Source Code Capital portfolio company "MOODY" announced the completion of 380 million yuan in Series B and B+ funding, with existing shareholder Source Code Capital continuing to increase its stake.

源码资本·February 25, 2021·0·0

Emerging domestic colored contact brand moody recently closed its Series B and B+ rounds totaling approximately RMB 380 million. The Series B was led by GGV Capital, with follow-on investments from XVC and a strategic investor; existing shareholders Hillhouse, Matrix Partners China, and Source Code Capital also added to their stakes. The B+ round was jointly led by CITIC Capital and another strategic investor, with GGV Capital and XVC making additional investments, while existing shareholders Hillhouse, Matrix Partners China, and Source Code Capital continued to double down. Palm Tree Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for both rounds. Founded in 2019, moody is a colored contact brand targeting young consumers. Its products emphasize comfort, safety, and aesthetics, and have quickly gained traction among Gen Z users. The brand has collaborated with artists and IPs to launch limited-edition designs, and has built a strong presence on Xiaohongshu and Douyin through content marketing and KOL partnerships. The colored contact market in China has seen rapid growth in recent years, driven by increasing demand for beauty and personal expression among young consumers. Unlike traditional contact lenses that primarily correct vision, colored contacts are increasingly viewed as a makeup accessory, with users owning multiple pairs to match different occasions and moods. moody's founding team comes from a consumer brand and internet background. The CEO previously worked at a major e-commerce platform, while other core members have experience at leading domestic and international FMCG companies. This hybrid DNA has helped the brand combine internet-native growth tactics with consumer product expertise. The fresh capital will be used for supply chain upgrades, R&D investment, and offline channel expansion. moody plans to deepen its vertical integration by investing in manufacturing capabilities, while also building out its offline presence through partnerships with optical retail chains and dedicated brand stores. The investment reflects continued VC interest in the beauty and personal care sector, particularly in categories that blend functional benefits with emotional and aesthetic appeal. For GGV Capital, this marks another bet on a Gen Z-facing consumer brand, following its investments in other emerging domestic labels. Hillhouse, Matrix Partners China, and Source Code Capital's repeated participation signals their conviction in moody's execution and market position. Industry observers note that while the colored contact market remains fragmented with many small players, regulatory requirements for medical device licensing create

Chinese beauty contact lens brand moody, a rising domestic label, recently closed its Series B and B+ rounds totaling approximately RMB 380 million. GGV Capital led the Series B, with XVC and a strategic investor participating; existing shareholders Hillhouse, Matrix Partners China, and Source Code Capital added to their stakes. The B+ round was co-led by CITIC Capital and another strategic investor, with GGV Capital and XVC also increasing their investments, while Hillhouse, Matrix Partners China, and Source Code Capital continued to double down. Palm Capital served as exclusive financial advisor throughout. Source Code Capital, an existing shareholder, had previously invested in moody's Series A.

Ci Ran, moody's founder and CEO, said the new funding will be entirely devoted to product R&D and brand building, with the goal of advancing how young Chinese consumers think about wearing contact lenses — through products that consistently balance comfort and style.

Yungang Huang, partner at Source Code Capital, commented: "As beauty penetration rises rapidly, colored contact lenses have become another essential tool for Gen Z women to express themselves, and the category is quickly going mainstream. moody identified and captured the trends of online distribution, short replacement cycles, and brand building in this space, achieving impressive results in just one year — a testament to the team's consistent focus on R&D and brand development. 'Using the combined power of technology and capital to change the world' has always been Source Code's mission. Going forward, we will continue to back companies that use technology to bring beauty to people's lives."

In the 16 years since Johnson & Johnson introduced the first cosmetic contact lens to mainland China in 2004, the product has transformed from a medical device into a fashion and beauty staple, evolving from a "niche" or "alternative" look to an indispensable finishing touch in women's makeup routines. As Chinese young consumers' appetite for beauty has intensified, the colored contact lens industry exploded in 2020. Terminal sales exceeded RMB 20 billion that year, with a compound annual growth rate of 41% over the past five years. Compared to Japan's penetration rate of nearly 35%, China's stands at just 7.5%, and short-cycle lens adoption remains far below developed-market levels — suggesting the Chinese market still has five to seven times more room to grow.

moody's founding team hails from leading brands and internet companies including Procter & Gamble, L'Oréal, Johnson & Johnson, Alibaba, and ByteDance. Their diverse industry and management experience has enabled the brand's rapid growth. Founded in October 2019, moody launched on Tmall within three months and broke RMB 200 million in transaction volume in its first year. The company possesses rare in-house R&D capabilities and a remarkably high hit rate for creating bestsellers — during 2020's Singles' Day, with only four SKUs, it achieved nearly RMB 40 million in monthly sales. Unlike other colored contact lens brands with hundreds of product lines, moody maintains exacting quality standards: it refuses to compromise product texture to meet launch quotas, and every product must satisfy users' dual demands for comfort and beauty, giving every moody customer a sense of security and an exceptional wearing experience.

Focusing on Core User Needs: Comfort and Safety

Making Long-Term Bets on Material R&D and Supply Chain Optimization

moody's core team members are all colored contact lens specialists, and their years of experience have given them deep insight into the category's pain points. From the outset, when breaking down consumer needs, the team clearly recognized that the primary requirement was lenses that don't irritate the eyes or cause foreign-body sensation. Without solving the "uncomfortable to wear" problem, no matter how attractive the color patterns or flashy the design concepts, genuine user value couldn't be created. The key to solving this lay in lens material R&D and production process control — major challenges for any brand.

Addressing this most fundamental need for product comfort, moody's founding team had already spent considerable time researching materials used in soft contact lenses available on the market before the company was even established. In 2019, it set up a hydrogel materials laboratory in Taiwan, building independent capabilities for developing and iterating materials. To date, moody has made multiple improvements in enhancing visual presentation and reducing wearer discomfort — for example, its proprietary IGP gold-glitter process increases sparkle intensity by 55% while maintaining the same material stability and wearing comfort as standard color inks, satisfying users' demands for both comfort and design aesthetics.

Beyond material investment, to find a high-quality, reliable long-term supply chain partner, the moody team visited contact lens factories across mainland China, Taiwan, and South Korea before ultimately selecting a world-class top-tier facility in Taiwan. This factory supplies several leading colored contact lens brands and is currently the only fully automated contact lens manufacturer in Asia — ensuring zero human contact during production while maintaining the world's best QC processes and standards. The moody team also demonstrated exceptional supply chain management and negotiation capabilities: not only did they secure a deep partnership with this world-class factory, but they successfully convinced it to dedicate multiple production lines to moody during the company's early startup phase, giving moody flexible, efficient production and rapid response capabilities from a very early stage.

From Following Trends to Setting Them

Crafting Products Around the Keyword "Fun"

moody uses "comfort" to drive purchase intent, and "fun" to build resonance with users.

moody deeply understands what young people want today, precisely targeting Gen Z's preference for a more natural expression of beauty. It fully exploits the subtle, "secret weapon" nature of colored contact lenses, using them to visualize inner emotions — that is, one's "mood" — in a fun yet comfortable way. This makes colored contact lenses not just an embellishment of beauty, but also a stage for users to express their inner feelings. moody also ties each collection to timely concepts, combining hot topics and scenarios to give every series a fresh, engaging narrative.

Moreover, inviting users to co-create products has been a distinctive part of moody's product development from the start, which is why the company established a user operations department early in its history. From concept design through development to launch, moody invites thousands of seed users to participate in every product. Each new color pattern undergoes extensive feedback collection and repeated sampling and testing before going live, with the hope that every product can genuinely express what young consumers want to say.

Focusing on Brand Building

Creating Lasting, Authentic Brand Value

Having achieved over RMB 200 million in sales in its first year, moody has moved from zero to one with both steadiness and substance. Founder and CEO Ci Ran stated that rapid short-term growth is not moody's core objective; combining emotional appeal with rational strategy, focusing on brand, and doing market education methodically are what will achieve deep market penetration.

From its very first collection, "HE DOESN'T KNOW," moody has been thinking about what it wants to communicate to users and how to build consistency and recognizability across its products — so that wherever users encounter moody, they feel a highly unified brand identity and resonance. Whether in selecting influencers, IP collaborations, or sales channels, moody has been extremely cautious, maintaining high levels of self-operation and strict control to ensure every move stays true to its vision.

In 2021, moody will continue to build interactive, equal, and genuine relationships with users around its "mood" and emotional philosophy, creating lasting brand value.