New Aesthetics, New Future: The 7th SoYoung Asia-Pacific Medical Aesthetics Awards Ushers in an Era of Information Symmetry in Consumer Healthcare

On January 8, the 7th So-Young Asia-Pacific Aesthetic Medicine Awards Ceremony (hereinafter referred to as the “So-Young Awards”), themed “New Aesthetic Medicine,” was held in Sanya. The ceremony discussed emerging trends in the development of aesthetic medicine in the new consumption era, marking the dawn of China’s “Year One of New Aesthetic Medicine” by bringing together high-quality partners across the aesthetic medicine industry chain and fostering the initial establishment of new brands, information channels, services, technologies, and supply chains.

The 3rd “China Medical Aesthetics Flying Award · Annual Technological Breakthrough Award” was also announced, with Dr. Liao Yunjun from the Department of Plastic Surgery at Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University receiving the First Prize. In addition, the SoYoung Gala presented awards to 100 medical aesthetic institutions, 100 medical aesthetic doctors, and outstanding medical aesthetic equipment manufacturers across China, in recognition of the innovations and achievements made by upstream industry players, medical aesthetic institutions, and doctors in areas such as technology and services. Meanwhile, this year’s SoYoung Gala hosted the inaugural SoYoung Emerald Doctor Academic Symposium, exploring the technological drivers fueling innovation in industry development.

 Chinese Aesthetic Medicine Expert Group Gathers at the 7th So-Young Asia-Pacific Aesthetic Medicine Industry Awards Ceremony

According to the “2021 White Paper on the Medical Aesthetics Industry” released by SoYoung Data Research Institute, China’s medical aesthetics market size is projected to reach RMB 184.6 billion in 2021, returning to an annual compound growth rate of over 20%. Meanwhile, the number of newly registered companies with “medical aesthetics” in their names surged by 270% year-on-year. At the same time, increasingly stringent regulations are driving the industry’s transformation and upgrading from extensive to refined development. At this Asia-Pacific Medical Aesthetics Awards Ceremony, Jin Xing, Chairman and CEO of SoYoung Group, stated that China’s medical aesthetics sector has entered a new era characterized by new supply chains, new technologies, new services, new brands, and new information—the “New Medical Aesthetics” era.

 Jin Xing, Chairman and CEO of So-Young Group

“This year marks the third edition of the Feixiang Awards. We have observed more young doctors dedicating themselves to technological breakthroughs, as well as a shift in medical aesthetics from ‘heavy’ to ‘light’ procedures,” pointed out Jin Xing, Chairman and CEO of So-Young International Inc. Light medical aesthetics has become the keyword for China’s medical aesthetics market in 2021, driving significant transformations across the entire industry chain—from consumers, physicians, and institutions to upstream product suppliers. “With this in mind, So-Young is implementing six core strategies—retention, pricing, authenticity, content, cost efficiency, and guarantees—to help institutions reduce costs, improve efficiency, and capitalize on the light medical aesthetics sector.” Jin Xing announced that So-Young would leverage its inherent advantages by focusing on five key areas: new information, new technologies, new services, new brands, and new supply chains, thereby promoting high-quality services in the medical aesthetics industry through improved information symmetry.

The third “China Medical Aesthetics Flying Awards · Annual Technological Breakthrough Award” saw a record number of applicants across its three editions, with 148 young doctors registering for the competition. Ultimately, five doctors from Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Union Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, and Chongqing Xingrong Plastic Surgery Hospital were shortlisted for the finals.

 On-site Defense by Associate Chief Physician Liao Yunjun, Department of Plastic Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University

The expert judging panel, composed of Professor Gao Jianhua, Former President of the Aesthetic Medicine and Plastic Surgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association; Professor Cao Yilin, Chairman of the Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery Branch of the China Non-State Medical Healthcare Institutions Association; Professor Li Shirong, Chairman of the Medical Aesthetics and Cosmetology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; Professor Luan Jie, Chairman of the Plastic Surgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; Professor Jiang Hua, President of the Aesthetic Medicine and Plastic Surgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association; Professor Song Jianxing, Vice President of the Aesthetic and Plastic Surgeons Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association; Professor Sun Jiaming, Vice Chairman of the Plastic Surgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; and Professor Guo Shuzhong, Former Chairman of the Plastic Surgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, conducted a detailed evaluation based on the on-site defenses of the five shortlisted doctors. The assessment was carried out horizontally across four dimensions—advancement, scientific rigor, practicality, and safety—and vertically across multiple dimensions including industry value and social impact. Additionally, the Flying Award introduced public judges for the first time, with a public review panel organized by 100 Emerald Doctors casting on-site votes to participate in the selection process.

 The judges presented awards to the winners of the Soaring Award.

Following the on-site defense, the final selection for the First Prize of the 3rd “China Medical Aesthetics Feixiang Awards · Annual Technological Breakthrough Award” was awarded to Dr. Liao Yunjun, Associate Chief Physician in the Department of Plastic Surgery at Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University. The Second and Third Prizes were awarded to Dr. Chen Gang, Chief Physician in the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, and Dr. Wang Zhenxiang, Chief Physician in the Department of Plastic Surgery at Chongqing Xingrong Plastic Surgery Hospital, respectively.

In addition to recognizing high-quality partners across the medical aesthetics industry chain, So-Young also announced that it would empower institutions with six major strategies to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and tap into the non-surgical medical aesthetics market.

 2021 So-Young Philanthropy Annual Guardian Award Ceremony

Among the six major strategies, the first is the retention strategy. By meticulously analyzing growth leads, this strategy leverages SoYoung’s session-based cards—now upgraded to target mid-to-high-end aesthetic consumers—with coverage expanding to over 300 cities, more than 4,000 outlets, and over 100 mainstream procedures. These cards offer service standards that exceed expectations, such as city-wide dedicated car pick-up and drop-off, no-wait appointments, personalized assistance, and customized gifts. Additionally, co-branded session cards have been launched in partnership with upstream manufacturers like Chirui Laser, providing users with transparent pricing and guarantees of authentic products. Furthermore, group-affiliated session cards have been introduced in collaboration with consumer healthcare groups such as Xinsheng Hair Transplant, enabling users to access high-quality services at brand-authorized institutions, thereby enhancing user retention.

Second is the pricing strategy, under which the platform’s subsidy model has evolved into version 2.0. In 2022, RMB 1 billion was invested to launch dual subsidies for both businesses (B-side) and consumers (C-side), while exploring new models for information services. Third is the authenticity strategy, which provides high-quality onboarding benefits and continuous operational support to manufacturers and their certified institutions, thereby rapidly increasing the online penetration rate of authentic branded products. Data shows that in November 2021, the private message conversion rate for SKUs covered by the “Authenticity Guarantee” program at pilot institutions’ SoYoung Medicine Cabinets increased by 181% month-over-month compared to August, while institutional order growth exceeded 400% over the same period. Fourth is the content strategy, which collaborates with manufacturers and institutions to enhance brand exposure and implement integrated marketing campaigns. As of December 2021, the SoYoung community had accumulated 5.08 million real user diaries. The number of reputable institutions participating in SoYoung’s free trial programs surpassed 1,000, with over 100 well-known brands involved. More than 2.1 million trial users generated 110,000 high-quality free trial diaries. Meanwhile, in addition to professional evaluations by doctors and the platform’s official team, SoYoung Reviews featured over 2.1 million pieces of experiential review content from Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs). This high-value information coverage spans the entire medical aesthetics consumption journey, from self-assessment and interest generation to purchase decision-making. Fifth is the cost strategy, which aims to reduce costs and improve efficiency across the supply chain through four key initiatives: the Chioz Laser CC Light IoT model, a shared ecosystem for medical aesthetics, an innovative agency model, and a new generation of high-efficiency, long-lasting anti-aging lift bands. Sixth is the assurance strategy, which leverages the medical nature of the services to empower both B-side and C-side stakeholders, with insurance products safeguarding the “last mile” of service delivery.

 2021 So-Young Emerald Doctor List Award Ceremony

“The rapid growth of non-surgical aesthetic medicine has significantly accelerated the advent of the ‘New Aesthetic Medicine’ era,” pointed out Jin Xing. He noted that leveraging internet-based aesthetic medicine service platforms, represented by SoYoung, to promote symmetry in medical information, optimize the rational allocation of healthcare resources within the industry, and provide consumers with high-quality aesthetic medical services constitutes the core hallmark of the “New Aesthetic Medicine” era. Under this new landscape, practitioners in the aesthetic medicine industry will distinguish themselves from the old era—plagued by counterfeit products and widespread irregularities—across five dimensions: new information, new technologies, new services, new brands, and new supply chains.

 Chinese Aesthetic Medicine Scholars and Experts Gather on the Red Carpet at the SoYoung Gala

The primary focus is to present professional information on the medical aesthetics industry, empowering consumers with foundational knowledge to make rational purchasing decisions. By leveraging internet technologies, we aim to dismantle information barriers between consumers and medical aesthetics manufacturers, institutions, and practitioners, thereby offering consumers greater choice and higher-quality services. We are committed to building a more comprehensive medical aesthetics service ecosystem that facilitates end-to-end information exchange, ensuring that manufacturers, institutions, and consumers all have timely access to first-hand industry insights. Through technological innovation and the evolution of service philosophies, we seek to reshape consumer perceptions of high-quality medical aesthetics services, foster the emergence of new brands, and drive out inferior providers through market competition. Furthermore, by integrating internet and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, we address supply chain challenges in the medical aesthetics sector, establish positive communication channels between manufacturers and institutions, and ensure that consumers receive treatments using authentic medical aesthetic devices and equipment.

Zhu Meiru, Executive Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Association of Plastics and Aesthetics, stated in an interview: “In 2022, the industry will enter a phase of accelerated growth and structural adjustment, with medical aesthetics becoming a habit integrated into people’s daily lives. Innovative developments across five key areas—information, branding, technology, services, and supply chain—will fully revitalize the medical aesthetics industry chain, enhance information symmetry, enable more precise matching between supply and demand, and create greater opportunities for industry growth, thereby officially ushering in the ‘New Medical Aesthetics’ consumer era.”