(Yicai Global) Sept. 7 -- Halfist, a less than two-year-old Chinese detergent retailer, has completed a multi-million US dollar angel+ round of funding with the sole investor of Lightspeed China Partners.

Proceeds of the latest fundraiser will be mainly used for marketing, as well as research and development to come up with new products, the Guangzhou-based startup said in a statement today.

Halfist, which currently mostly sells toilet cleaners, plans to start offering its products online and to expand in laundry, kitchen, and personal hygiene in the future, according to the company.

China's CNY100 billion (USD15.5 billion) household cleaning market can be divided into the three segments of fabric care (CNY60 billion), home cleaning (CNY30 billion), and personal hygiene (CNY10 billion), said Yang Xiaoming, founder and chief executive officer.

So far there's room for newcomers. The fast-growing market involves a high concentration of brands, said Sun Haoran, vice president at Lightspeed.

Halfist has a good chance to grow into a next-generation home cleaning brand favored by Chinese consumers, according to Lightspeed China. The startup achieved almost CNY10 million (USD1.5 million) in monthly sales within half a year after launch.

Founded in March 2020, Halfist used to be owned by Guangzhou-based Qianfang High Energy Network Technology. The startup entered the market by selling cotton face wipes.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi