Australian skincare brand Aesop has recently filed lawsuits against 7 mainland and Hong Kong companies for unfair competition, involving trademark ownership, brand operation, production, and e-commerce sales. Aesop has essentially brought the entire industry chain to court this time.
According to a report by “Observatory Net” on October 20th, court information published on the Shanghai court website shows that Aesop’s Australian operating entity EMEIS COSMETICS PTY. LTD filed a lawsuit on October 15th for unfair competition against 7 companies including Shanghai Qichen and Shanghai Pinfan.
According to business registration information on Tianyancha, the 7 defendants are Lai Group (Hong Kong) Limited, Shanghai Suowang Cosmetics Co., Ltd., Shanghai Pinfan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Qichen Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Inpay Cosmetics Co., Ltd., Taizhou Jingba Health Technology Co., Ltd., and Beijing Jiayuan Shicheng E-commerce Co., Ltd.
These companies are all related to domestic shampoo and skincare brand AMAXY, with some responsible for brand operation, some holding trademarks, some in charge of production, and others involved in sales. For example, Shanghai Pinfan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. was established in December 2019 and is the operating entity for AMAXY’s Tmall flagship store.
“Interface News” revealed that Aesop believes these companies are suspected of plagiarizing and imitating Aesop’s iconic product packaging.
Aesop’s product packaging design mainly features amber-colored opaque glass bottles, black press pump heads paired with simple rectangular labels. This distinctive packaging style has established a stable brand image. From the product images of AMAXY on e-commerce platforms in mainland China, it can be seen that their various shampoo and skincare products use amber-colored transparent straight cylindrical bottles, paired with black press pump heads, fronted with rectangular white labels with vertical text, leaning towards a minimalist style overall.
“Interface News” believes that the overall appearance of AMAXY products can easily lead ordinary consumers to confusion and misidentification. However, whether the packaging constitutes unfair competition in terms of imitation remains to be determined by the court based on evidence.
Despite the similarities in appearance, there is a significant price difference between the two brands. “Observatory Net” revealed that the flagship products of AMAXY, such as shower gel and body lotion, are priced at over 100 yuan each. Its representative product, hand cream, is priced at 89 yuan/75ml, placing it in the mid to high range among similar domestic brands. However, compared to Aesop’s hand cream priced at 280 yuan each, AMAXY’s price is less than one-third of it.
“Observatory Net” suggests that for a mature cosmetics supply chain, producing products with a similar appearance is not difficult. What truly requires long-term investment is creating a connection between a certain visual combination and a specific brand in the minds of consumers.
This is not the first time Aesop has taken legal action in China. In 2023, Aesop sued Chinese shampoo and skincare brand ANRUZ and related enterprises, alleging that their products used similar packaging.
In the first trial, the court believed that elements such as brown bottle bodies and black bottle caps were common, and the brown bottle and black and white labels were “too simple” to be supported, thus rejecting Aesop’s lawsuit. However, in the second trial (Shenzhen Intermediate Court) and final trial (Guangdong Higher Court), both ruled in favor of Aesop, determining that Aesop’s use of brown bottle bodies, black bottle caps, and black and white alternating text labels had formed a product packaging decoration with a certain influence, concluding that ANRUZ constituted unfair competition, and ordered them to compensate Aesop approximately 600,000 Chinese yuan.
Public records show that the high-end skincare brand Aesop was founded in Melbourne, Australia in 1987. The plaintiff in this legal action, EMEIS COSMETICS PTY. LTD., is the Australian entity to which the brand belongs. Their products cover categories such as hand care, body care, and scalp care, featuring botanical formulas and emphasizing the sensory experience of the products. In 2023, Aesop was acquired by L’Oreal Group.
According to court information published on the Shanghai court website, the trial for this case is scheduled for November 12th, 2026.