. This year, Meituan will also launch new AI-powered tools, including an AI shopping guide assistant and an AI consultant, to help merchants enhance operational efficiency through technological capabilities. In addition, Meituan will open up its platform capabilities and introduce a new upstream procurement and sales model, enabling institutions to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and operate with greater ease.

“Meituan Medical Aesthetics will remain steadfast in its continued investment in building public trust, enhancing AI product capabilities, and innovating supply chain models, thereby supporting medical aesthetic institutions in their transformation and upgrading, and working together to take concrete actions for the healthy and sustainable development of the industry,” said Wang Dan, head of Meituan Medical Aesthetics.