Chiyan MedSelect: New Oxygen's Secretly Incubated Premium Aesthetic Medicine Brand Submits IPO Prospectus

Consumers of medical aesthetics often rely on referrals from friends, believing this approach to be simpler and more trustworthy. However, this desire for convenience and safety inadvertently creates opportunities for unscrupulous intermediaries, even fostering an entire industry chain of channel agencies. In certain cities with well-developed medical aesthetics sectors, even elderly women participating in square dancing are aware that they can earn money by referring clients to aesthetic clinics. This phenomenon further fuels existing public skepticism toward the industry, reinforcing perceptions of exorbitant profits. Moreover, consumer trust is frequently exploited, as institutions offering high referral commissions to agents often attract plenty of customers but fail to earn good reputations.

Recently, a new medical aesthetics brand, “Chiyan Medical Selection,” officially made its public debut. It has established the most rigorous physician screening and consumer service mechanisms in China’s medical aesthetics sector, targeting consumers with high-quality demands for medical aesthetic treatments by providing access to the country’s finest medical aesthetic resources and comprehensive one-stop concierge services. The brand aims to position itself among the top tier of medical aesthetics service providers in China and elevate the overall service standards of the Chinese medical aesthetics market.

This year, a widely known development in the medical aesthetics industry was that the medical aesthetics platform So-Young went public in the United States in early May, becoming the world’s first publicly traded internet-based medical aesthetics company. In fact, Chiyan Medical Selection is an independent sub-brand under So-Young. It was officially established in January 2019 as a new business venture quietly incubated by So-Young shortly before its IPO. Founded in 2013, So-Young is currently the largest medical aesthetics community in China, characterized by high user stickiness and activity. The core team of Chiyan Medical Selection originated from So-Young.

The most critical component of aesthetic medicine consumption is the physician. In fact, China does not lack high-quality medical resources. Taking aesthetic medicine as an example, plastic surgery departments at Grade 3A hospitals in first- and second-tier cities attract patients from across the country who seek out their expertise. Physicians in these settings have the opportunity to manage a wide variety of complex cases. Supported by policies allowing multi-site practice, many such experienced doctors have begun providing market-oriented services at private institutions.

What China lacks is an effective way to present high-quality medical resources. Chiyan Medical Selection evaluates doctors across 117 dimensions, covering nearly all physician-related information relevant to consumers, ranging from past patient reviews and reputation to subtle aspects such as a doctor’s temperament and personality. Why is it necessary to understand a doctor’s temperament when seeking medical care? In aesthetic medicine, communication between doctors and patients is crucial. Taking rhinoplasty as an example, slight variations in height or tip rotation can result in significant perceptual differences, making communication based on mutual understanding particularly important.

It is important to note that among these 117 evaluation dimensions, more than ten are considered “red-line” criteria; any violation thereof immediately disqualifies a provider from collaboration. For instance, during an undercover visit by Chiyan Medical Selection’s vetting specialists, a medical institution in Beijing was found to be operating beyond its licensed scope. Moreover, the institution had previously been exposed for using non-compliant materials. Despite the institution’s repeated attempts through various channels to persuade Chiyan Medical Selection’s person-in-charge to include it in the selection process, neither the institution nor its physicians were admitted into the pool of candidate providers. Even if an individual employee might be inclined to relax standards, Chiyan Medical Selection employs a comprehensive environmental assessment system. Should any customer file a complaint due to dissatisfaction, the internal control department will intervene and conduct an investigation. If it is discovered that a vetting specialist failed to strictly implement each of the 117 predefined dimensions or engaged in lax practices, disciplinary action will be taken commensurate with the severity of the offense.

Among these 117 selection criteria, 78 pertain to the healthcare institution. Taking surgical observation as an example, on a “Surgical Observation Form,” the evaluator was found to have recorded: “The negative pressure suction device and anesthesia equipment are not new” and “Instruments are complete with no omissions, but the surgical scissors are no longer sharp.” In addition, evaluators are required to document whether the entire process—from the changing room and operating room corridors to sterilization, anesthesia, and the surgical procedure itself—complies with standardized protocols.

“Medical aesthetic clinics nowadays boast lavish interiors, but what we truly care about is the condition of the operating rooms. Yet we cannot see them, and even if we were allowed to, we would not really understand what we are looking at,” a consumer of medical aesthetic services told the reporter.

Chiyan Medical Selection’s vetting specialists are precisely tasked with addressing such consumer concerns. It is Chiyan Medical Selection’s operational principle to gain access to every operating room in each clinic and outpatient department. This demands a high level of professionalism from the vetting specialists; in fact, each specialist at Chiyan Medical Selection has over five years of experience in the medical industry. Prior to observing any surgical procedure, the vetting specialist must prepare in advance and provide a written outline of the surgical steps. For example, in rhinoplasty using autologous costal cartilage, the details must extend to harvesting the rib cartilage, carving the harvested cartilage, complete release via an external nasal approach, and filling the alar base with excess powdered rib cartilage.

Based on these 117 dimensions, Chiyan Medical Selection employs a scoring system. Only physicians who achieve an "excellent" rating and do not violate any red-line criteria are admitted into the Chiyan Medical Selection service network. Over the past year, leveraging data models and both overt and covert investigations by selection specialists, Chiyan Medical Selection screened nearly 600 physicians from a pool of approximately 20,000 candidates domestically and internationally, resulting in a pass rate of merely 3%. Even after successful selection, physicians are subject to regular re-evaluations, as Chiyan Medical Selection implements a rolling assessment mechanism.

Currently, Chiyan MedSelect has established the most stringent filtering mechanism in the medical aesthetics industry, known as the “Michelin Guide of Medical Aesthetics.”

Specifically, regarding the selected physicians, the selectors will categorize them according to their areas of greatest expertise and then enter this information into the management system. For instance, among rhinoplasty specialists, Physician #597 excels in creating “internet celebrity”-style noses, Physician #598 specializes in natural-looking nasal augmentation, and Physician #599 is particularly skilled in revision rhinoplasty.

Excluding dermatological and injectable treatments, all physicians currently selected by Chiyan Medical Selection hold the title of Attending Physician or higher, with over 60% being Associate Chief Physicians. All surgeons have more than seven years of clinical surgical experience.

Chiyan Medical Selection’s services have expanded to 29 core cities across China, as well as Japan and South Korea, making it the one-stop concierge medical aesthetics service with the widest geographic coverage and largest scale in China.

Once good doctors are selected, is it sufficient to simply tag them so that consumers are informed? For example, by publishing a list titled “Top 600 Medical Aesthetic Doctors in China” on the Chiyan Yixuan app.

Merely informing consumers about which physicians are competent is insufficient for medical services, particularly high-quality ones. Unlike consumer electronics or daily necessities, healthcare does not follow a simple model of placing an order and paying online, then waiting offline for delivery. Medical care is a non-standardized service that requires customization. For instance, the same surgeon performing double eyelid surgery on different patients will not yield identical outcomes.

This is where the butler steps in. The butler oversees the entire consumer journey on Chiyan Medical Selection, from aesthetic customization and physician selection to scheduling surgery, facilitating communication with medical staff, and providing answers during the recovery period. The two core principles guiding the butler’s service are meeting individual needs and selecting the best options. In the past, medical aesthetics consumers were most often accompanied by friends from beauty salons, who frequently referred clients to medical aesthetics institutions based on which offered the highest kickbacks. Chiyan Medical Selection aims to break this convention.

At Chiyan Medical Selection, the concierge service does not cater to just a few doctors at a handful of hospitals, but rather to hundreds of institutions distributed across 29 cities in China, as well as in Japan and South Korea. The concierge often provides consumers with aesthetic design recommendations, and then, based on their needs, selects 2–3 institutions to help schedule consultation appointments.

A head of operations at Chiyan Medical Selection, who previously had over ten years of experience in medical aesthetic institutions, stated: "Offline, double eyelid surgery can sometimes be priced at over 100,000 yuan. This is often not due to exceptionally skilled experts or advanced techniques, but rather due to marketing tactics that exploit certain consumer psychologies. In such an environment, one may wish to effect change, but it is difficult. At Chiyan Medical Selection, there is standardized pricing and access to a broad network of high-end physicians. We provide what is appropriate, not what is expensive, and engage in no aggressive marketing. This makes my work experience truly satisfying."

“Understanding Your Needs, Curating for You” is Chiyan’s service commitment to consumers.

After passing the interview, Chiyan Medical Selection Stewards must undergo an intensive closed-door training program. Only after completing over 400 training courses and passing assessments from a question bank of 2,077 items are they qualified to assume their roles. Within New Oxygen, they are jokingly referred to as “the individuals with the highest aesthetic quotient in China.”

If the NewSoYoung app is likened to a self-service shelf covering most of China’s medical aesthetics resources, enabling consumers to compare options; then Chiyan Medical Selection is a curated shelf accompanied by a dedicated one-on-one concierge. Each physician in the Chiyan Medical Selection network possesses unique technical expertise, while the concierge service ensures optimal matching between consumers and physicians’ skills, thereby delivering a perfect outcome and experience.

A representative from Chiyan Medical Selection stated that the subsidiary has just completed its first year of trial operations and has not yet achieved profitability. The semi-annual repurchase and referral rate exceeded 30%.

Compared with New Oxygen users, Chiyan Yixuan consumers have a higher proportion of females, with those in first-tier cities accounting for over 50%. Nearly half of them are aged between 25 and 35. They primarily undergo surgical medical aesthetic procedures through Chiyan Yixuan, and the average transaction value per customer is more than four times that of New Oxygen users.

In China, the market for concierge-style medical aesthetic services has long been active. The business model resembles that of an intermediary; however, due to its asset-heavy nature, expansion has been relatively slow. Moreover, since revenues are primarily derived from commissions and the average transaction value in medical aesthetics is high, each deal generates substantial profit. Consequently, most institutions offering such services are local enterprises, operating under a low-profile yet highly profitable business model.

Chiyan Medical Selection’s parent company, So-Young, is a rare platform that achieved annual profitability in its fourth year of operation (2017), demonstrating that So-Young’s management team places significant emphasis on corporate profitability. However, unlike other peers, Chiyan Medical Selection operates in a sector with easier monetization potential, yet its profits have not yet turned positive, clearly indicating greater ambitions for its own development.

According to insiders at Chiyan Medical Selection, its operational structure is completely independent from New Oxygen. Its business departments include new media communications, operations, and concierge services, while its support departments comprise selection, customer service, training, technology, research and development, and internal control, forming a comprehensive operational system. The total team size exceeds 200 employees. In October 2019, Chiyan Medical Selection’s new media content achieved 470 million views, with an average monthly engagement of over 148,000 interactions.

The scale of Chiyan Yixuan’s business coverage and its in-house new media team reveal its ambition: to dominate the market for high-quality medical aesthetic services, ensuring that consumers associate Chiyan Yixuan with concierge-style medical aesthetic care.

“We have deconstructed medical aesthetic services into granular components, refining our criteria to include 117 dimensions for physician selection, nearly 400 concierge training sessions, and a question bank comprising over 2,000 items. Our aim is to establish Chiyan Medical Selection as a top-tier provider of high-quality medical aesthetic services in China, setting a benchmark for the industry,” stated the head of Chiyan Medical Selection.

Ideals are full, but reality is lean. Although Chiyan Medical Selection intends to control the entire process, the relationship between doctors and the platform is merely a collaborative one. Moreover, medical practice can never guarantee 100% safety. Once business volume expands, Chiyan Medical Selection will face the onset of crisis tests in the specialized field of consumer healthcare.

However, from a broader perspective, the socialization of healthcare delivery is a direction currently supported by the government. Healthcare was previously decoupled from service orientation, and various sectors are now in a pilot phase. Medical aesthetics represents the most market-driven segment within healthcare. Establishing a high-quality, high-standard service framework in medical aesthetics not only benefits this specific field but also serves as a guiding model for the entire consumer healthcare sector.

Regarding the origin of the name "Chi Yan Yi Xuan," its representative stated: "We refine beautiful appearances with precision, restraint, and rigor."