The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2022–2024
Aeluna Beauty, an influencer-founded Indonesian makeup brand, closed in December 2024
A lip-oil brand founded by two influencers shut down after its investor backing dried up in Indonesia's 'Local Brand Winter'.
Aeluna Beauty · 2024-12
What happened
Aeluna Beauty was an Indonesian skincare-infused makeup brand founded by influencers Almiranti Fira and Nadya Aqilla. The brand specialised in lip oil products that combined makeup with skincare benefits. Launched in the early 2020s, Aeluna Beauty rode the wave of Indonesia's social-commerce beauty boom, selling primarily through platforms like Shopee, Tokopedia, and Instagram.
In early December 2024, Aeluna Beauty announced its permanent closure. The brand was one of at least six Indonesian local beauty brands that shut down that year, in what industry observers called a 'Local Brand Winter'. The primary causes were intense competition from Chinese beauty brands with larger marketing budgets, rising digital advertising costs on e-commerce platforms, and a tightening of investor funding as the market became increasingly crowded.
As an influencer-founded brand, Aeluna Beauty had early access to social-media distribution and a ready audience. But influencer buzz proved insufficient to build the repeat-purchase dynamics needed to survive when better-funded competitors flooded the market with similar products at lower prices. Within roughly two years of launch, the brand was forced to close.
Why it happened
- Aeluna Beauty competed in Indonesia's crowded beauty market where Chinese brands spent 30-40% of revenue on marketing, far outpacing local brands
- As an influencer-founded brand, Aeluna had early social-media traction but could not convert that buzz into the repeat purchase and brand loyalty needed to survive
- The brand's focus on a single category (lip oil with skincare benefits) gave it limited room to pivot when competition intensified and prices fell
- Investor funding for Indonesian beauty startups dried up during the 'Local Brand Winter' of 2024, and brands without sustainable unit economics were the first to lose backing
The lesson
Influencer buzz is not a business model. When well-funded competitors saturated the category, the brand had neither margins nor differentiation to survive.
Sources
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