The popularity of semaglutide is igniting a surge of mass-market enthusiasm for fat reduction, but localized targeted fat reduction is still a major pain point for beauty-seeking consumers. In 2025, the NMPA approved the first domestically developed fat-dissolving injection — the “Rongzhi” injectable solution — opening a new chapter in “targeted fat reduction.” This article will explore the complex game among technological direction, market positioning, physician education, consumer psychology, and industry ecosystem in the field of fat-dissolving injections.
Product mechanism: precise “sniping” of fat cells
Imagine this: without going into an operating room, you just get a few injections and say goodbye to a double chin — it sounds like magic, but in reality fat-dissolving injections are a highly precise symphony of technology and commerce.
The core active ingredient of fat-dissolving injections — deoxycholic acid — can be described as a “professional sniper” of fat cells. Its mode of action is both direct and lethal: it damages the cell membranes of fat cells, induces apoptosis, and then allows the body’s metabolic system to naturally clear them, achieving localized fat reduction. At present, the only compliant product in the domestic market is Minova Pharma’s fat-dissolving injection, whose primary indicated use is “submental fat,” i.e. double chin.
This seemingly simple process, however, comes with a significant “side effect.” More than 95% of users will experience inflammatory reactions such as redness, swelling, heat, and pain, which last 3–7 days. In the words of an industry insider, “If you want to look good, you have to suffer a little first.” Although serious complications are rare, if the injection depth and layer are incorrect, there is still a risk of skin necrosis and nerve injury.
Physician technique becomes the key variable for both safety and treatment effect. It is understood that a physician must complete 10–15 procedures without resulting in after-sales issues before being considered to have initially mastered the technique. This also means that the promotion of fat-dissolving injections is highly dependent on doctors’ professional training and accumulated experience. After all, doing injections in the face is not a game.
Market positioning: high-net-worth clients first, mid- to low-end potential yet to be unlocked
The Chinese medical aesthetics market has a classic “pyramid structure,” in which new products and new technologies typically follow a go-to-market path of launching first in the high-end segment, with the mid- and lower-end segments following afterward.
Industry experts believe that as more new products enter and differentiation gradually emerges, each sub-market may present the following characteristics:
• High-end market: pricing around 10,000 yuan (approximately USD 1,408) per session; a single treatment course is 4–6 sessions, bringing the per-customer ticket size to 40,000–60,000 yuan (approximately USD 5,632–8,448). This segment targets high-net-worth clients who are not sensitive to price, pay more attention to effect and safety, and whose core demand is anti-aging. After the market structure stabilizes, this segment should still be able to contribute 30% of the market.
• Mid-end market: in the future, the price range is expected to be 3,000–5,000 yuan (approximately USD 422–704), focusing on differentiated efficacy and cost-performance.
• Low-end market: consumers who pursue “fast, direct, convenient” are willing to sacrifice part of the safety margin for cost-performance, and accept shorter maintenance durations and higher injection frequency.
It is worth noting that the current market is still dominated by high-end clients. On the one hand, compliant products are scarce; on the other hand, high-ticket projects generate higher margins for medical aesthetics institutions and are therefore more favored by clinics. As one practitioner put it: “In the early stage, this is not a mass business — it’s a boutique-store model.”
Technology path: a hundred flowers blooming in targeted fat reduction
In 2015, the U.S. FDA approved the first fat-dissolving drug, Kybella, for improving submental fat. At present, Minova Pharma’s “Rongzhi” injectable solution and Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s (South Korea) V-OLET fat-dissolving injection both use deoxycholic acid as their main component. Their characteristics are: rapid effect and obvious action, but with relatively strong adverse reactions, with pain and swelling as prominent issues. The product under development by China’s Cutia Therapeutics takes a different approach, using recombinant mutant collagenase, which is milder in action and has fewer side effects, but takes longer to show results.
In the area of localized fat reduction, fat-dissolving injections will also face competition from energy-based (light/electrical) devices and liposuction surgery. From a safety perspective, the general ranking is: energy-based devices > liposuction surgery > injectable treatments. In order to seize market share from the traditional territory of energy-based devices and liposuction, fat-dissolving injection manufacturers will need to continuously refine both their products and go-to-market strategies in terms of efficacy, safety, durability of results, and cost-performance.
Market size: 10 billion yuan-level potential, but a long road ahead
According to estimates from industry experts, the development path of the fat-dissolving injection market is roughly as follows:
• Short term (2–5 years): market size is expected to reach 1 billion yuan (approximately USD 140.8 million), mainly driven by the high-end market.
• Mid-to-long term (2030–2035): as mid- and low-end products come to market, the market size is expected to reach 3–4 billion yuan (approximately USD 422.4–563.2 million).
• Long term: if indications expand to multiple body areas (such as thighs, abdomen), market potential may exceed 10 billion yuan (approximately USD 1.408 billion).
However, this growth path still faces three major challenges:
• High difficulty in physician training: nationwide, only 500–1,000 physicians are able to skillfully perform medical aesthetics injection techniques. Within this physician group, even under an optimistic scenario, it would take about 2 years to achieve technical adoption by 20%.
• Poor consumer experience: pain and swelling negatively affect willingness to repeat treatments — “not everyone can grit their teeth and stick with it.”
• Impact of economic cycles: growth in the mid- to low-end market is constrained, while the high-end market is comparatively more resilient.
Competitive landscape: channel capability is extremely critical
In the next 5 years, 3–4 products are expected to enter the market, which will still not be enough to achieve full product differentiation. Against this backdrop, a company’s core competitiveness will be reflected in:
• Channel capability: manufacturers that maintain close partnerships with large chain medical aesthetics institutions can lower customer acquisition costs;
• Physician relationships: high-end consumers place a high degree of trust in physician recommendations, and physicians become the key to brand loyalty;
• Product portfolio: companies with richer product lines can use combined treatment plans (such as energy-based skin tightening + fat-dissolving injections) to increase per-customer ticket size and customer stickiness.
As the old Chinese proverb says, “The first person to eat the crab is not necessarily the final winner.” First movers must bear the cost of market education, while latecomers may overtake them by relying on more mature channels and better treatment experience. Significant product-differentiation competition is expected to emerge only after 2030.
Future outlook: indication expansion and overseas opportunities
Indication expansion: at present, fat-dissolving injections are mainly applied to the double chin, but there is huge expansion potential in facial areas (such as the apple zone of the cheek, nasolabial folds) and body areas (such as thighs, abdomen). Especially for body areas, the per-customer ticket size is higher and the market potential is even more imaginative. As one industry insider joked, “The double chin is just the entry point — the real battlefield is the entire body.”
Overseas path: Chinese medical aesthetics companies’ overseas expansion remains primarily focused on Southeast Asia. The approval threshold in Europe and the United States is high, and brand education is difficult. And because fat-dissolving injections are classified as drugs, the difficulty of going abroad is higher than for device-type products. At present, there is no mature overseas self-operated system. This is like a “Journey to the West” for Chinese medical aesthetics brands — the road is full of challenges.
Conclusion
Under the dual waves of the beauty economy and targeted fat reduction, whether fat-dissolving injections can move from “niche high-end” to “mass adoption” depends not only on technological iteration and price reduction, but also on whether the entire industry can find a balance among safety, standardization, and user experience. Although a 10-billion-yuan (approximately USD 1.408 billion) market is not a dream, the road ahead is still very long.
[Disclaimer]: The above content reflects analysis of publicly available information, expert insights, and BCC research. It does not constitute investment advice. BCC is not responsible for any losses resulting from reliance on the views expressed herein. Investors should exercise caution.