SOOCAS Secures Nearly RMB 100 Million in Series B Funding Led by Cathay Capital, Files for IPO

VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat) has learned that Soocas, a consumer technology company specializing in personal care products, has completed a Series B financing round of nearly RMB 100 million. Cathay Capital served as the sole lead investor, while Sinovation Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor. The funds will be primarily used for new product development and market promotion.

Founded in 2015, Soocas is an internet technology company specializing in consumer electronics for personal health care. Guided by user needs, the company is committed to independent research and development and continuous innovation, striving to provide users with advanced, intelligent, high-quality personal health care products and services.

Upon its establishment in 2015, the company secured angel investment from Taihuoniao Technology. In 2016, it obtained Pre-A round financing from Xiaomi, and completed its Series A financing in early 2017, led by Fenggu Capital with continued participation from Xiaomi.

The company’s core business currently focuses on Soocas sonic electric toothbrushes and the Soocas mobile app. As an ecosystem partner under Xiaomi, its team members hail from renowned hardware companies such as Huawei, Oral-B, and Philips, bringing years of experience in consumer electronics design and R&D. With profound expertise in hardware, the company holds distinct advantages in product design, user experience, and UI development. Its flagship product is the X3.

Founder Meng Fandi, a world-renowned industrial designer, served as Senior Product Design Manager at Huawei for eight years. With 14 years of experience in hardware development, he co-founded PICOOC, a brand known for its body fat scales. Soocas Technology has now built a team of 79 members, with the R&D team accounting for over 50% of the total workforce.

Since its establishment in 2015, the team has been dedicated to the research and development of sonic electric toothbrushes, focusing on key selling points such as superior product quality and high cost-effectiveness. In November 2016, the Soocas X3 sonic electric toothbrush was launched, achieving sales of over 100,000 units.

In early 2018, Soocas launched the Youth Edition X1, targeting young consumers born in the 1990s and 2000s. This model not only inherited the star-level configurations of the Soocas X3 but also introduced a four-color ring design on the brush handle, emphasizing “high aesthetic appeal, premium specifications, and fresh color schemes,” which garnered significant market acclaim.

Meng Fandi stated that the company’s revenue exceeded RMB 100 million in 2017, and its current market share ranks third in China, trailing only Philips and Oral-B.

Consumption upgrades have led to a significant increase in patients’ oral health awareness and demand. In the electric toothbrush sector, Philips and Oral-B are unequivocally the market leaders, with a combined market share approaching 80%. Colgate and Church & Dwight have also long recognized the potential of this niche market. Domestic electric toothbrush brands, such as Saky, Sonas (under Polygiene), OralShark (by Xiaokuo Technology), and Xiche, are continuously launching new products and expanding their distribution channels across e-commerce platforms, supermarkets, and hospitals.

Electric toothbrushes have a very high penetration rate in overseas markets, exceeding 40% in some European countries and approaching 30% in Japan and South Korea, indicating significant potential in the domestic market.

Meng Fandi stated that Soocas holds advantages in areas such as technological barriers and product quality. Following this round of financing, Soocas plans to launch multiple high-quality products with strong price competitiveness within the next one to two years, including but not limited to electric shavers and hair dryers. Meng Fandi also noted that Soocas adopts a highly cautious approach to R&D and product launches, addressing technical challenges while maintaining cost control.

Meng Fandi believes that there is currently no dominant domestic giant with strong technological capabilities in China’s personal care sector. In the future, Soocas will increase its investment in product R&D and technology, benchmarking against Philips in the personal care industry, and leverage its advantages in technology, resources, and distribution channels to become an influential brand.

Cathay Capital, the investor in this round, possesses international resources in the small home appliance sector, including a long-term partnership with SEB Group, a renowned manufacturer. This is likely to have a positive impact on Soocas’s future overseas expansion and market development in Europe and the United States.