Noolab, an Indonesian skincare brand, closed after its trademark name was rejected twice

Noolab was an Indonesian skincare brand that first sold under the name Noola. Indonesia's intellectual property office, HKI, rejected the Noola name, and the brand relaunched as Noolab, building its Instagram following and product line around the new identity. The second name was rejected too.

On May 15, 2024, Noolab announced on Instagram that it was ending production. The brand said it was not closing because of losses but because HKI had rejected its brand name for the second time — a rejection that meant the name it had advertised and sold under could not be registered. Rather than rebrand again and start over, the company chose to shut down.

Noolab sold its remaining stock with discounts of up to 60 percent and stopped production on June 5, 2024. It was one of several Indonesian local beauty brands — SYCA, Runa Beauty, Beet Beauty, Aeluna Beauty — that closed in 2024. For a startup whose identity lives in its name, a trademark rejection is not an administrative setback: it can be the end of the business.