Founded in 2001, CHANDO Group is the third-largest Chinese cosmetics company by retail sales as of 2024, based on data from Frost & Sullivan. Its flagship brand, CHANDO, has ranked among the top two C-beauty brands by retail sales every year from 2013 to 2024.
Harvest Capital’s investment underscores its support for China’s consumption sector and local brands.
“Consumption is the stabiliser and ballast of China’s economy. We remain confident in the long-term growth potential of beauty brands and are committed to supporting Chinese companies like CHANDO, which are driven by technology, digitalisation, and long-term vision, to become world-class national brands,” said Alan Song Xiangqian, founding partner and chairman of Harvest Capital.
Over the past two decades, CHANDO Group’s business has evolved to comprise raw material sourcing, R&D, and manufacturing, with a fully integrated digital operating system and direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels.
The company has also expanded its portfolio to include brands such as Perfection Research, Chunxia, Meisu, and Jichu, covering a wide range of categories — from skin care and makeup to personal care, men’s grooming, and baby care.
Pillar of support
According to Harvest Capital, it has conducted in-depth research on CHANDO to provide strategic planning, budget management, and organisational support since 2021.
The firm values CHANDO’s solid R&D capabilities and development strategy, which focuses on cultivating lifetime consumer value, and is driven by digitalisation and technology.
To raise operational efficiency, Harvest Capital helped CHANDO form a budgeting system centred around ROE (return on equity), coupled with monthly business review meetings and collaboration with internal teams to identify areas for improvement.
Through Harvest Capital’s involvement, the group has also optimised its DTC channel investments and growth, incorporating advanced methodologies and best practices to enhance data quality and marketing efficiency.
While CHANDO continues to expand its offline retail presence, online sales currently account for 68.8% of its revenue, performing particularly well in the rapidly growing content e-commerce space.
In 2023, Harvest Capital provided recommendations for CHANDO’s five-year strategic plan, which were well-received by the group’s management and helped shape a roadmap for development.
“Moving forward, we will continue to support CHANDO’s listing and growth, leveraging its post-investment support systems and extensive resources in the consumer sector.”
R&D breakthroughs and digital transformation
In the highly competitive C-beauty market, where “countless internet celebrity brands” are on the rise, CHANDO’s enduring market leadership is attributed to its focus on consumer-centrism and continuous investment in core business elements that create differentiated experiences.
The company has a team of 154 researchers with expertise in fields such as life sciences, material sciences, and applied chemistry. It has also formed strategic partnerships with renowned medical institutions, including Huashan Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Fudan University.
Since 2013, CHANDO has dived deep into microbial fermentation research, with independent research centres in locations such as Shanghai and Tibet.
Notably, it has developed several proprietary ingredients, including Ximoin, Blue Copper Peptide, and Space Ginseng Yeast, making it the first Chinese cosmetics company to hold independent intellectual property rights in yeast-based ingredients.
Partnering with China’s aerospace programme, CHANDO is looking into skin care challenges in space environments to further push the boundaries of cosmetic science.
In addition to R&D innovations, the Group’s sustained growth is also led by its forward-thinking approach to industry transformation.
For example, the company launched its digital transformation strategy back in 2019 and claims to be among the first in the cosmetics industry to implement tools such as unified inventory and cloud stores.
This strategy has enabled the company to establish end-to-end business operations, including supply chain and production management, inventory control, sales and marketing, logistics, and consumer data analysis.
As a result of the comprehensive digital framework, operational efficiency and decision-making quality significantly improved, boosting CHANDO’s overall performance.
