Recent data from market research firm Mintel, provided to CosmeticsDesign US, highlights the heightened standards U.S. beauty consumers place on brand behavior and values. According to the research, 60% of U.S. adults say they would stop using a favorite brand if it did something offensive.
Additionally, 50% of beauty product users have shopped brands that promote diversity and/or inclusivity, and 19% of beauty product users have paid more for a product from an inclusive brand.
This shifting consumer mindset frames the context for the closure of Gen Z-focused cosmetics brand Youthforia, which officially announced its public shutdown via an Instagram post on August 4 following a high-profile controversy in 2024.
Closure confirmed by founder Fiona Co Chan
Youthforia founder Fiona Co Chan confirmed the brand’s closure in a statement to CDU. “My decision to close Youthforia was a tough one — and heartbreaking one,” she said. “No one prepares you for how much grief you feel when you decide to close down a brand.”
Chan acknowledged the challenges involved at each stage of entrepreneurship: “Starting small businesses, running small businesses, and then deciding to close a small business… all of these different stages are tough, all in different ways.”
Despite this, she shared gratitude for the experience, adding, “I’m really grateful for the last four years — as hard as it was, it was a great journey and I have so many memorable experiences. I’m very appreciative of the last couple of years.”
Positioning for Gen Z: Innovation, values, and visibility
Youthforia resonated with its target audience, Gen Z consumers, through its hybrid product formulations, direct-to-consumer model, and strong presence on TikTok. According to Chan in a 2023 interview with CDU, “We’re really innovative in our products... We either like to create new form factors or try to solve problems in a really unique way with skincare actives at the functional level.”
The brand received seed funding from True Beauty Ventures, Willow Growth Partners, and Mark Cuban following a successful appearance on Shark Tank.
At the time of the interview, Chan confirmed that she continued to operate the brand’s TikTok account herself and emphasized the importance of authenticity in brand communications: “I still run our TikTok... I think it’s a platform that really embraces this authenticity and that’s something that’s really cool and unique for this generation.”
In a separate 2023 interview with CDU as part of a series on Gen Z beauty and DEI, Chan further emphasized Youthforia’s inclusivity efforts, noting the development of the world’s first color-changing blush oil, designed to be flattering across all skin tones: “I personally wanted to create a blush that would be universally flattering and suit all skin tones across the board.”
Foundation launch sparked backlash over inclusivity failures
Despite early traction, Youthforia came under fire in May 2024 after launching shade 600, its darkest foundation tone, as part of an expansion of its Date Night Skin Tint Serum Foundation range.
Initially intended to respond to feedback about the lack of deeper shades, shade 600 was widely criticized for being unwearable.
In a viral reaction video covering the launch, beauty creator Golloria George posted a TikTok featuring a side-by-side comparison of the foundation to black face paint.
Describing the product as “tar in a bottle,” she went on to state that “when we ask you guys to make shades for us, we don’t mean to go to the lab and ask for minstrel show black.”
At the time of its launch, Youthforia had only six shades suited for medium-deep to deep skin tones, far fewer than inclusive competitors like Fenty Beauty, which launched with 40 foundation shades, or R.E.M. Beauty, which launched with 60 shades in its Sweetener Foundation collection.
Too little, too late
Four months after the foundation launch and the resulting backlash, Chan issued a public apology via Instagram. She admitted to product development missteps, characterizing the release of shade 600 as a “huge mistake” and that Youthforia had “rushed” the product R&D process.
The delay in response drew additional criticism from consumers and creators alike, many of whom noted the importance of timely accountability in a space where representation and responsiveness are increasingly non-negotiable.
In a TikTok posted earlier this week, content creator and cosmetic chemist Javon Ford urged beauty brands to “let Youthforia’s closing serve as a cautionary tale to actually know what you’re doing before launching a product.”
Ford, one of the many outspoken influencers to address the initial controversy last year, was previously quoted in a TIME magazine article explaining that Youthforia’s shade 600 “only has pure black pigment...this problem is so avoidable, [and] this brand does not care about us.”