usmile Fined 250,000 Yuan for Defaming Laifen, Personal Care Industry in Collective Doubt | Hard Krypton Analysis

Author | Ou Xue

Editor | Yuan Silai

The marketing war among electric toothbrush companies has long been merciless. But this time, a company stumbled because of it.

“The brush heads that cost 9.9 yuan look like this! Do you dare to use them?! Every single one has burrs.” On April 30, 2024, usmile Electric Toothbrush posted a short video on its official Douyin account, “usmile Electric Toothbrush Live Room”. In the video, the anchor held a competing brand's electric toothbrush, Laifen, and said the above words in front of the camera.

Less than a month later, the situation updated again. On May 23, 2024, the same account posted another short video. In the video, while demonstrating usmile's “Sweeping and Vibrating Technology”, the anchor picked up another electric toothbrush with the words “laifen” on it and claimed that it “can only vibrate or rotate in a single mode”.

It's not clear whether these actions led to a sharp increase in sales, but one thing is certain: usmile received an administrative penalty.

A public notice on the official website of Credit Guangdong revealed that on July 28 this year, Guangzhou Xingji Yuedong Co., Ltd., the parent company of usmile, was fined 250,000 yuan by the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Tianhe District, Guangzhou for publishing misleading content that belittled its competitors.

This seemingly isolated incident reflects the disorder and anxiety exposed by the electric toothbrush industry under fierce competition. It's not just a simple competitive behavior, but a typical microcosm of the entire industry's distress.

Administrative penalty for Guangzhou Xingji Yuedong Co., Ltd. (Source: Screenshot from Credit Guangdong website)

Laifen Enters the Market, usmile Gets Anxious

Founded in 2015 by Chen Jianqun, a former Procter & Gamble employee, usmile is a rising star in the electric toothbrush industry. Starting with electric toothbrushes, its product portfolio now covers multiple categories such as water flossers, toothpaste, and brush head accessories. Its parent company, Guangzhou Xingji Yuedong Co., Ltd., has received investments from well - known institutions such as Zhongding Capital and Hillhouse Capital.

Relying on its marketing and channel advantages, usmile achieved rapid expansion in a short period: from 2023 to 2024, its market share soared from 23% to 29%, surpassing Philips for the first time and taking the top spot in the industry.

Laifen is like a “catfish” that has entered the electric toothbrush market. Laifen started with high - speed hair dryers and didn't officially enter the electric toothbrush market until October 2023. Its products use the sweeping and vibrating integrated technology, which is somewhat different from the common “rotary” and “sonic vibration” modes.

According to official data, in the first month after the launch of Laifen's sweeping and vibrating electric toothbrush, the sales volume exceeded 135,000 units, and the sales revenue exceeded 40 million yuan.

After Laifen's products appeared, usmile quickly followed suit and soon launched its own sweeping and vibrating electric toothbrush.

Posters of both companies' sweeping and vibrating electric toothbrushes

In addition to the confrontation in technical routes, the two companies also have similar pricing strategies. According to the official flagship stores on e - commerce platforms, the price range of usmile's electric toothbrushes is 149 - 779 yuan, while that of Laifen's is 239 - 788 yuan. It can be said that Laifen and usmile are in close combat.

Laifen's journey in the electric toothbrush market has not been smooth sailing. Behind its rapid expansion, the company has also been deeply tested by both marketing and supply chain issues.

At the beginning, Laifen's heavily - invested marketing campaigns failed to accurately grasp the traffic trend, resulting in a lower - than - expected ROI, inventory backlog, and huge losses. At the same time, media reports said that although the company built its own factory to reduce costs, the insufficient scale actually pushed up the costs, and the net loss of the toothbrush line reached 80 million yuan in 2024.

However, with its business model of “low - profit hardware + low - price brush heads”, Laifen successfully broke the industry's inherent logic of relying on high - price brush heads for profit and achieved rapid expansion of its market share.

According to an institutional report, in 2024, the market share of Laifen's sweeping and vibrating electric toothbrushes reached 11%, and it is expected to rise to 15% in 2026. Channel data shows that in the first half of 2025, Laifen's sales volume topped the charts on major e - commerce platforms such as JD.com, Tmall, and Douyin.

Meanwhile, usmile's leading edge is gradually narrowing. Although it still displays the promotional slogan “No. 1 in toothbrush sales across China's online platforms” on its e - commerce platforms, careful observers will notice that the statistical period for this achievement is still fixed from January to June 2023.

The Industry Cools Down. Where to Find Growth?

This incident that led to a 250,000 - yuan fine reflects the collective anxiety of domestic electric toothbrush brands during the industry's transformation period.

According to the online aggregated data from AVC in 2024, the retail sales of electric toothbrushes through online channels were 5.19 billion yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 6.9%. The industry as a whole has entered an adjustment period.

However, in sharp contrast to the market decline, the number of new entrants continues to increase. Currently, the market is crowded with professional oral cleaning equipment manufacturers, personal care product manufacturers, Internet platforms, smart home appliance brands, and even traditional toothpaste companies. Players with diverse backgrounds are competing on the same stage.

On a broader level, the problems exposed by usmile this time are also the dilemmas of the entire industry. There are more and more players, but their methods are becoming more and more similar: the industry seems to have fallen into a vicious cycle of “emphasizing marketing and neglecting technology”.

From collaborating with brand ambassadors to occupy social media, to co - branding with IPs, and frequently appearing in the live rooms of online influencers, marketing methods are emerging in an endless stream. Major brands are constantly exploring marketing channels that are more in line with the media - using habits of the younger generation. Price wars are breaking out one after another.

Currently, the technical routes of mainstream manufacturers in motor technology layout are still very similar. “Rotary” and “sonic vibration” account for most of the market. Rotary electric toothbrushes have strong cleaning power but are easy to damage teeth, while sonic ones are relatively gentle but have limited cleaning effects.

Laifen's sweeping and vibrating integrated servo motor solution has brought new ideas to the industry, attracting companies such as usmile, Xiaomi, and Huawei to follow suit. At the same time, intelligent functions such as pressure sensing and intelligent recognition technologies have also begun to emerge. However, in terms of technology, “the electric toothbrush industry has not yet seen a real Dyson,” an industry insider commented. After all, electric toothbrushes are still a mature consumer product with a low technical threshold.

This penalty incident should be a turning point worthy of in - depth reflection for the industry. After years of development in the Chinese electric toothbrush market, the industry's dividends are gradually fading, and the market is shifting from an incremental to a stock market. Against this background, marketing bombardment or low - price strategies are no longer able to truly impress increasingly rational consumers. However, electric toothbrush companies have no other options with higher returns than marketing.

This is an era of over - capacity in personal care products. usmile hopes to focus on the oral care field but has to face increasingly fierce attacks. Laifen chooses to take the initiative but must face the risk of losses. This is not just the dilemma of Laifen or usmile, but the confusion of the entire industry.