Recently, due to the failure to perform legal obligations on time, Mensoladum was enforced by the Jinjiang District People’s Court of Chengdu, with an enforcement target of more than $141,300. The cause of the case was a contract dispute. In addition, Mensoladum has been punished many times for product quality problems, and for cosmetics brands, nothing is more serious than the collapse of word of mouth.
Recently, a piece of news from China’s executive information disclosure website has caused the internationally renowned cosmetics brand Mentholatum to fall into a whirlpool of public opinion. Recently, Mentholatum (China) Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Mensoladum”) was compulsorily executed by the Jinjiang District People’s Court of Chengdu due to its failure to perform its legal obligations on time, and the execution target was $141,300.
According to the China Judgment Documents Network, Chengdu Mingjia Cosmetics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Chengdu Mingjia”) sued Mentholatum in court due to arrears in fees in 2020. In January 2021, the Jinjiang District People’s Court of Chengdu ruled in the first instance that Mentholatum should pay Chengdu Mingjia $95,200 and bear the interest (the above arrears are based on the basis) within ten days from the date when the judgment takes legal effect and pay the occupancy fee of funds at the same time. (Based on $57,600).
As of May 6, Beijing time, due to the failure to perform its legal obligations on time, the Jinjiang District People’s Court of Chengdu listed Mentholatum as the executor, and the subject of enforcement was $141,300. According to public information, Mentholatum has been involved in dozens of legal proceedings, including contract disputes, product liability disputes, trademark infringement rights and interests.
Mentholatum was founded in the United States in 1889. At present, Mentholatum’s products have involved lip balm, men’s skincare, women’s skincare, sunscreen, anti-acne, hand cream, facial masks, etc. According to Nielsen’s data in 2015, Mentholatum’s market share in China’s lip balm market has reached 60%, ranking first. In addition, according to the Top 10 Online Development Ranking List of Chinese Lip Balm Brands in November to December 2020 released by iiMedia Ranking, the number one is still Mentholatum in the online lip balm sales list from November to December 2020.
It is worth mentioning that this is the second punishment that Mantholatum has accepted in less than half a year. Previously, Mentholatum has been punished many times for product quality problems.
At the end of last year, Mentholatum’s SPF15-cooling lip balm for men was randomly tested and showed that the test result of ethylhexyl salicylate was 5.13% and the re-test result was 5.22%, which did not meet the requirements. Mentholatum violated the relevant regulations on Chinese cosmetics and therefore was given the following administrative penalties. First, it was the confiscation of 1,427 pieces of men’s lip balm SPE15-Cool. Second, it was the confiscation of illegal gains of $73,712.
It is reported that the appearance of ethylhexyl salicylate is a transparent to light yellow liquid, the maximum amount of this ingredient is 5%, that is, the above-mentioned Manshotun men’s lip balm SPF15-cold type of ethylhexyl salicylate in the addition of excess.
Just as the saying goes,” Rome was not built in one day”. The establishment of a brand image cannot be successful in a day or two, but consumers’ trust in a brand can collapse in an instant. Product quality problems and excessive use of chemical additives result in unstable product quality, which will directly affect market sales, and more seriously, the quality and reputation of Mentholatum lip balm will plummet in the minds of consumers.
