The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2025
Zhuben's livestream promised hair growth and period fixes — regulators checked the filings
Founder Liu Qianfei pitched aromatherapy oils as cures for hair loss and irregular periods on a livestream while filings did not match the products.
Zhuben · Hangzhou Shucai Network Technology · 2025
What happened
Zhuben (逐本), founded in 2016 as a 'Eastern skin-caring cleansing oil' brand, rode livestreaming to scale: 34 streamed collaborations with Li Jiaqi, a record 50,000 bottles of cleansing oil sold in one minute, and 3.4 billion yuan in network sales with nearly 3.5 million cleansing oils sold for 2022's Singles Day — often the top-selling cleansing brand on Tmall.
On 23 June 2025 a consumer in Guangxi complained to the National Medical Products Administration. The Mohong (墨红) line claimed Yunnan 'Mohong rose' oil but filed only 'Rosa rugosa flower oil' — Mohong rose is in fact a cultivar of Rosa chinensis; several products appeared to use raw materials absent from the catalogue of permitted cosmetic ingredients (Orchid Gymnadenia, jasmine callus) while reusing old filing numbers; and essential oils with no cosmetic-grade filing were marketed for skincare effects.
On 25 June founder Liu Qianfei streamed on Xiaohongshu to promote the Zhuben aromatherapy single-oil line, claiming the oils could grow hair, regulate irregular menstruation, clear phlegm, stop coughs and fight viruses — medical effects for ordinary cosmetics. By 26 June the affected products were delisted and her posts deleted; on 27 June the parent company Hangzhou Shucai apologized and promised a full self-review, denying any quality or safety problem.
The Zhejiang Provincial Drug Administration referred the case to Hangzhou market supervision for verification. No fine had been imposed at reporting time, but the delisting, the deleted posts and the public apology landed on a DTC brand whose entire value rested on consumer trust in a livestream persona.
Why it happened
- The founder treated the livestream as her own shop floor, pitching ordinary essential oils as cures for hair loss, irregular periods, coughs and viruses on camera — words that were recorded and kept.
- Marketing claims ('Mohong rose') did not match the ingredient filing ('Rosa rugosa'), and several products appeared to use ingredients outside the permitted catalogue while reusing old filing numbers.
- Essential oils without cosmetic-grade filing were promoted for skincare effects, exceeding their registered use.
- A brand grown fast through livestream trust relaxed the discipline that every claim must match the filing.
The lesson
Livestream trust dies on a founder's unscripted health claims. Before the camera, every efficacy word must match the filing — a recorded claim is evidence.
Aftermath
By late June 2025 the affected products were delisted and the Zhejiang regulator had referred the case to Hangzhou market supervision for verification. No fine had been announced at report time; the brand apologized, launched a full self-review of ingredients and claims, and promised to publish test reports and efficacy evidence.
Sources
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