In this edition of the Glossy+ Research Briefing, we take a look at the power influencers have to build up and break down a brand, especially those that miss the mark on social issues like diversity and inclusion.
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TikTok influencers contribute to the rise and fall of Youthforia
When “TikTok-famous beauty brand” Youthforia launched three years ago, the brand was a trendy favorite among influencers for its color-changing oil blush and promise to create “makeup you can sleep in.” In a March 2023 episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” Youthforia founder Fiona Co Chan revealed the brand made $2 million in sales in its first 16 months of operation. After negotiating with the show’s five investors, Chan landed a $400,000 deal with Mark Cuban. Since then, the brand continued to find viral success with products, such as magnetic lip glosses that fit together like Legos, in trendy packaging perfect for social media content.
However, in the company’s short lifespan, Youthforia has faced two major social media controversies surrounding the limited color shades developed for its date night foundation range. In October 2023, many influencers called out the company on TikTok for not including any shades for darker skin tones after seeing the product range available in the initial launch. In a since-deleted TikTok, Chan responded to the backlash by explaining that the launch was intended to serve as a test and proof of concept for the brand so it only released limited shades, but it would quickly work to release an extended range of shades. Many TikTokers didn’t appreciate this response as it seemed to indicate the brand prioritized developing its lighter shades, making the creation of darker shades an afterthought.
By March 2024, Youthforia launched 10 more shades. The brand began teasing the new shades on TikTok and heavily promoting shade 600, which it claimed to be the darkest foundation shade available in the market. However, Youthforia also admitted it was having trouble finding a model with a matching skin tone.
Once the product was released and influencers began to test shade 600 in their videos, several pointed out that the shade was purely black pigment. In a video that garnered 11.6 million views in less than 24 hours, TikToker Golloria George (@golloria on TikTok, 1.6 million followers) posted a side-by-side comparison of the foundation with black face paint, which sparked outrage among the beauty community due to the lack of difference in the colors and undertones. Youthforia has yet to respond to the controversy.
After two weeks of radio silence from the brand, including on its social media pages, could this current scandal cut the brand’s life short?
Following the comparison of shade 600 to black face paint, online retailers Credo Beauty, Thirteen Lune and Revolve have all dropped Youthforia from their sites, and traffic Youthforia’s own site has dropped in April following the launch of the extended shade range in March (which is not the norm after a major product launch for beauty companies).
Although the company has yet to make a public statement, TikToker Wumi Afuye (@wumi.afuye on TikTok, 6,787 followers) posted a video revealing that a company representative had messaged a group of Youthforia TikTok ambassadors to address the concerns regarding the shade. “We created shade 600 as part of our ten-shade expansion this past March. We heard everyone loud and clear last October that our shades were not dark enough or inclusive enough.” According to the message, Chan “worked super hard, calling in favors with all of her manufacturers to get this created in four months instead of the regular 18 months.” In the statement, the brand insisted that it worked with makeup artists and tested against human skin tones, and it urged the brand’s ambassadors to “comment on any TikTok post with a [heart emoji] or any positivity.”
But many influencers are hesitant to put themselves in between a brand and its audience, especially when dealing with a political or social issue. In Glossy+ Research’s recent webinar with Dr. Muneeb Shah (@doctorly on TikTok, 18.1 million followers), we asked Dr. Shah what he would do if one of his brand partners faced a major online controversy. In his experience, controversies are hard to hide from. “You’re the face of it,” Shah said. “So, you often get any flack that the brand gets, whether it’s political or whether it’s a product review issue.”
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