失速的爱美客：销售费用多花9000万 营收反降 钱花哪儿了？

This piece breaks down the industry shifts behind recent operational changes at Imeik, a leading player in China’s medical aesthetics market, and shares practical takeaways for everyday medical aesthetics consumers.

1. Core industry and company updates: Imeik, Bloomage Biotech and Haohai Biotech — widely known as the "Big Three" of China’s medical aesthetics sector — all reported revenue declines in the first half of 2026, with core aesthetic product revenue falling between 11% and 24%. While most industry players are cutting spending to weather the market downturn, Imeik is bucking the trend by ramping up investment: its H1 sales expenses rose 91 million RMB year-over-year, primarily for new division setup and new product promotion. In the second half of the year, it plans to launch a slate of new offerings, including botulinum toxin products, radiofrequency (RF) skin treatment devices, and new indications for its star hyaluronic acid product HiBody.

2. Practical consumer guidance: The ex-factory price of HiBody, a popular neck wrinkle treatment, has remained stable for years; most end-market price cuts are driven by clinic promotions and platform subsidies, rather than manufacturer-initiated price reductions. As regulatory approval processes accelerate, the supply of compliant medical aesthetics products has expanded sharply, with a growing range of options across categories such as neck wrinkle injectables, regenerative fillers and botulinum toxin. Consumers need not fixate on a single hit product when making purchasing decisions.

This article’s analysis of upstream medical aesthetics brands’ competitive logic, pricing strategies, channel playbooks and R&D pipelines provides actionable insights for brand operators.

1. Takeaways for competition and pricing: The old growth model of building blockbuster products by leveraging exclusive windows from Class III medical device registration certificates is losing efficacy. Driven by faster regulatory approvals, the number of domestic Class III injectable aesthetic products grew from roughly 50 in 2020 to 121 as of March 2026; the influx of competing products will continue to erode blockbuster market share. Direct ex-factory price cuts by upstream manufacturers would directly squeeze margins, while manufacturers lack direct access to end consumers. Currently, platforms and clinics are reshaping end-market pricing power, making it difficult for manufacturers to fully monopolize end-user pricing.

2. Takeaways for operational strategy: Brands need not blindly follow the broader trend of cost-cutting during the industry downturn. Instead, they can reference Imeik’s transformation playbook: shifting from reliance on a single blockbuster to building a product matrix covering multiple efficacy claims, full price tiers, and expanded indications, while reorienting channel investment toward aesthetic physicians — who hold prescription decision-making power — and building long-term usage habits through physician training, a proven model adopted by global leaders Allergan and Galderma. Brands should also mitigate risks from goodwill impairments and partnership disputes stemming from M&A activity, and assess competitive barriers in mature market segments.

The article’s insights into medical aesthetics policy shifts, upstream brand moves and competitive landscape offer operational guidance and opportunity signals for aesthetic product sellers.

1. Market and policy alerts: As medical device review and approval accelerates, products including RF devices and skin boosters have been reclassified as Class III medical devices, driving rapid expansion in compliant product supply. Competition is intensifying across segments such as neck wrinkle injectables, regenerative fillers and botulinum toxin, creating an opening for sellers to optimize their product mix: rather than relying on a single hit product, they can introduce a wider range of cost-effective, compliant products to meet consumer demand.

2. Opportunities and risk alerts: Upstream brands are currently ramping up new product promotions. Imeik is set to launch botulinum toxin products, RF skin treatment devices and new-indication HiBody in H2, while freeze-dried powder products under its acquired REGEN portfolio posted 973.5% year-over-year revenue growth in H1. Sellers can proactively connect with upstream brands for new product resources, join official physician training programs, and capture early-mover advantages from new product partnerships. Note that end-market price declines are a long-term trend; sellers should avoid hoarding inventory to inflate prices, and adjust pricing strategies appropriately to avoid losses.

The article’s findings on upstream product pipeline trends, shifting market demand and industry expansion dynamics offer clear product direction and partnership opportunities for medical aesthetics manufacturers.

1. Product development and design priorities: The industry’s old blockbuster-focused model has shifted to full product matrix layout. The market now demands diversified products covering four core efficacy areas — filling, replenishment, structural support, and atrophy management — spanning price points from 400 RMB to 14,800 RMB. Priorities for leading brands include compliant Class III RF skin treatment devices, injectable products with new indications, botulinum toxin-related products, and freeze-dried powder aesthetic or skincare products; freeze-dried powder products are currently seeing surging demand, with revenue growth reaching 973.5%.

2. Business opportunities and development guidance: Leading brands are expanding their product pipelines through acquisitions — Imeik, for example, has recently purchased Korea-based REGEN and domestic firm Nantong Weimai Medical, both of which hold product R&D capabilities. Manufacturers with valid Class III medical device registration certificates and relevant R&D and production capacity are well positioned to become acquisition targets or partners for leading brands. Factories should also align with the faster approval cycle by building flexible production capacity to meet brands’ demand for rapid iteration across multiple new product categories.

The article’s analysis of medical aesthetics industry transformation trends and core pain points across the value chain helps service providers identify target service areas and refine solutions.

1. Industry trend assessment: The medical aesthetics sector is shifting from marketing-driven growth to a model centered on core medical value. Upstream brands are moving from single-blockbuster competition to integrated competition combining full product matrices and physician channel engagement. The old playbook of relying solely on traffic acquisition for customer growth is losing effectiveness, creating new demand growth for physician-focused professional services and full-cycle promotion support for new product launches.

2. Client pain points and service priorities: Upstream brands currently face three core pain points. First, they need to rapidly complete channel rollout and physician education amid concentrated new product launches, but generally struggle to convert the large base of registered physicians into a smaller group of deeply affiliated, authorized prescribers. Second, end-market prices are being disrupted by platforms and clinics, leaving brands with limited effective price control mechanisms. Third, there are unmet service needs around post-merger integration and distributor dispute resolution. Service providers can develop targeted solutions to support leading brands’ counter-cyclical expansion efforts.

The article’s discussion of platforms’ impact on the medical aesthetics industry, upstream brands’ channel pain points and shifting competitive dynamics offers guidance for aesthetic platforms to optimize operations and adjust merchant recruitment strategies.

1. Platform value and existing gaps: Platforms have become a core force reshaping medical aesthetics end-market pricing. For example, Meituan’s 10-billion-RMB subsidy program and So-Young’s low-price project listings have directly influenced upstream manufacturers’ pricing strategies, even pushing initially resistant brands to enter partnerships. However, overreliance on low-price subsidies can also disrupt brands’ established price systems, triggering pushback from brand partners.

2. Operations and recruitment priorities: Upstream brands are currently in an intensive new product launch cycle: leading players such as Imeik will roll out botulinum toxin products, RF treatment devices, new-indication HiBody and other offerings in H2, creating strong demand for new product debut support, channel reach, and physician-side operations. Platforms can launch targeted new product support programs to attract leading brands to launch new offerings on their channels, while building in-house physician training and certification systems to help brands close the conversion loop from physician registration to product authorization, balancing consumer discounts with the protection of brands’ price systems.

The article’s overview of the latest competitive dynamics, business model iteration and ongoing development challenges in the medical aesthetics industry offers rich observational samples for industry researchers.

1. Emerging industry trends: China’s medical aesthetics sector is undergoing a fundamental shift in growth logic. The old blockbuster monopoly model, built on regulatory approval windows, is collapsing as faster approvals drive rapid supply expansion: between 2020 and 2026, the number of domestic Class III injectable aesthetic products grew from roughly 50 to 121. The industry is moving from single-product competition to integrated competition centered on multi-product matrices and physician channel binding. Strategies among leading players are diverging sharply during the current industry downturn: while most firms are cutting costs to weather the slump, Imeik has chosen counter-cyclical expansion, ramping up investment in new products and channels. Its subsequent performance will hold significant research value for the broader industry.

2. Emerging issues and policy implications: The upstream medical aesthetics segment faces several new research-worthy questions, including the transmission mechanism of systematic erosion of upstream manufacturers’ end-market pricing power amid platform growth, the path of rising influence for physicians as core decision-makers in the B2B2C model, and risk prevention mechanisms for upstream firms pursuing counter-cyclical M&A expansion. While accelerated regulatory approvals have effectively boosted market supply vitality, future attention should be paid to guiding orderly industry competition to avoid issues such as vicious price wars.