Cathay Consumer Co-Creation Fund, a Chinese investment vehicle co-established by L’Oréal, Kerying, Cathay Capital and Pernod Ricard, has made its first color cosmetics investment with First Cover, a brand focused on foundation products.

Billed as the maker of China‘s first functional foundation brand, the Shanghai-based company was founded by Wang Yuying in late 2024.

Known for its “shapewear” foundation — adopting the idea of the body-sculpting garment for the face — the brand’s bestseller is the 199 renminbi, or $27.21, Cozy Lifting Foundation that comes in two shades.

By working with Vitalab, the Italian active ingredients supplier, the foundation incorporates plant-based extracts typically found in skin care, such as acemella oleracea and avena sativa.

According to Qingyan Intelligence’s data, the product has sold more than 100,000 bottles after its initial launch four months ago.

A serial beauty entrepreneur, Wang spent time at L’Oréal, Estée Lauder and the Guangzhou-based beauty group Marubi before launching First Cover.

L’Oréal said the company remains a limited partner of Cathay Co-Creation Fund and declined to comment, according to a local spokesperson.

According to Qichacha, a Chinese company information provider, Cathay Consumer Co-Creation Fund now holds 10.8 percent stake in Wujiexing, First Cover’s parent company.

In January, MPCi, the China unit of the American venture capital firm Matrix Partners, revealed that it had completed a 100 million renminbi, or $13.7 million, round of angel investment in First Cover last September, becoming its earliest institutional backer.

“China’s homegrown public beauty companies are beginning to enter the stage of building a multibrand group. The overall competitive landscape is still in its early stages, leaving room for innovative companies,” Frankie Li, MPCi’s investment vice president, said in a company WeChat post.

“Foundation and base makeup products, as well as skin care products, represent an area of growth and an ideal sector to gain consumer loyalty. Compared to color cosmetics, fragrance and personal care, the base makeup category enjoys higher repurchase rates, is less swayed by trends and can produce greater brand value,” Li added.

Launched in 2021, the Cathy Consumer Co-Creation Fund focuses on incubating early-stage Chinese companies with high-growth potential in the consumer goods and retail sectors.

The joint fund has also invested in the Chinese niche fragrance brand Documents and the Chinese aromatherapy skin care brand AromeManpo.