Zhuben

Zhuben (逐本) is a Chinese aromatherapy skincare brand founded by Qianfei Liu, a Fudan University finance graduate who had earlier worked as partner and CFO at a beauty company and covered beauty and personal care during her time at Milestone Capital, per 5Y Capital's reporting. The brand broke out through livestream commerce — in 2019 it ran 34 sessions with Austin Li (李佳琦), at one point selling 50,000 bottles of cleansing oil in a single minute. In March 2021 it closed back-to-back A and B rounds totaling $50 million: the A led by Yuanjing Capital with 5Y Capital and Qianyue Capital participating, the B led by Yuansheng Capital with Yuanjing and 5Y following on. Liu has framed the founding mission as letting ordinary consumers enjoy an aromatherapy lifestyle at accessible prices — a vision she was still describing as gradually becoming reality as of early 2025, when 5Y also noted the brand was testing a Xiaohongshu private-domain model while stabilizing its China business.