5Y News | Emerging Skincare Brand *C咖* Closes Series B Round
Innovative single-use pod masks.
Emerging skincare brand "C咖" (C Plus) recently completed its Series B funding round led by SIG, with existing investors Shunwei Capital, Buer Capital, and Belle Consumer Fund participating. Lighthouse Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor. The proceeds will primarily fund product line expansion and R&D investment.
This marks C咖's third funding round in just seven months. Since commencing operations in March 2021, the company raised two additional rounds in June and September of that same year. 5Y Capital invested in its angel round.
Currently, C咖's flagship product, the "C咖清洁小罐膜" (C Plus Mini Jar Cleansing Mask), ranks #1 in Tmall's face mask category and #1 in Douyin's mask category.
Against the backdrop of China's consumption upgrade, consumers are increasingly pursuing safer, healthier, and more efficient lifestyles — along with more targeted skincare approaches. Recognizing that sheet masks can stress the skin while large-format jar masks present issues like secondary contamination, preservatives, and inconvenience, C咖 addressed these pain points by innovating small-format masks tailored to the consumption upgrade trend. These allow for zone-specific application and treatment of different facial areas, while also meeting consumers' skincare needs during travel and business trips.
Unlike most emerging skincare brands that enter the market through niche subcategories, C咖 advocates "finding blue ocean within red oceans" — targeting large-category markets directly. Third-party data shows that in 2020, the mask market approached 100 billion RMB, making it the largest single category in China's skincare market. Wash-off masks, in particular, grew rapidly, capturing nearly 40% of mask market share by 2021.
C咖 founder Guangtou Xiao (Xiao Rongshen) believes that women aged 21–30 are becoming the core mask-consuming demographic. They seek not just product efficacy but also the spiritual values behind brands. As Guangtou Xiao notes: "A great brand needs to satisfy both consumers' functional needs and emotional needs through high-quality products. Among today's younger generation, this quality is especially pronounced."
The name "C咖" derives from "C+," meaning "China+" — the company aims to combine the world's best technology and ingredients with Chinese manufacturing, enabling mass consumers to equally access world-class quality products. People are born equal, and so is beauty. Life is beautiful and equal. Just as Tesla allowed consumers to enjoy revolutionary electric vehicles, C咖 hopes to deliver revolutionary products and become "the Tesla of beauty."
Guangtou Xiao previously served as CEO of Hanhoo Group and China brand head for Japan's Rohto/Mentholatum. A serial entrepreneur in consumer goods, e-commerce, and new retail, he assembled a "substance + style" dual-core team to build C咖 into a high-standard mass skincare brand satisfying both rational and emotional needs. The "substance" team, led by experts in medicine, microbiology, and pharmacology, focuses on addressing rational efficacy demands; the "style" team, comprising overseas returnees and 4A advertising veterans, handles emotional and spiritual needs.
On distribution strategy, Guangtou Xiao observes that emerging brands have historically relied on single-channel traffic dividends for rapid growth — yet these dividends carry substantial uncertainty. Over-dependence on any single channel weakens a brand's risk resilience and undermines sustainable development.
Therefore, unlike past new brands focused exclusively on online channels, C咖 engaged offline channels from its earliest stages, pursuing omnichannel distribution to drive sustainable growth. C咖 has established strategic partnerships with multiple offline fashion retail chains including KKV, THE COLORIST, and Sanfu Fashion, with presence in over 6,000 stores and counting. Guangtou Xiao believes that "taking small, fast steps along the complete value chain better supports sustainable brand development and enables leapfrog growth."
Going forward, C咖 plans to expand into core skincare categories, gradually evolving into a full-category leading brand while building a multi-brand portfolio.
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