E-commerce has become the largest sales channel for the company.

Zhang Wei from Investor Network

Ling Suan Ling, a national toothpaste brand, has recently attracted attention due to its live broadcasts and advertising videos being accused of exaggerated efficacy.

Wind information shows that Ling Suan Ling toothpaste is a major product of the A-share listed company Dengkang Oral (001328.SZ). In the first half of this year, the sales revenue of Ling Suan Ling adult toothpaste accounted for about 78% of Dengkang Oral's main revenue.

Currently, e-commerce has become Dengkang Oral's largest sales channel. In the first half of this year, e-commerce revenue accounted for over 25% of Dengkang Oral's main revenue, surpassing offline revenues in the western and southern regions. Changjiang Securities believes that if the Douyin platform continues to break through, it is expected to drive the acceleration of Dengkang Oral's e-commerce and overall revenue.

Live broadcasts are suspected of exaggerating efficacy.

Public information shows that Ling Suan Ling, under Dengkang Oral, focuses on oral care, with products mainly including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouthwash. Ling Suan Ling is known for relieving tooth sensitivity and enhancing the teeth's tolerance to hot, cold, acid, and sweet stimuli, and its classic slogan "Hot, cold, sweet, sour, eat whatever you want" has long been deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Currently, Ling Suan Ling has also developed products such as Medical Research Anti-Sensitivity, Special Research Anti-Sensitivity, and Sea Salt Refreshing. The Medical Research Anti-Sensitivity toothpaste is also a key e-commerce product promoted by Dengkang Oral. In the official flagship stores of Ling Suan Ling set up on multiple e-commerce platforms, the Medical Research Anti-Sensitivity toothpaste is prominently featured.

According to reports from publications like the New Beijing News, the host mentioned while promoting the Cold Acid Ling Medical Research Anti-Sensitive Toothpaste that it can repair oral issues such as loose teeth, periodontitis, gingival atrophy, cavities, and bad teeth, stating, "time is needed for repair and consolidation, and if better results are desired, it is recommended to purchase the five-pack consolidation set."

The accompanying video advertisement also mentioned, "If these problems occur, don’t rush to go to institutions for any procedures, try this toothpaste with a mindset of returning it if necessary." However, many consumers have commented in their reviews stating, "After using it for a while, there is no effect as claimed during the live broadcast."

Is it really "effective for cavities, indentations, damaged teeth, and other oral problems"? Dengkang Dental stated to Investor Network, "The Cold Acid Ling Medical Research Anti-Sensitive Special Repair Toothpaste has dual clinical reports from Sichuan University West China School of Stomatology and Chongqing Medical University Stomatological Hospital, along with relevant laboratory reports as support."

Dengkang Dental also stated that the presentation and publication of the live broadcast content undergo strict review, and the company's relevant Douyin flagship stores adhere strictly to laws and regulations such as the "Advertising Law" and the "Cosmetic Supervision Regulation" regarding live streaming or short video operations, influencer promotions, and product labeling.

On December 23, during a live broadcast on the Cold Acid Ling Douyin official flagship store, promotional phrases such as "7-day repair for damaged teeth" still appeared. The related advertising video also displayed the phrase "same style as Zhang Xuefeng."

The L strategy promotes growth.

In addition to the adult toothpaste primarily promoted on major live streaming platforms, Dengkang Dental also offers adult toothbrushes, children's toothpaste, and children's toothbrushes.

Revenue composition shows that in the first half of this year, Dengkang Dental's adult toothpaste income reached 0.55 billion yuan, accounting for 78% of the company's total revenue of 0.703 billion yuan. During the same period, the revenue proportions for adult toothbrushes, children's toothpaste, and children's toothbrushes were relatively low, at only 11%, 5%, and 2% respectively.

Although there may be flaws in the live broadcast, the strategic focus on the flagship product cold acid spirit toothpaste by Dekang Oral Care is undoubtedly successful, with stable growth in revenue and net income in recent years.

Financial data shows that from 2019 to 2023, Dekang Oral Care's revenue increased from 0.944 billion yuan to 1.376 billion yuan, and the net income attributable to the parent company rose from 0.063 billion yuan to 0.141 billion yuan. In the first three quarters of this year, Dekang Oral Care's revenue and net income were 1.053 billion yuan and 0.118 billion yuan, respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 4% and 10%.

Tianfeng believes that Dekang Oral Care strengthens the scenario experience of offline shopping and expands the O2O online-to-home business through flagship product combination promotion, category linkage, promotions during key holidays, and new product launches, enhancing product reach and sales conversion.

However, Dekang Oral Care's adult toothpaste sales have remained around 1.05 billion yuan for the past two years, with weak growth for flagship products.

Regarding how to maintain growth in 2025, Dekang Oral Care told "Investor Network" that the company adheres to a focused positioning strategy and will continue to center around the cold acid spirit brand in the future, with a main track focusing on oral hygiene products such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, and dental floss, continuously improving the market share and competitive strength of core category brands.

Dekang Oral Care also stated that in the first half of 2024, its toothpaste products held an offline retail market share of 8.57%, ranking third in the industry and second among local brands. In 2023, Dekang Oral Care's market share in offline channels was about 8%, ranking fourth in the industry, lower than Yunnan Baiyao (25%) and Haolai Chemical (19%) among competitors.

Temporarily ranked in the second tier of the industry.

It can be seen that the ranking of Dekang Oral Care's toothpaste products has risen by one position, but in terms of market share, it still remains far below major competitors.

On the other hand, data published by third-party consulting institutions indicates that competition in the domestic toothpaste market is fierce.

According to data released by iiMedia, in 2024, among the toothpaste brands purchased by consumers in China, Crest, Yunnan Baiyao Group, and Colgate-Palmolive rank in the top three, with Lianhua ranking fifth, accounting for about 32%. Following Lianhua, there are brands such as Comfort, Shuke, Liuzhou Liangmianzhen, and Black Sister.

According to Zhongyan Network, based on revenue classification, Yunnan Baiyao Group and Beijing Tongrentang belong to the first tier (business revenue greater than 5 billion yuan), with strong brand power and market influence, and a rich product line; Jiuzhitang Co.,Ltd., Dengkang Oral, Guilin Sanjin Pharmaceutical, etc., belong to the second tier (business revenue in the range of 1-5 billion yuan), with relatively small market shares, continually striving to improve product quality and innovation capabilities to expand market share; third-tier companies such as Liuzhou Liangmianzhen and CH GOLD CLASSIC (business revenue less than 1 billion yuan) focus on specific niche markets or product areas, seeking market breakthroughs through differentiated competitive strategies.

Regarding how to enhance competitiveness, Dengkang Oral stated to Investment Network that the company has always viewed R&D as the core driving force for sustainable development and product competitiveness, advocating a "marketing + R&D" dual-driving development approach to ensure vigorous advancement of various R&D projects.

Financial data shows that Dengkang Oral had a R&D expense ratio of 2.85% in 2022, increased to 3.11% in 2023, and rose to 3.5% in the first three quarters of this year.

In terms of marketing investment, in April 2023, Dengkang Oral raised 0.66 billion yuan during its IPO, of which 0.37 billion yuan was used for "upgrading the omnichannel marketing network and brand promotion projects." According to Dengkang Oral, as of the first half of 2024, the investment progress for this project was 69%, meaning over 0.25 billion yuan had already been spent. (Produced by Thinking Finance)■