Oral Care Brand 'Shanban' Secures Nearly RMB 400 Million Series B Funding Led by China Renaissance

VCBeat has learned that on July 19, the oral care brand “Canban” announced the completion of its Series B financing round, raising nearly RMB 400 million. The round was led by China Renaissance New Economy Fund, an affiliate of China Renaissance Capital. Jinding Capital, Co-stone Capital, and Yashang Capital participated as co-investors, while existing shareholders Innovation Works and ByteDance continued to increase their investments in this round.

Data shows that over the past five years, China’s oral care industry has achieved an average annual growth rate of 8%–12%, with the total market size reaching approximately RMB 50 billion by 2020. As consumer demand for oral care shifts from basic twice-daily brushing to more diversified practices, niche product categories such as mouthwash, dental floss, and teeth-whitening strips have embraced new development opportunities.

Canban is an oral care brand founded in 2018, dedicated to providing comprehensive, all-scenario oral care solutions. Its product portfolio includes mouthwash, toothpaste, oral sprays, teeth whitening strips, and water flossers. In June 2021, Canban achieved remarkable monthly sales exceeding RMB 100 million across all channels, signaling that oral care products have entered the era of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).

As awareness of oral health continues to grow, consumers are no longer satisfied with basic care routines such as brushing alone, making mouthwash the most preferred upgraded product. Unlike toothpaste, which is used at fixed intervals, mouthwash offers considerable flexibility in usage frequency, with heavy users applying it more than five times a day. In terms of scenarios, mouthwash is suitable for various occasions—such as after meals, before bedtime, or prior to dates and meetings—thereby appealing to users across all age groups. Its diverse usage scenarios, broad consumer base, and high frequency of use far surpass those of other oral care consumer products. Consequently, mouthwash stands out as the category within oral care consumer goods that truly has the potential to become a high-volume fast-moving consumer good (FMCG).

Having recognized this underlying logic as early as the beginning of 2020, Canban firmly entered the market with mouthwash, aiming to build the leading Chinese brand in oral care and truly transform oral care products into fast-moving consumer goods. Since its launch in late September 2020, Canban’s mouthwash achieved total sales exceeding RMB 100 million within just 80 days, and monthly sales surpassed RMB 100 million within nine months. To date, Canban’s mouthwash has sold over 15 million bottles across all online channels, securely holding the top position in its category on platforms such as Taobao, Douyin, Pinduoduo, and Kuaishou.

Canban’s mouthwash products leverage probiotics as a core element, featuring an alcohol-free formula and beverage-inspired flavors to deliver a milder and fresher experience. This approach has gained significant popularity among younger consumers, in contrast to the harsh, alcohol-based formulations. In terms of product design, Canban adopted Yakult-style bottles to complement the probiotic theme, thereby reinforcing key brand associations through both packaging and flavor.

From a marketing perspective, Canban has reinforced its core brand associations—Canban Probiotic Mouthwash, alcohol-free formula, and milder taste—through the consistent production of high-quality content from multiple angles. This strategy is amplified by extensive collaborations with celebrities and key opinion leaders (KOLs) across all channels, ensuring intensive reach to target consumer groups. Leveraging the momentum generated by high-density online exposure and engagement, Canban rapidly expanded its offline presence through omni-scenario and omni-channel distribution networks. By capitalizing on its online influence, the brand quickly achieved nationwide coverage, aiming to make Canban products available to consumers anytime and anywhere.

In just four months, Canban’s offline team has secured presence in 20,000 retail outlets and signed agreements with over 100,000 outlets, with an expected year-end total of more than 100,000 outlets onboarded. The strategic goal for the next two years is to achieve presence in one million outlets across a thousand cities by the end of 2023.

Yin Kuo, founder of Canban, stated, “Against the backdrop of the FMCG-ization of oral care products, industry practitioners must comprehensively upgrade their product, channel, and marketing strategies. This goes beyond mere aesthetic enhancements; more importantly, it requires creating genuine consumer touchpoints through product innovation and differentiated positioning, which are then amplified and reinforced through marketing and channels to establish strong brand and category mindshare. Canban’s current milestone appears, on the surface, to be driven by hit product creation and precise, robust online traffic capabilities. However, at its core, it stems from profound insights into products and user needs, complemented by exceptional iteration capabilities and rapid execution. Only this powerful combination can truly realize the strategic goal of reaching millions of terminal outlets across thousands of cities.”

China Renaissance commenced its private equity investment management business in 2013 and manages two private equity funds: the China Renaissance New Economy Fund and the China Renaissance Healthcare Industry Fund. As of December 31, 2020, its total assets under management exceeded RMB 57 billion, with revenue from investment management services accounting for 50% of the Group’s total revenue in 2020.

China Renaissance New Economy Fund focuses on emerging sectors, including consumer and internet, technology and business services, as well as new energy and advanced manufacturing. In the consumer sector, China Renaissance has invested in outstanding consumer companies such as POP MART, Jiangxiaobai, Weinian, and Babycare.