Highlights
- Fiona Co Chan presented Youthforia, a plant-based makeup line designed to be safe enough to sleep in.
- The brand gained rapid popularity through viral TikTok videos and strong organic traffic.
- Fiona shared her journey from tech to beauty, developing products that cater to skincare-conscious consumers.
Overview
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Youthforia |
| Founder | Fiona Co Chan |
| Industry | Beauty & Skincare |
| Product | Plant-based makeup with skincare benefits |
| Funding | Self-funded pre-Shark Tank |
| Investment Ask | $400,000 |
| Equity Offered | 5% |
| Valuation | $8,000,000 |
Fiona Co Chan hopes to make up a deal for Youthforia, her viral brand of skin care based make up, in Shark Tank episode 1416. Chan launched the line in January, 2020 and grew it to profitability in just 9 months – during a global pandemic! When she attended Dartmouth College, she had a habit of falling asleep in her make up, which can be bad for your skin. The problem was further exacerbated when she was working for a software developer in some of China’s most polluted cities. When she fell asleep in her make up over there, her skin became very irritated.
She had the idea to create make up that was also good for your skin – so good you can sleep in it. Her products are all plant-based and contain no petroleum products. It’s make up that works like skin care. One of her best sellers is her color changing blush oil. It reacts to your skin’s natural pH to give you the perfect shade of natural blush. Fiona actually slept in this for two months and her skin improved drastically. In addition to the blush oil, she also sells lip gloss and primer. All her products are good for your skin.
The name Youthforia was penned by her husband (he also helped her test products by sleeping in them). It’s a play on words of “youth” and “euphoria.” The couple was euphoric about their meteoric rise. The company videos go viral regularly on Tik Tok and her videos have over 50 million views. The products are available on the company website, all 488 Ulta stores nationwide and on Amazon. The company has zero debt and she’s likely looking for a Shark to help expand her team and fuel the next growth stages.
Company Information
Video
Posts about Youthforia on Shark Tank Blog
Youthforia Shark Tank Recap
Fiona enters the Shark Tank seeking $400,000 for 5% equity in her company. She explains she slept with her makeup on the night before and Barbara says “no way.” Her beauty products are bio based and good for both your skin and the planet. Her best seller is her bio blush that gives your skin its perfect shade. She applies some to her skin and the Sharks think it looks good. The Sharks examine their samples as Fiona explains how the blush works. Lori thinks it’s really cool.
Lifetime sales are $2 million. They launched the business in April, 2021 (the show taped in July, 2022). The Sharks are impressed. Direct to consumer sales are 50% of the business, Amazon accounts for 15% and wholesale is 35%. She’s about to launch in 309 Ulta stores and 300 JC Penney stores.
She had no experience in beauty when she started the business. Her grandparents fled China for Viet Nam and her parents fled Viet Nam for America. She went to Dartmouth and started her career in the tech industry selling complex software to data centers and travelled to some of the world’s most polluted cities which caused her skin to react. She wanted makeup that acted like skin care, so she went to Korean manufacturers to develop the blush.
Let’s Talk Numbers
The blush sells for $36, the primer is $38 and the lip gloss is $26. They cost between $4 – $6 landed. Barbara is impressed with her sales and Fiona explains how videos of her applying blush went viral. 84% of her revenues comes from organic traffic.
Did Shark Tank Invest In Youthforia?
Yes, one of the Sharks did make an offer.
Mr. Wonderful thinks Fiona is impressive; he offers $400,000, $100,000 for 20% equity and $300,000 as a loan against purchase orders. Robert doesn’t understand the benefits of the product; he’s out. Lori has sold cosmetics in the past, but she’s not big on oil; she’s out. Mark is out too. Fiona says she’s coming out with three new shades. Barbara is confused by that and goes out. Fiona counters with 8% and Mr. Wonderful says no.
Mark says he wishes he knew more about this space because he thinks this could be the real deal. Fiona asks Mr. Wonderful if he’d do a royalty deal. Fiona asks if he’d do $400,000 for 5% with a 50 cent per unit royalty until he recoups $500,000. Kevin counters with a $1 royalty until he gets $800,000 back and 10%. Mark comes back in and offers $400,000 for 10% with no royalty and Kevin drops his equity ask to 7.5% plus the royalty until he recoups $1 million. Mark drops to 8% with no royalty and he promises to demo the product. Fiona accepts.
Youthforia Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show.
In April, 2023 – about a month after the original air date, Fiona closed a seed funding round led by True Beauty Ventures, Willow Growth Partners and Mark Cuban. Terms were not disclosed. The funds will be used to support the company’s rapidly expanding wholesale business.
The first re-run of this show comes in June, 2023 – three months after the initial air date. The company doesn’t appear on Mark’s website at this time, but Fiona said in a blog post she was “really happy to get the opportunity to partner with him.” Plus Mark was in the investor group. She did get into all 525 Ulta stores, JC Penny, BeautyBay, Revolve and Credo Beauty. As of November, 2023, lifetime sales are over $9 million. In April, 2024, the company went viral – for the wrong reasons. Tik Tokker Javon Ford criticized the brand for not having shades that represented people of color. The video rant got over 6 million views. Later that month, the company introduced darker shades that Tik Toker Golloria George called “tar” and “black face paint” in a video that got over 24 million views.
Update Segment
The company gets an update segment in episode 1515. Fiona begins the segment by saying before Shark Tank she had 2 employees and $2 million in lifetime sales. In the 9 months since Shark Tank, she now has 10 employees and $8 million in lifetime sales. Fiona and Mark appear at an Ulta Beauty Store to introduce new shades. Mark makes good on his promise to demo the product and says “it’s great to be in Ulta because everybody comes here. Ulta has a great reputation fior being the place to go for hair and make-up and it gets a lot of traffic.
Fiona says one of the challenges she faced was her formula cost was real expensive. Without Mark’s investment, she may not have been able to launch new products. Now she’s in over 600 stores nationwide. Fiona applies foundation to Mark in the store as customers cheer. Mark says Fiona is a phenominal entrepreneur and being able to expand shelf space has been a big success. Once his foundation is done, he asks the crowd how he looks then they cheer again.
Fiona’s advice for entrepreneurs who want to enter a crowded market is “trust your gut.” One year after being on Shark Tank, she gets to live out her dream.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on Youthforia & Fiona Co Chan as more details become available.
More products from this episode! Check out other businesses that participated alongside Youthforia.
