Lush

Lush’s commitment to sustainability introduced another challenge: naked products. Sold without packaging, these formulations require precise storage conditions to maintain their freshness and efficacy. But their lack of serial numbers, labels, or branding made them harder to distinguish from counterfeits, creating a loophole that counterfeiters quickly exploited.

Traditional enforcement methods, which rely on packaging details and visible branding, were less effective in identifying fakes. Marketplace takedown systems often required clear-cut proof of infringement, but counterfeiters could easily pass off unpackaged Lush products as legitimate. This made enforcement an uphill battle and one that required a more creative and multi-layered approach.

Recognizing the complexity of the problem, Lush and MarqVision developed a creative, multi-pronged enforcement strategy. Instead of relying on a single enforcement method, they combined:

• Cosmetic regulation violations: Targeting unauthorized sales of improperly stored or expired products.
• Copyright infringement: Identifying unauthorized use of Lush’s product images and descriptions.
• Trademark infringement: Pursuing bad actors who misused Lush’s name and branding to mislead consumers.

This knowledge-sharing approach between Lush’s legal team and MarqVision’s brand protection specialists was key. While Lush understood the regulatory risks of its industry, MarqVision brought deep expertise in marketplace enforcement tactics and regional policies, ensuring faster, more effective removals.
The result? A data-driven, region-specific strategy that together with Marq AI worked to identify infringers across platforms—even in cases where traditional enforcement methods failed, which resulted in:
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• Almost $400,000 worth of illegal listings eliminated across platforms in a single month
• 127 infringing listings taken down on Taobao

Beyond product safety, bad actors were actively impersonating Lush on e-commerce platforms, creating fake “official” stores that misled customers. These shops used:

• Lush’s official logo & branding
• Product images taken directly from Lush’s website
• Names like “Lush Official Store” to trick consumers

These fraudulent sites lured customers in with Lush’s branding, only to steal payments and personal information without ever delivering a product, as a result tarnishing the brand reputation that Lush had worked hard on investing in.

While taking down fraudulent websites is often a slow, complicated process, Marq AI’s anti-impersonation enforcement platform, together with MarqVision’s deep marketplace partnerships, enabled rapid enforcement.

After identifying individual websites as fraudulent, MarqVision worked directly with Shopee’s internal enforcement teams to ensure permanent removals. As a result of Lush’s two-pronged method to monitoring fraudulent activity, they were able to achieve:

• 15+ fraudulent websites shut down
• 100% of detected fake “Lush Official” stores removed from Shopee

By leveraging Marq AI’s monitoring technology and then applying a multi-layered enforcement strategy, MarqVision helped Lush transform its approach to brand protection with a stronger, more creative region-specific enforcement approach that adapted to platform policies.

In collaboration with marketplaces like Shopee and brand protection solutions such as MarqVision, Lush continues to maintain the integrity of its products, reinforce its brand commitments, and ensure that every product purchased online meets the same high standards as those found in its physical stores.

For Lush, brand protection isn’t a one-time fix—it’s a continuous effort, especially as new social media platforms, marketplaces, and fraudulent websites emerge. The landscape is constantly shifting, but staying ahead means persistence, adaptability, and the right partnerships.