Meiya Liya: Cutting Orthodontic Prices by Half, China's Only O2O Platform Targets Over RMB 300 Million Annual Revenue

In China, there are nearly 17 million newborns each year, with 70% of them having misaligned teeth. However, only about 6% of these individuals choose to undergo treatment. Cui Xiaofei, the founder of Meiyaliya, told VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) that by reducing costs, they have halved the price of orthodontic treatment. Their goal is to capture around 30% of the market share among one million orthodontic users nationwide, achieving an annual turnover of over 300 million yuan. Where does Meiyaliya's confidence come from to change the current market situation? Let us take a closer look.

Meiyali Dental, founded in 2016, is currently the only O2O professional platform for orthodontics in China. By integrating medical device manufacturers, research institutions, and dental clinics through a direct-to-consumer internet model, it is committed to becoming “the most internet-savvy smart aesthetic dentistry brand.”

Invisible Aligners

Cui Xiaofei, founder of Meiya Liya, previously served as the National Marketing Director for Yongkang Dental and as the Marketing Director for a foreign-owned dental medical device manufacturer. He also founded Jingruitang Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic and the Yiyiquan website. During a promotional campaign for orthodontic treatment, he observed that while many people were eager to undergo teeth straightening, the high cost—ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 yuan—forced many to reluctantly abandon the idea. Addressing this pain point, he established Meiya Liya to tackle the longstanding issues in the traditional dental healthcare industry, such as exorbitant prices, poor service, and inconsistent quality, thereby making orthodontic treatment affordable for the general public.

Meiya Liya’s orthodontic products feature clear aligners made from German high-polymer physical materials and manufactured using 3D printing technology. Unlike traditional braces, these clear aligners boast a transparent design that offers superior aesthetics. They are also removable, allowing users to enjoy food more freely and facilitating easier cleaning. In addition to clear aligners, Meiya Liya offers semi-clear orthodontic solutions for patients who are not suitable candidates for clear aligner therapy. Ceramic brackets are more aesthetically pleasing than traditional metal braces and contribute better to oral health. While ensuring treatment efficacy, Meiya Liya prices its orthodontic services at RMB 15,000—half the market average. How does it achieve this?

Semi-transparent Aligners

Traditional dental clinics typically serve only 5–10 orthodontic patients per year. As orthodontics is just one of many services offered, it accounts for merely 5%–10% of a clinic’s total revenue. Consequently, these clinics cannot purchase supplies in bulk from manufacturers, resulting in high procurement costs. In contrast, Meiyaliya specializes exclusively in orthodontic treatment. Since its launch in July, the company has consistently handled over 60 cases per month. Due to this high volume, manufacturers have provided greater support in terms of pricing and services.

Meiya Liya’s low cost also stems from the fact that it requires no additional equipment investment. Competition among dental clinics is extremely intense; in Beijing, for example, there are 1,000 private dental clinics, with consultation room utilization rates below one-third, leaving them idle much of the time despite high rental costs. By partnering with dental clinics and leveraging their existing equipment, Meiya Liya generates additional revenue for these clinics while avoiding the need to purchase its own equipment.

While overall prices have decreased, Meiyali Dental has leveraged internet platforms and online financial installment plans to reduce the total cost to one-third of the original price and lower monthly installment payments to one-fiftieth. This allows customers to access invisible orthodontic treatments, previously priced at RMB 30,000–60,000, with monthly payments of around RMB 1,000. This installment model has lowered the entry barrier for users and attracted more customers to Meiyali.

Cui Xiaofei told VCBeat that, compared with other clear aligner products on the market such as Invisalign and Angelalign, Meiyaliya’s greatest advantage lies in its integrated supply chain, which reduces costs and thereby lowers the retail price. Other products rely heavily on offline clinic channels, resulting in low sales volume per clinic but substantial markups, with prices ranging from RMB 30,000 to 60,000. The annual user base amounts to only around 50,000, severely constraining market growth.

Meiyaliya Dental has adopted the highly popular overseas concept of “physician groups.” Leveraging policies that permit multi-site practice, it attracts a large number of physicians from public hospitals to provide services to its users, thereby combining the strong clinical expertise of public-hospital doctors with high-quality patient care. In addition, Meiyaliya provides physicians with long-term, systematic training and offers greater patient volumes for hands-on clinical practice, enabling doctors to accelerate their professional growth within the Meiyaliya system.

With more doctors available, patients have greater choice. Users can initially determine their suitability for orthodontic treatment through online consultations. If deemed suitable, Meiyaliya will provide three treatment plans, from which the user can select the most appropriate one. This allows users to receive both professional treatment and high-quality service.

Integrate the industrial chain online with a focus on R&D, while offline, leverage the platform to consolidate resources such as doctors, users, and manufacturers. This online-to-offline (O2O) integrated model saves users significant time and money: traditional orthodontic treatment requires monthly clinic visits for follow-ups, each lasting half an hour, totaling over eight hours throughout the course of treatment, at a cost of RMB 30,000–40,000. In contrast, Meiyaliya’s flagship clear aligner therapy does not require strict follow-up schedules; each visit takes only five minutes, reducing total treatment time to under three hours, with pricing at just half that of other institutions.

In terms of promotion and marketing, Meiya Liya primarily relies on word-of-mouth. Users can share photos and their experiences during treatment on online platforms in exchange for gifts or cash discounts. Additionally, the company regularly hosts "Meiya Family" fan events to boost user engagement and attention. Currently, 10% of new customers come from referrals by existing users; however, this mode of dissemination is somewhat slow. Consequently, Meiya Liya is planning to invest in large-scale public relations campaigns to accelerate brand propagation.

Since its launch eight months ago, Meiya Liya has achieved coverage across Beijing’s urban districts, validated its technical capabilities and business model, secured over 60 orders per month, and surpassed a monthly revenue of RMB 1 million. Over the next one to two years, Meiya aims to expand its presence to major cities nationwide, establish an orthodontist group, and achieve a monthly revenue of RMB 20 million. In the following three to five years, Meiya Liya plans to form a broader dental practitioner group, extend its services to dental implants, and intensify its efforts in foundational research and development. It aspires to gradually evolve into a comprehensive service platform in the oral healthcare sector, integrating dentists, medical institutions, manufacturers, and patients.

Meiyali Dental secured millions of RMB in investment this July, with funding coming from a healthcare fund.