A decline of 500 million over half a year, but Fumei struggles to sustain the growth myth of Juzhi Biotech.

Article | Entertainment Capital Theory Guo Jian

The boot has finally dropped.

“Revenue of 5.519 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 0.4%, and net profit attributable to the parent company of 1.915 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 7.1%.” Recently, the 2025 annual report released by Juzi Biotechnology has caused the industry to reevaluate this “first stock of restructured collagen.”

This is the first time since its listing in 2022 that Juzi Biotechnology has experienced a simultaneous decline in both revenue and net profit. Particularly compared to the impressive revenue growth rate of 57.2% and profit growth rate of 42.4% in 2024, this sharp drop has put the brakes on Juzi Biotechnology, which has dominated the efficacy skincare track thanks to its super product “Kefumei.”

This is closely related to the allegations regarding the cost of ingredients in “Kefumei” that Dr. Big Mouth ignited during last year’s 618 shopping festival.

The doubts erupted at the end of May and escalated into a large-scale fermentation during June. Although Juzi Biotechnology, Dr. Big Mouth, and later entrants like Huaxi Biotechnology each maintained their positions, a severe trust crisis was still created among consumers and channels, directly affecting Juzi Biotechnology’s growth in the latter half of the year. It’s worth noting that in the first half of 2025, Juzi still maintained a total revenue of 3.112 billion yuan and a net profit of 1.182 billion yuan, with year-on-year growth rates of 22.5% and 20.6%, respectively.

In the beauty industry, where “the second half of the year should be better than the first half,” Juzi Biotechnology did not see a sales recovery in Q3 and Q4, especially for the core brand Kefumei, which contributed over 80% of its revenue, with sales in the second half of the year only reaching 1.93 billion yuan, a decline of over 540 million yuan compared to the same period last year, highlighting the far-reaching impact of negative events.

“Dr. Big Mouth’s comments were merely the fuse; the deeper reasons include intensified competition in the skincare track, the diminishing benefits of live commerce, and the trust crisis surrounding ingredient transparency for brands,” said Gao Han, a veteran in the beauty industry.

Although Juzi Biotechnology attempted to regain channel profits by deepening offline channels and strengthening brand self-broadcasting; and explored multiple avenues such as entering the hair care sector and launching new brands; and even aggressively promoted “medical device” products to expand into the Class III medical device market. However, as of now, these explorations may either be uncharted territory or have not been successful.

“The crux of the issue remains the ingredient problem. Juzi Biotechnology started with the concept of restructured collagen, but the trend of ingredients in the beauty sector has changed too rapidly. The era of frantically promoting restructured collagen has passed,” Gao Han stated.

Until the end of last year, many posts on Xiaohongshu questioning the efficacy of Kefumei’s collagen sticks still saw discussions about “the inability of topical restructured collagen to penetrate the skin; it’s a tax on intelligence,” indicating the lingering effects of the “Dr. Big Mouth” incident.

At the end of May last year, beauty blogger “Dr. Big Mouth” publicly questioned the actual content of restructured collagen in Kefumei’s star product “collagen stick,” claiming it was far below the labeled amount, suspecting ingredient fraud. As this accusation spread on social media, hyaluronic acid leader Huaxi Biotechnology also joined the fray, sparking a debate over the two key ingredients of “restructured collagen” and “hyaluronic acid.”

This controversy ultimately concluded with a vague result of “different testing standards,” but it caused a significant trust crisis among consumers regarding the core ingredient of “restructured collagen.” “Many users previously willing to pay a higher price for Kefumei’s single-use products primarily valued the brand’s ‘medical device’ background and the technical barriers established around the core ingredient; Juzi Biotechnology’s ambiguous response during the incident will shake some onlookers,” said Gao Han.

“Instead of spending hundreds on a skincare product of uncertain effectiveness, it’s better to spend two thousand directly on injecting Weimei, where the results for eye wrinkles are much clearer,” said consumer Ali from Xiamen.

Just like the previous replacement of ultra-high-end beauty brands by many medical aesthetics projects, significantly discounted restructured collagen injection products are also diverting the core audience that recognizes this ingredient. Last year, Weimei, an injectable brand under Jinbo Biotechnology focused on tightening and anti-aging, saw its prices for youthful injections drop from 6,800 yuan to 1,300-1,500 yuan due to the impact of the baby face needle category and platform subsidies. This also led many female consumers to turn towards “injection methods.”

“Although there isn’t a high overlap between medical injection users and efficacy skincare users, Weimei’s price drop has fundamentally disrupted the price order of the entire restructured collagen market. If high-end injectables are this cheap, how much value does Kefumei, which claims to offer ‘efficacy skincare,’ still have? Can collagen sticks priced at several hundred yuan compete with medical aesthetics injections? Once faced with such doubts, Kefumei’s repurchase rate will also decline,” Gao Han stated.

At the same time, Kefumei is also facing a serious internal crisis. Spicy has observed that the heavyweight product “collagen stick 2.0,” launched by Kefumei last year, did not replicate the success of 1.0, but instead received considerable negative feedback in the market. Currently, searching for Kefumei collagen stick 2.0 on Xiaohongshu reveals that keywords such as “too sticky,” “unstable quality control,” and “allergic reactions” are frequently mentioned by users.

“I used collagen stick 1.0 for a long time and stocked up on it, but after using 2.0 I had an allergic reaction. The glycerin in 2.0 was too unfriendly for me,” an old user of Kefumei, Ricky, told us. After trying it, she quickly switched back to version 1.0 of the collagen stick, but now version 1.0 is becoming increasingly scarce, “I used to be able to buy it on platforms like Xianyu, Dewu, and Watsons, but now it’s no longer produced officially, making it harder to find, so I stopped using it.”

In addition to brand crises and product quality issues, Juzi Biotechnology is also facing significant adjustments in its channel strategy. Over the past two years of rapid development, Juzi Biotechnology has heavily relied on the sales capabilities of top influencers, especially Li Jiaqi’s livestream, which was a significant driver of the explosion in sales of Kefumei’s “collagen stick.”

However, in 2025, Juzi Biotechnology proactively chose to “de-topify.” To control discount rates and enhance brand profitability, Juzi significantly reduced the number of collaborations with influencers in the fourth quarter of last year, focusing on self-broadcasting. For instance, in October last year, data from Chuan Mama showed that its collaborations with influencers were directly halved.

Simultaneously, during last year’s 618 and “Double 11” events, Kefumei tightened its “promotional strategy” in many top influencer livestreams, with a large number of consumers reporting that, “the price for 120 sticks sold in Li Jiaqi’s livestream during 2025’s 618 and Double 11 was much higher than during 2024’s Double 11, skyrocketing to six or seven hundred yuan.” This also resulted in losses during major promotional events. According to a report by CICC International, Kefumei’s GMV during last year’s Double 11 fell by an average of approximately 30% year-on-year.

Clearly, the development of self-broadcasting is not an overnight endeavor, and its growth rate and conversion efficiency cannot quickly fill the massive gap left by the absence of influencer collaborations.

Not to mention the encroachment of external competitors. Last year, whether it was Jinbo Biotechnology, which also focuses on the restructured collagen market and made significant moves into functional skincare with the launch of its brands Zhongyuan and ProtYouth®, or companies like L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, and Huaxi Biotechnology increasing their investments in the restructured collagen skincare segment, they all sought to capture the market share of Kefumei. Moreover, compared to Kefumei, many new products were “priced much lower.” A typical example is the restructured collagen skincare product “Tongping,” which gained popularity during last year’s 618 in Li Jiaqi’s livestream, and was produced by Jinbo Biotechnology using an ODM model.

Faced with internal and external challenges, Juzi Biotechnology, heavily reliant on the single product Kefumei, has not reversed its declining trend but has instead halted its progress.

Confronted with the decline of its main brand Kefumei, Juzi Biotechnology clearly stated in its 2025 annual report that the company’s goal for 2026 is to “return to growth,” and further emphasized its “dual beauty strategy” — the synergistic development of skincare and medical aesthetics.

Evidently, the recently approved types of natural sequence collagen facial injection agents and composite solutions of restructured collagen and sodium hyaluronate, which Juzi Biotechnology received approval for in October last year and January of this year respectively, are expected to be key for its entry into the medical aesthetics field and achieving growth. The company has high hopes for revenue from Class III medical devices (“medical device” products).

Previously, functional skincare products accounted for nearly 80% of Juzi Biotechnology’s revenue, but the proportion of higher-margin medical dressings and medical aesthetic injectables was relatively low. The approval of these two injection products, which are used for facial dermal filling and improving facial smoothness, marks Juzi Biotechnology’s official entry into the medical aesthetics market.

However, this also means it will face direct competition with Jinbo Biotechnology, which holds similar licenses and has a strong market foundation. The two will invade each other’s territory and engage in fierce competition in both the B-end and C-end markets for restructured collagen.

The B-end medical aesthetic injection market is a hard nut to crack, necessitating a new team organization and channel connections. Previously, Juzi Biotechnology’s accumulation of raw materials was primarily in the hospital dressing channels, which operates under a different sales logic compared to medical aesthetic injectables. Juzi needs to establish a professional operations team, connect with medical aesthetic institutions’ sales teams, and ensure safety and usage standards through a doctor education team. This places high demands on the brand’s service system and team capabilities.

At the same time, at the current entry point for Juzi Biotechnology, the medical aesthetic injection market is in a state of fierce competition, with multiple players initiating price wars. According to Jinbo Biotechnology’s 2025 performance report, although its revenue grew by 10.57%, net profit attributable to the parent company fell by 11.08%, with increased revenue not translating to increased profits primarily due to soaring marketing expenses to promote new injectable materials, and increased investment in research and development to ensure technological productivity. Additionally, throughout last year, the frequent price drops of its core raw material product Weimei in offline channels significantly impacted Jinbo’s profit margins.

As the “first mover” in the market, Jinbo Biotechnology is already facing profit declines, and it is foreseeable that for “latecomer” Juzi Biotechnology to capture market share, it will need to invest significantly more in promotional expenses, which will also greatly affect the brand’s profitability. Whether it’s quickly establishing a channel network that rivals Jinbo Biotechnology or building the influence of its injectable products within the industry, both require substantial costs.

In the financial report, another core strategy for achieving growth for Juzi Biotechnology is “deepening the brand’s self-operation footprint and establishing dual-track online and offline sales channels,” with a focus on building offline channels as a key direction for seeking incremental growth, aiming for “approximately 50 offline stores by 2026.” However, considering its scale of offline revenue and operating income, this path also seems fraught with challenges.

In 2025, Juzi Biotechnology launched a large-scale development of brand specialty stores, with a total of 32 stores covering core business districts in multiple cities including Xi’an, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Hangzhou by the end of last year. However, according to the financial report, Juzi Biotechnology’s offline direct sales revenue in 2025 was 225 million yuan, accounting for only 4.1% of total revenue, with an average annual revenue of around 7 million yuan per store.

For core business districts, developing offline channels means high rents, labor costs, and management expenses, with a long return cycle. Currently, Juzi Biotechnology’s revenue, both in terms of profit margins and growth prospects, appears quite vague; rather than shouldering the performance growth task through profit generation, it seems more like a “brand building” project.

As for Juzi Biotechnology’s third core strategy — to “create replicable blockbuster products” in the efficacy skincare segment, it is particularly challenging in today’s fiercely competitive online environment.

“Whether it’s Han Shu, Juzi Biotechnology, or Huaxi Biotechnology, it’s hard for these giants to create new blockbuster products in these two years. On one hand, online traffic costs have surged, and the best time for scaling has passed. On the other hand, the competition in domestic beauty sub-markets is fierce, with overseas brands joining the price war and emerging domestic brands rising, all vying for market space for new products from leading brands. Especially since many flagship products from these leading brands have already penetrated the mass skincare market, new categories or high-end products may also lead to brand recognition conflicts among consumers. Hence, many groups are facing breakthrough challenges for new products,” Gao Han stated.

It is evident that whether in the medical aesthetic injection field or the efficacy skincare field, Juzi Biotechnology faces significant challenges. Whether on the offensive or defensive side, there are higher costs involved.

Of course, Juzi Biotechnology’s fundamental position remains solid. Although Kefumei’s growth rate has slowed, it still possesses market recognition. Moreover, Juzi’s gross profit margin remains above 80%, and with ample cash reserves, it provides enough room for trial and error and adjustments. After all, relying on existing users, Juzi is unlikely to experience a cliff-like decline in the short term. However, from an offensive standpoint, the road ahead is filled with thorns.

The biggest problem lies in the cooling of the “restructured collagen” concept. Unlike the explosive growth of the past two years, the restructured collagen market has entered a cooling period. The influx of numerous competitors, along with direct confrontations with Jinbo Biotechnology and verbal disputes with Huaxi Biotechnology, are impacting the industry’s excess profits. On the user side, shifts in trends have caught many off guard.

“In the anti-aging sector, PDRN (polydeoxyribonucleotide) is expected to see a new surge this year, with many efficacy skincare brands starting to emphasize this new ingredient. On the injection side, exosomes are also particularly hot. Of course, after this year’s 315, it’s very likely that new conceptual trends will emerge. Just like the transition from hyaluronic acid to restructured collagen in the past, the skincare field always needs new concepts,” ingredient blogger Song Song told Spicy.

Clearly, Juzi Biotechnology has surpassed the new hand protection period of the “ingredient bonus.” Whether it can achieve further breakthroughs in research and development capabilities and refined channel management may be the key to determining its next stage of direction.