Tomson Biotech's "Growth Anxiety": Core Brand "Slowing Down," Revenue Shrank by Over 3 Billion in Two Years

In the fiercely competitive VDS market, companies that have lost channel benefits and are stingy with R&D investment find it difficult to truly navigate through cycles, relying solely on cost-cutting and financial returns.

On March 20, 2026, Tongchen Beijian (300146.SZ) released its annual report for 2025. On the surface, this is a “mixed bag” report: while revenue fell by 8.38% year-on-year to 6.265 billion yuan, net profit attributable to shareholders grew by 19.81% to 782 million yuan.

However, “The Glasses Finance” has noticed that beneath the “profit recovery” filter, a closer reading of the annual report reveals that this company, which firmly holds the top position in the domestic dietary supplement (VDS) market, is facing severe growth challenges: revenue has declined sharply for two consecutive years, core brands are shrinking across the board, and R&D investment has been “cut in half”—these hidden undercurrents behind the financial data reveal that after missing the opportunity at the start of the “new cycle,” Tongchen Beijian still has not found a true breakthrough path.

Revenue slowdown and “paper profits”

Performance supported by “thrift” and financial management

In 2025, Tongchen Beijian’s revenue performance is not optimistic. With total revenue of 6.265 billion yuan, it not only failed to recover the lost ground of over 10 billion but also fell again by 8.38% on top of a 27.3% decline in 2024. This means that compared to the peak in 2023 (9.407 billion yuan), Tongchen Beijian’s revenue has shrunk by more than 3 billion yuan in two years, with a decline exceeding one-third.

Even more concerning is the structural change in revenue. The domestic business, which is the foundation, has encountered setbacks, with annual revenue of only 5.010 billion yuan, a year-on-year drop of 12.09%. The once-solid offline channels (mainly pharmacies) are in a “severely injured zone,” with revenue plummeting by 19.34% year-on-year to 2.521 billion yuan.

Although Chairman Liang Yunchao admitted in his letter to shareholders that they “missed the new cycle’s start,” attributing it to “internal factors as the main cause,” the double-digit decline in offline sales in 2025 indicates that this giant, which started with pharmacy channels, is seeing its moat rapidly eroded.

Looking at the profit side, while net profit attributable to shareholders achieved a growth of 19.81%, many investors questioned it as “paper wealth.” The profit increase mainly did not rely on sales expansion but was achieved through “savings.” During the reporting period, the company’s total expenses decreased by 429 million yuan, with selling expenses cut by 349 million yuan, a decrease of 11.53%.

This “cost reduction and efficiency improvement,” while temporarily beautifying the financial statements, appears more like a passive contraction rather than a healthy improvement in profit models against the backdrop of declining revenue.

More notably, the contribution of non-recurring gains and losses to profits has significantly increased. During the reporting period, investment income and fair value changes contributed approximately 96 million yuan. Excluding this portion of non-core business “extra income,” the growth rate of net profit after deducting non-recurring items is only 9.49%, far lower than the net profit growth rate of 19.81%. When a consumer goods company begins to rely on financial management income to fill the profit statement, its main business’s ability to generate profits has clearly declined.

Core brands collectively sluggish

LSG domestic collapse, flagship product “Jianliduo” weak

If the revenue decline is the surface issue, then the collective sluggishness of core brands is the deeper root cause of Tongchen Beijian’s troubles. The annual report shows that the company’s major brands experienced nearly a “total defeat” in 2025.

“The Glasses Finance” has found that the first to be affected is the main brand “Tongchen Beijian,” with revenue of 3.349 billion yuan, down 10.38% year-on-year. As the company’s cornerstone, the slowdown of the main brand directly shakes market confidence in the company’s fundamentals.

The once-promising flagship product “Jianliduo” has still not managed to stop the decline, achieving revenue of 727 million yuan, down 10.00% year-on-year. As early as 2024, Jianliduo dragged down overall performance due to its product iteration and upgrade lagging behind plans. A year later, this former “star product” not only failed to restore growth but continued its downward trend, showing that its competitiveness in the bone and joint niche market is being rapidly eroded by competitors.

What is most concerning is the company’s layout in the probiotic sector. Life-Space (Yibeishi) domestic products achieved revenue of only 214 million yuan, plummeting by 32.01% year-on-year. It is worth noting that probiotics were once a high-growth track that Tongchen Beijian entered through the acquisition of LSG, and an important weapon in its online channels to compete with international giants. Now, the significant decline of one-third in domestic business suggests that under fierce online price wars and assaults from emerging brands, LSG’s “foreign brand” halo is rapidly fading.

The only bright spot comes from the overseas LSG business, with revenue rising by 16.43% year-on-year (17.73% growth in Australian dollar terms). But this precisely highlights the awkwardness of the domestic market—while overseas business is racing ahead, Tongchen Beijian is mired in a growth quagmire in its home market of China. The stark contrast between domestic and overseas business reveals the company’s lag in channel strategy and product iteration in the Chinese market.

“Dancing on the edge of a knife”

Decline in R&D expenses, what will drive future growth?

In Tongchen Beijian’s 2025 financial report, one exceedingly glaring data point is the change in R&D expenses. During the reporting period, the company’s R&D expenses were only 89 million yuan, a sharp decline of 40.15% year-on-year. Meanwhile, the number of R&D personnel also decreased from 206 the previous year to 186, a reduction of 20 people.

In response, the company explained that outsourced R&D did not meet expectations and received refunds, and that it is focusing on core projects. However, within A-share consumer goods listed companies, R&D investment is typically viewed as a barometer of a company’s future competitiveness. Against the backdrop of declining revenue and sales expenses still high at 2.682 billion yuan, the halving of R&D expenses appears particularly abrupt. This means the company, in order to maintain short-term profit statements, has to cut into “the future.”

Although the company emphasized in the annual report that 2025 would be a “big year for new products,” launching OTC glucosamine sulfate, special medical foods, etc., and mentioned that the sales proportion of new products is approaching 20%.

But it is worth pondering whether this innovation achievement is sustainable?

“The Glasses Finance” has learned that the VDS industry is facing profound changes in the “new cycle,” with consumers increasingly demanding product functionality and ingredient composition. As international giants (such as GNC, Swisse) and domestic emerging brands (like WonderLab) compete for mindshare through patented strains and high-content ingredients, Tongchen Beijian’s choice to drastically cut R&D spending is undoubtedly a high-risk “gamble.”

Chairman Liang Yunchao boldly states in his letter to shareholders that “sacrificing short-term profits is necessary to ensure brand investment.” But from the financial data perspective, the outcome is precisely the opposite—profits are preserved (through financial management and cost reduction), but the R&D investment that truly concerns the future has been sacrificed. If even product innovation, the most fundamental driving force, must rely on budget cuts to maintain, then the so-called “strong brand, strong technology” transformation strategy is likely to fall victim to the suspicion of being a “castle in the air.”

Tongchen Beijian’s 2025 annual report, beneath the impressive net profit growth figures, hides the growth anxiety of a long-established consumer powerhouse. Revenue shrinkage, core brand decline, and a cliff-like drop in R&D present three major concerns like a Damocles sword hanging overhead.

Although management has called out the slogan of “restarting entrepreneurship in 2026” in the annual report and set a goal of “creating a new revenue high within three years,” in the fiercely competitive VDS market, companies that have lost channel benefits and are stingy with R&D investment find it difficult to truly navigate through cycles, relying solely on cost-cutting and financial returns. For Tongchen Beijian, how to shift from “thrift” to true “increased revenue,” and how to ensure that R&D investment no longer becomes a sacrifice on the financial statement, is the path it must take to emerge from the trough.