Imagine this. A beauty brand built to celebrate melanin-rich skin, backed by millions, loved by the press, and praised by beauty lovers. You’d think it’s here to stay, right? So when Ami Colé, a rising name in clean beauty, announced it was shutting down, it caught everyone off guard. Ami Colé shutdown.
Why did Ami Colé shut down?
How does a brand that seems to do everything right suddenly hit pause?
Let’s break it down. In this article, we’ll explore what happened to Ami Colé, what made it special, how it got investor backing, why it stood out in a crowded beauty world, and what may have led to its unexpected Ami Colé closure.
1. What Was Ami Colé All About?
Ami Colé beauty brand debuted in 2021 with a mission that was straightforward but impactful, make Ami Colé clean beauty products for individuals with melanin-dense skin. Founder Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye named the brand after her Senegalese mom and crafted the brand around authentic narratives, heritage, and skin-caring formulas.
The brand did not merely sell. It told stories. It made individuals feel seen. It amplified the voice of an audience that mainstream beauty tended to overlook. It was a Black-owned clean beauty brand.
2. A Brand With Purpose
At its essence, Ami Colé beauty brand was never just about makeup. It was about identity.
For years, women and men with deeper skin tones had been fighting to find shades that fit, not to mention felt good on their skin. Ami Colé clean beauty products turned that script on its head.
From day one, the brand was concentrated on:
- Inclusive shades
- Minimal ingredients
- Real skin results
- Empowering messages
Its message was straightforward: You are not an afterthought. You are the main story.
- What Set Ami Colé Apart?
Three things set Ami Colé beauty brand apart in a saturated market:
- Pure Formulas:
Each product was created with sensitive skin in mind, not the harsh chemicals, not the multiple pages of confusing ingredients. - Actual Devotion to Darker Skin Tones:
Whereas so many brands started with lighter shades and then created the darker shades later, Ami Colé began with deeper tones and based the line on them. This made it a true inclusive beauty brand. - Cultural Relevance
From the name of the brand to the packaging to the names of the products, it all spoke to West African origins and Black world culture.
It wasn’t just advertising. It was personal, real, and invigorating.
4. Investors’ Role: $3 Million Raised
Ami Colé wasn’t a hobby venture. There was actual cash backing it.
In 2021, the brand received $1 million in pre-seed funding. In 2022, it received another $2 million in seed funding. Investors were big names such as Imaginary Ventures, Debut Capital, and Versed CEO Katherine Power.
This type of support provided the brand with a strong foundation. It assisted in growing product lines, hiring people, and taking the message to far and wide places. For a Black-owned beauty brand, this was a big deal.
So where did everything go awry? What happened to Ami Colé?
5. Clean Beauty Meets Culture: Why It Was Important
Okay, let’s take a pause and discuss why Ami Colé was important to begin with.
The clean beauty for dark skin market blew up over the last few years, but it tended to leave people of color in the dust. Ami Colé disrupted that. It introduced products that were effective, resonated with, and honored rich skin tones, no compromise.
Folks didn’t just purchase the lip oil or skin color. They purchased a movement. Reviews came pouring in. Magazine spreads came out. It felt like something magical was going on.
And that is what makes its Ami Colé shutdown so shocking.
6. Signs of Trouble (That No One Saw Coming)
On the surface, Ami Colé appeared to be doing well. Good reviews, positive press, and a devoted following. But starting a beauty company isn’t as easy as it seems.
These are a few subtle indicators that things may have been challenging:
- Slow expansion of product range
- Gradual roll-out into bricks and mortar stores
- Low visibility once the initial hype had died down
- Increasing marketing expense with diminishing return.
None of those indications screamed failure, but they suggested growth wasn’t as rapid, or as robust, as one had hoped.
7. Founder Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye’s Statement
When Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye broke the news of the brand’s hiatus, it was done so from a place of authenticity.
She thanked the community. She spoke about the happiness of creating something for folks who looked like her. And then she said something significant:
“Sometimes the vision is clear, the mission is powerful, the love is deep, and yet, the journey must stop.”
No blame, no drama. Just thinking. And perhaps even a suggestion that this isn’t the end, but a pause. A moment of Ami Colé closure.
8. The Challenges Beauty Startups Face
Let’s face it. The beauty space appears glamorous, but it’s rough.
Here are some of the large issues a brand like Ami Colé might have encountered:
Challenges beauty startups face
- High Costs:
Product creation, packaging, and shipping, everything adds up quickly. - Competition:
There’s always that next new brand popping up. Being noticed and remaining in the limelight costs money and demands continuous innovation. - Retail Partnerships:
Being sold in large stores like Sephora or Ulta helps growth. Without them, however, getting more people to see and buy your product becomes increasingly difficult. - Marketing Pressure:
Ads, influencers, PR, it’s expensive to remain relevant.
For a small business with a specific niche, being able to grow quickly without losing authenticity is a difficult tightrope to maintain. These are real beauty startup challenges.
9. What We Can Learn from Ami Colé’s Journey
Although Ami Colé shutdown is happening, there’s much we can learn from its journey.
- Niche Brands Matter:
When you do a particular group truly and authentically, it resonates. Ami Colé showed that. - Money Isn’t Everything:
Money is helpful, but it does not equal long-term success. Vision, implementation, and endurance are just as important. - Transparency fosters trust:
How Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye announced the news, gently and honestly, was compelling. It reminded people that there is a human being behind every brand doing their best. - The Market Is Still Learning:
There is still space for additional brands that have Black and Brown skin tones at their center, and that room is hardly saturated. Ami Colé flung the door open even wider for the next inclusive beauty brand and Black-owned clean beauty brand.
10. What’s Next for the Founder and the Brand?
For now, Ami Colé shutdown is real, but the story is far from finished.
Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye‘s vision, community, and experience are too powerful to be erased. Whether she revives Ami Colé in a new way, launches something new, or assists others in building, her voice is still relevant in beauty.
And for the Ami Colé lovers out there? The love is still there. The message is still there. The inspiration that it provided will linger far longer than products on a shelf.
Ami Colé shutdown entered with heart, intention, and mission that resonated with people on a deep level. It broke through in a ocean of sameness, made room for voices that were otherwise excluded, and set the bar high on what clean beauty for dark skin could be.
Although the brand is on a hiatus, its tale is still one to be read. Why did Ami Colé shut down? It’s a reminder that creating something of substance is never simple but always worth a shot.
So if you were one of the many who identified with Ami Colé, know this, it wasn’t merely about makeup. It was about being noticed. And that kind of Ami Colé closure doesn’t diminish.
