{"text":[[{"start":7.13,"text":"This article only represents the author's own views."}],[{"start":11.36,"text":"Public listings have become all the rage as Hong Kong experiences one of its hottest IPO markets in years. But few companies can rival Shandong Huawutang Cosmetics Co. Ltd., owner of the Dream Garden brand, in their enthusiasm for joining the listing wave."}],[{"start":30.689999999999998,"text":"Within just two months, starting last November, the company changed from its limited liability structure into a joint stock company, a key step to prepare for becoming publicly listed. It then raised 204.6 million yuan ($29 million) in a Series A financing this month and adopted its current name, before submitting its Hong Kong listing application at the end of last week."}],[{"start":59.48,"text":"Its pre-IPO investors included two subsidiaries of Huatai Securities as well as Discounter Seed HK, controlled by Beijing-based private equity fund GenBridge Capital."}],[{"start":72.62,"text":"Dream Garden boasts a story of foamy growth as one of a new generation of Chinese companies finding big business in the country’s massive personal care products market. Its medicine cabinet is quite full, containing a product portfolio of 509 items in three key segments: body care, hair care and facial wash, and its newest line of hair wash products."}],[{"start":97.51,"text":"It’s best known for body lotion and was the top brand in the category among domestic companies in 2024, and eighth overall, according to its prospectus. Its body scrub and facial cleanser products were top among domestic brands and ranked second among all brands. And its newest line of shampoo and hair treatments, launched just last year, has already become “a strong growth engine within our product portfolio,” the company says."}],[{"start":131.39000000000001,"text":"Its growth over the past three years has been impressive. Its revenue rose 76.7% from 1.07 billion yuan ($154 million) in the first nine months of 2024 to 1.89 billion yuan in the same period last year, accelerating from 25% growth in all of 2024. It posted triple-digit adjusted profit growth in the last two years, including a 249% jump to 82.8 million yuan in 2024, and a 197% year-on-year rise to 147.7 million yuan in the first nine months of 2025."}],[{"start":177.34000000000003,"text":"That said, not everything was rosy in the company’s financial statements. Notably, its gross profit margin dropped from 65.8% in 2023 to 63.3% in the first nine months of 2025, as marketing costs increased with the launch of new businesses."}],[{"start":200.22000000000003,"text":"Dream Garden was founded by Chairman and CEO Qi Yunji and wife Shang Ximei in 2010 in Jinan, capital of East China’s Shandong province, known as China’s rose capital. Qi and Shang were early movers in the internet-based skincare market and only began using distributors to sell their products in brick-and-mortar stores in 2021. They were also early to make the switch from traditional online stores to using key online influencers on sites including Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and Alibaba’s Tmall."}],[{"start":241.42000000000002,"text":"High marketing costs"}],[{"start":244.27,"text":"The company’s mobilization of celebrities is a key reason for its high marketing costs, which have stuck at around 50% of revenues. These have included former child star Guan Xiaotong, former girl band star and actress Ju Jingyi, Uighur actress, vocalist and model Dilaraba Dilmurat and professional table tennis player and Olympic champion Sun Yingsha, just to name a few."}],[{"start":272.35,"text":"Dream Garden is turning to such influencers in a recent grab for a skincare market that took off during the pandemic, when worries about the impact of facial masks boosted demand for “skin repair” and skin “first aid.” Recent trends for sensitive skin whitening and brightening dull skin appeal to a new consumer sub-category of “skintellectuals” who share their obsession on social networks such as RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, and the Beauty Evolution app."}],[{"start":303.28000000000003,"text":"The market opportunity dates back several decades and has attracted international brands, which still dominate but are feeling pressure from domestic names like Dream Garden. According to the prospectus, China’s skin and personal care products market grew from 578.1 billion yuan in 2019 to 715.9 billion yuan in 2024, and is expected to reach 981.9 billion yuan by 2029. The market for hair wash products is much smaller, at 112.1 billion yuan in 2024, while facial washes are smaller still, at 38.4 billion yuan that year."}],[{"start":350.72,"text":"In addition to anticipating booming demand for personal care products, Qi and Shang were also forward-thinking by basing their products on plant-based materials and spending big on R&D. That approach appealed to the skintellectuals, who have become an ever-stronger factor in the market and who want both the science and natural products."}],[{"start":373,"text":"Dream Garden’s brand image is tied to the reputation of its hometown, Jinan, source of China’s 1,400-year-old rose cultivation culture and now a center for several rose festivals and rose tourism. The company operates three dedicated R&D centers, in Jinan, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and processes core raw materials through an in-house facility “to ensure purity, stability and traceability.”"}],[{"start":404.45,"text":"How well Dream Garden will fare in an increasingly crowded field is an open question. According to one Chinese media survey, its products aren’t cheap. In its flagship store on Tmall, a 500-gram bottle of floral extract shampoo costs 89.9 yuan, not including discounts, and a 400-gram bottle of shower gels is priced at 49.9 yuan before e-commerce discounts. By comparison, a 400-gram bottle of shower gel from Unilever-owned (ULVR.L) Dove costs less at 39.9 yuan and a 470-gram bottle of shampoo from Lux, also owned by Unilever, also costs less at 44.9 yuan."}],[{"start":453.8,"text":"Dream Garden also faces competition from domestic rivals like fast-growing Proya Cosmetics (603605.SS), which is roughly seven times Dream Garden’s size in revenue terms, and Shanghai Pehchaolin, China’s largest domestic skincare company and owner of the 95-year-old Pechoin brand. Then there’s also Biogene (2367.HK) and Bloomage BioTech (688363.SH), which made headlines last year after an online war of words involving false advertising claims."}],[{"start":493.09000000000003,"text":"Among the global names, L’Oréal (OR.PA) remains the giant of the Chinese skincare market, and is working hard to maintain that position. It bought a minority stake in Chinese skincare brand Lan last November for an undisclosed sum, and spent 442 million yuan for 6.67% of skincare and cosmetics brand Chando."}],[{"start":518.9300000000001,"text":"The latter investment was disclosed in Chando’s own prospectus for a Hong Kong IPO filed last September. Chando’s first financing round, at 700 million yuan, was almost twice the size of Dream Garden’s, and the company was reportedly aiming to raise $500 million in its IPO. Like Dream Garden, it relies heavily on an eco-friendly, tech-driven image, known for its use of Himalayan natural resources like glacial water and ice field plants."}],[{"start":552.4200000000001,"text":"With both Dream Garden and Chando rushing to market, joining the already-listed BioGene, Hong Kong investors will need to scrub through all the financials to figure out who looks best positioned to emerge on top in the lucrative but increasingly crowded sector."}],[{"start":580.71,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1769143170_8829.mp3"}