As Douyin propels beauty sales, counterfeiters cash in

What happened A new wave of counterfeit beauty products is flooding Douyin, China’s leading short-video platform, dealing a blow to emerging domestic brands that build their reputations and revenues on viral content. Factories based in places like Shantou, Guangdong province, are fast-tracking knockoffs of Douyin-born cosmetics blockbusters by replicating product designs and plagiarizing marketing videos from top-selling beauty brands. These counterfeiters then sell the fakes cheaply via thousands of obscure Douyin storefronts and accounts, siphoning traffic, revenue, and trust away from legitimate players. Sanzitang’s warning: When success breeds imitation One notable example is Sanzitang, a Douyin top-10 makeup brand, which recently issued a public warning about unauthorized and inferior copies being widely distributed. This case echoes earlier woes faced by brands like Perfect Diary and Florasis on Taobao, suggesting that counterfeit production is now shadowing the trajectory of China’s digital-native beauty successes across platforms. The replication process is alarmingly swift. Armed with third-party analytics, manufacturers can identify viral hits, design copycat molds, and complete product filing in less than two months, which is much faster than industry norms. Selling at rock-bottom prices (as low as 9.9 RMB ($1.38) for two eyeliner pens), these fakes still generate profit through agile supply chains and mass sales volumes. Video theft and sock puppets: Marketing manipulation at scale Worse still, these counterfeit operations flood Douyin with short videos reposted from original influencers, blending them with deceptive edits. A fake product video product video may be published across hundreds of sock puppet accounts, each linking to a different counterfeit store. For new or niche categories like eyeliners and blushes, where consumers are less brand-sensitive, the result is massive market distortion. Some fakes even outsell the originals two-to-one. The Jing Take Douyin is scrambling to clean up its act. But maybe it’s a case of too little, too late. As e-commerce becomes an indispensable part of daily life in China, the platform has allowed counterfeit goods to proliferate unchecked for far too long. From fake cosmetics and pirated books to knockoff electronics, dupe culture is thriving on Douyin, eroding consumer trust and putting brand integrity and user safety at risk. For instance, Helena Rubinstein and SK-II's cream dupes not only lack anti-aging benefits but often contain toxic substances like lead, mercury, arsenic, chromium, illegal preservatives, and harsh fragrances. These can cause burning sensations, breakouts, hyperpigmentation, and premature aging, potentially even triggering cancer. Douyin’s damage control: 1.8 million deletions and counting The numbers Douyin touts in its latest enforcement update are staggering and revealing. In H1 2024, the platform deleted 1.8 million fake product listings, closed more than 160,000 stores, and flagged over 96% of counterfeit links using technical tools. If anything, this underscores how deep the problem runs. For years, Douyin prioritized explosive growth over ecosystem health, giving counterfeiters free rein in the pursuit of GMV. While Douyin says it is enhancing its mechanisms to filter out malicious actors and better protect sellers, its historical inaction has already caused significant damage to reputations. Consumers are wary. Brands are watching. And regulators are beginning to bite. The platform has assisted in over 80 criminal investigations this year, resulting in the arrest of nearly 400 suspects and 5.94 billion RMB ($820 million) in seized assets — an encouraging step, but a drop in the ocean given Douyin’s market size. For a platform so deeply integrated into China’s consumer economy, sustained credibility hinges on going beyond damage control. As counterfeiters grow more sophisticated, Douyin’s ability to anticipate, adapt, and act decisively will determine whether trust can truly be restored. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

C-beauty fakes flood Douyin

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C-beauty fakes flood Douyin