Meiwei Oral Healthcare Group Empowers Premium Dental Clinics Across China, Reaches 130 Clinics and Three Regional Markets Surpass RMB 100 Million in Revenue

In just two years, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP has partnered with 12 branded chains, expanding its network to 130 clinics—a growth rate rarely seen in the industry.

The influx of substantial capital into the private dental industry and the asset-heavy model of nationwide expansion are no longer viewed favorably. Refined operational management has become a new priority for all dental institutions, and the market is calling for the emergence of new chain models.

MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP (hereinafter referred to as “Mei Wei”), a subsidiary of Tianyi Group, has pioneered a new business model for the development of China’s dental industry—the third of its kind. By adopting the “Business Partner” model, it has built a stable and mutually beneficial community of shared destiny. Guided by the principles of complementary advantages and integrated connectivity, and grounded in strategic investment, standardization output, and brand management, Mei Wei provides comprehensive empowerment to dental institutions across multiple dimensions—including capital, talent, technology, market access, and management—thereby facilitating their personalized development. Currently, three of Mei Wei’s regional markets have achieved annual revenues exceeding RMB 100 million.

How exactly does the MEI WEI model empower dental institutions, and how is the partnership model being implemented? VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) conducted an exclusive interview with Ms. Zhu Liya, Founding Partner and CEO of MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP.

Julia Zhu (center), Founding Partner and CEO of MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP, with the Physician Partner Team

“Last year, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP’s business partner model was in its initial rollout phase. We required partners to be brands with 10–20 years of development history, deeply rooted in smaller regional markets. Today, our nationwide city layout has made significant strides, investment cooperation has advanced substantially, a large number of physicians have become our partners, and the overall performance of all partnered clinics has seen a genuine and substantial increase. Currently, the total number of clinics nationwide has reached 130.” Zhu Liya first revealed the achievements of the past year, noting that the previously formulated strategic plan will continue to be vigorously implemented.

According to our reporter, since 2016, all brands that have entered into investment partnerships with MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP—such as Jiangxi Zhongshan Dental, Tianjin Aichi Dental, Kunming Hanmei Dental, and Wuhan Tsinghua Sunshine Dental—have seen their performance nearly double year-on-year. “For instance, Zhongshan Dental, founded by dentists, and Tianjin Aichi Dental, which boasts over 20 years of operational experience, both achieved significant performance improvements within just one year of collaborating with us. Our partnership program is not merely lip service; it has been effectively implemented.”

“After 20 years of development, China’s dental industry has seen the emergence of many outstanding regional dental brands. Although it is relatively rare for private dental practices in China to establish nationwide chains due to significant management challenges, the proportion of provincial and municipal chains is very high. There are numerous small-scale chains with 2–5 clinics, which already possess a certain foundation of patient base and brand recognition. As long as their operational philosophies align, these entities are potential targets for our investment and partnership. MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP is an open platform,” stated Zhu Liya. She noted that MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP has entered 35 cities across China, and these partner brands all have a strong brand presence in their local markets.

MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP National Brand Layout Map

Clinics partnered with MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP are primarily concentrated in second- and third-tier cities. “MEI WEI not only recognizes the market demand and value in first-tier cities but also clearly understands the development potential of second- and third-tier cities. In fact, there is no shortage of strong brands in these smaller cities. Moreover, their operating costs are relatively lower compared to first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, while patient consumption demand and potential offer greater room for exploration. Another significant factor is that dentists in these cities face lower startup costs and are not subject to inflated salary pressures. This allows them to focus on delivering high-quality patient care and enhancing their professional skills.”

When selecting investment partners, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP conducts a comprehensive evaluation and scoring based on factors such as medical quality, operational capabilities, brand value, the founders’ competence and vision, and the clinic’s revenue performance. “We do not use geographic location as a criterion; as long as the score meets our standards, we are open to collaboration. Moreover, MEI WEI does not excessively intervene in the daily operations of acquired clinics. Our role is to empower our affiliated dental chain institutions, enhancing their comprehensive operational management and profitability. Therefore, many of our partners are dentists by profession who are passionate about their career, possess strong moral integrity, hold a certain status and reputation within the industry, and demonstrate an entrepreneurial vision for growth.”

For dental brands aiming to establish a nationwide chain, the issue of being “connected but not unified” has long remained an unresolved challenge. Heavy-asset self-construction often incurs prohibitive costs and poses significant management difficulties, while also requiring an extended market cultivation period after establishment. The market demands a new model for nationwide dental chains, and MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP has pioneered a new approach to dental chain operations in China.

Drawing on the U.S. dental market landscape, reporters have found that Dental Support Organizations (DSOs) have emerged and achieved substantial growth. By empowering clinics with cutting-edge informatics, technology, and training services, as well as handling administrative affairs, DSOs enable dentists to focus squarely on patient care. Among them, Heartland Dental, the largest DSO, now operates more than 750 clinics.

Regarding the positioning of MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP, Julia Zhu provided the clearest explanation: “The aggregation of talent is the primal force driving development beyond traditional industry boundaries. MEI WEI is not merely a dental care chain; rather, we integrate resources to build a platform that empowers high-quality Chinese dental brands and facilitates their personalized growth. By providing support across multiple dimensions—including capital, talent, supply chain, operational management, intelligent platforms, and incubation—the MEI WEI ecosystem will undergo collaborative evolution and upgrading, thereby delivering more convenient, high-quality, and trustworthy services in oral prevention, diagnosis and treatment, and health management.”

According to available information, on April 8, 2017, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP jointly announced with DNV GL, an internationally authoritative certification body recognized by both Chinese and U.S. authorities, that they would collaboratively develop an international-grade healthcare management system certification tailored to the domestic market. This certification has become a core asset of MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP. Leveraging DNV GL’s on-site assessment and training services, the group gained a deeper understanding of international clinic management standards. Using these advanced standards as a blueprint, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP established the pioneering “M+” management certification in the dental industry, transforming its affiliated dental institutions into leading facilities that integrate academic rigor, refined operations, professional expertise, patient comfort, and digitalization.

Through the “Five Standardizations and One Certification” initiative, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP is steadily enhancing the quality of medical services across its dental brands. Zhu Liya disclosed several key measures to reporters:

First, enhance the level of informatization management. Leveraging MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP’s independently developed SaaS cloud platform, we comprehensively and efficiently collect and analyze clinical data from doctors, patients, and hospitals/clinics to establish a big data system. This provides a one-stop comprehensive solution for dental outpatient management, elevating the informatization management standards of MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP’s affiliated dental clinics to a new level;

Second, the establishment of a scientific research and training system. Dentists are the core assets of dental clinics, directly determining the quality of service and patient safety. MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP has partnered with Loma Linda University in the United States, Guangdong Medical University, Tianjin Medical University, Hubei University of Science and Technology, and other dental institutions to establish an “Industry-Academia-Research Innovation Alliance.” This alliance fosters in-depth collaboration across academic forums, clinical teaching, scientific innovation, and medical technology, while establishing a tiered talent development mechanism to cultivate world-class dental experts and professionals, thereby helping dentists enhance their management and professional skills.

Third, post-investment marketing and operational support. Local dental brands typically build their reputation gradually through technical expertise, establishing brand influence within a limited local scope, particularly among acquaintances. This is also why they often struggle to find breakthroughs for growth at later stages. To address this, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP generally assigns professionals to help the region establish a marketing and operations team and formulate marketing strategies over a period of 3–6 months, thereby rapidly bringing local marketing and operations onto the right track.

Fourth, centralized procurement and standardized management to reduce costs. Leveraging economies of scale, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP provides its affiliated brands with timely, efficient, high-quality, and standardized procurement services, securing greater bargaining power particularly for high-cost equipment items. Meanwhile, it has established a specialized materials management system centered on material requirements planning, procurement execution, fund disbursement, and inventory reserves, thereby helping its affiliated brands lower procurement costs across the entire supply chain.

MEI WEI GROUP Strategic Development Roadmap

“Mei Wei is an investment firm driven by both industry and capital. Therefore, we place great emphasis on post-investment management, which constitutes a comprehensive system encompassing brand management, standardization, talent development, and information services. While assisting our partners in enhancing customer retention, quality control, and reputation management, we leverage a shared ecosystem featuring digitalized service platforms, standardized patient care pathways, shared physician resources, and chain-based operational management. This approach fosters collaborative evolution and sustainable growth.”

In the field of dentistry, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP aims to establish an “M+” certification system akin to the Michelin Guide. By building an international-grade medical management system certification and a digitalized, intelligent management framework for dental care, MEI WEI will fully align with global standards in dental practice management, becoming a leading industry integration platform in China characterized by “strategic investment, standard exportation, and brand management.”

Furthermore, it is worth noting that in addition to the aforementioned “Five Standardizations and One Certification” initiative, Mei Wei Dental Group has formed a strategic partnership with its affiliate, Meinian Onehealth. This collaboration provides Mei Wei with a natural advantage in channeling patient traffic from health check-ups, a resource unavailable to other dental enterprises.

Regarding the strategy of unifying brands across its chain, reporters learned that Mei Wei Dental Group continues to adhere to a multi-brand operational model. “There is no need to change or unify the names of these brands, which are already well-known to local residents. Our focus is on gradually increasing their revenue. Currently, three regional units of Mei Wei Dental Group have achieved annual revenues exceeding RMB 100 million. The ‘RMB 100 Million Club’ initiative was launched last year, and we are advancing in accordance with compliance procedures in terms of investment, financial management, and strategic planning.”

During the interview, Julia also highlighted MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP’s strategic presence in specialized dental fields (such as pediatric dentistry) and digitalization. “Patients’ awareness of oral health has improved significantly compared to a decade ago, with growing emphasis on their care experience. Since last year, we have established chairside studios in Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Tianjin, Kunming, and other regions, introducing advanced equipment such as intraoral scanners and 3D printers to enable technicians to provide immediate restorations. We are now one of the largest purchasers of Invisalign iTero intraoral scanners. Advancing clinic digitalization, including the use of surgical guides for dental implants, will be a key focus for us going forward, greatly enhancing both dentists’ efficiency and patients’ experience.”

As policies encourage private capital to invest in healthcare, more dentists will embark on entrepreneurial ventures, and the oral care industry is poised to become a major sector likely to surpass a trillion-yuan scale against the backdrop of consumption upgrading.

Within China’s private dental care industry, small and medium-sized clinics still exist, dominate the market, and operate successfully. However, similar to the ophthalmology and health checkup sectors, “China’s oral healthcare industry will inevitably see the emergence of dominant chain brands. MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP’s model is poised to lead China’s dental industry into a new industrial paradigm, creating barriers that other enterprises cannot replicate.”

Empowering China’s leading dental chain groups, partnering with more stakeholders, and comprehensively enhancing quality, management, and profitability, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP will continue to forge ahead in the private dental sector. “Our primary goal is to achieve overall profitability, after which we will proceed with our IPO plans in a systematic manner.”

Moreover, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP advocates a service philosophy that transitions from oral diagnosis and treatment to comprehensive oral health management. Rather than being limited to addressing patients’ immediate dental issues, it is committed to providing lifelong oral health management—a trend that is expected to shape the future of China’s oral care consumption model.

With a forward-looking vision, MEI WEI DENTAL GROUP is steadily advancing, hand in hand with every business partner, to jointly shape a new paradigm for the private dental care industry.