Cenban Toothpaste’ parent company plans an IPO in Hong Kong at 39.9 yuan per tube; a celebrity’s same-style product may have as much as 24 yuan in “buy” marketing

Recently, the parent company of the popular toothpaste brand “Sanban,” Shenzhen Xiaokuo Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Xiaokuo Technology”), submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, aiming for a main board listing. With precise grasp of Generation Z’s aesthetic preferences and high-density traffic promotion, Sanban toothpaste has rapidly become a new consumer star in recent years, with revenue growth of 82.5% year-on-year in 2025 and a gross profit margin exceeding 70%. Behind this impressive performance is over 3 billion yuan in marketing investment over three years and controversy over fines for false advertising. The company’s IPO prospects still await market verification.

Performance currently faces the dilemma of rising revenue but stagnant profit

Xiaokuo Technology was founded in 2015. In 2018, it launched the oral care brand "Sanban." Leveraging internet traffic dividends and high-appearance, diversified product designs, Sanban toothpaste quickly gained recognition among young consumers.

Under the rapid growth of core business, Xiaokuo Technology's revenue also exploded. From 2023 to 2025, the company's revenue is projected to be 1.1B yuan, 1.37B yuan, and 2.5B yuan, respectively, with gross profit margins of 72.1%, 69.8%, and 71.9%. However, the other side of high growth is "increased revenue but stagnant profit." From 2023 to 2025, the company's annual net profits are 41.62 million yuan, 34.23 million yuan, and -18.25 million yuan.

Behind profit pressure is the company's aggressive marketing strategy. Compared to traditional toothpaste brands, Xiaokuo Technology's marketing highly aligns with young consumers' preferences, such as sponsoring music festivals and anime exhibitions, creating themed pop-up stores and limited-edition peripherals, and collaborating with celebrities for "one-day store manager" activities. Although effective, this "spending money to scale" approach comes at a high cost. The prospectus shows that from 2023 to 2025, Xiaokuo Technology's sales and distribution expenses reached 685 million yuan, 835 million yuan, and 1.53B yuan, totaling over 3 billion yuan over three years, with annual sales expense rates exceeding 60%. This means that for every 39.9 yuan spent on a "celebrity-style" toothpaste, about 24 yuan goes toward marketing.

Previously fined for false advertising

In stark contrast to the high marketing expenses is very low R&D investment. From 2023 to 2025, Xiaokuo Technology's R&D expense ratio decreased year by year, at 1.63%, 1.23%, and 0.78%.

Interestingly, the company claims in its prospectus that "R&D emphasizes the application of advanced technology and ingredients to enhance functional efficacy. This investment has resulted in a series of powerful proprietary formulas and technical combinations." However, based on its disclosed patents, most are for appearance design patents, and the only invention patent, "A composition for removing oral smoke odor and its preparation method," involves formulas but fundamentally differs from the core functions of whitening, anti-sensitivity, and gum protection promoted by its products.

This business model directly triggers controversy over the gap between product efficacy and marketing claims. For example, its flagship store's Sanban Research Fresh Whitening Toothpaste, which has sold over 500k units, claims "whitening improvement of 271% in 3 days." When asked whether this product has a whitening patent, customer service avoided answering and only showed a third-party testing report. On social platforms and consumer complaint platforms [Download Black Cat Complaint Client], complaints about Sanban whitening toothpaste "having little effect" and "suspected false advertising" are common.

Data from the enterprise early warning system shows that from August 2020 to September 2020, Xiaokuo Technology's Tmall flagship store sold "oralshark grapefruit-flavored mouthwash" and "Sanban probiotic mouthwash," claiming "bactericidal and anti-inflammatory" effects. However, it could not provide evidence to prove the truth of these claims and was fined 3,000 yuan for false advertising; in June 2022, the company was fined an additional 12.8k yuan for advertising violations.

■Reporter Zhang Xiaohan