(Yicai Global) Feb. 11 -- Weimeizi, a Chinese supplier of oral care products, has filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong.

The offering will be sponsored by ABC International and BNP Paribas, per the Guangzhou-based firm’s Feb. 8 filing. The unspecified proceeds of the IPO will be used to build the brand, boost research and development, strengthen digitalization, and for equity investment.

Founded in 2014, Weimeizi owns oral care brands Saky and SakyKids, selling toothpaste, traditional and electric toothbrushes, and mouthwash. It had 32 self-run online stores, 48 online distributors on major e-commerce platforms, and 602 online distributor networks as of Sept. 30.

Weimeizi’s net profit soared 317 percent to CNY211 million (USD33.2 million) in 2020, while revenue slid 5.9 percent to CNY1.6 billion (USD251.5 million). In the first three quarters of 2021, it had a CNY494 million loss on revenue of CNY1.2 billion, up 14.7 percent from a year earlier.

The company ranked fourth among oral care products suppliers as it seized a market share of 5.3 percent in terms of retail sales in 2020, according to data from US research and consulting firm Frost and Sullivan.

Saky signed endorsement deals with celebrities such as UK soccer player David Beckham and Chinese actress and singer Li Bingbing in 2019, with its advertising spend reaching CNY111 million that year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione