Why Is Beauty Brand Ami Colé Shutting Down After Raising Millions?
Ami Colé, the critically acclaimed Black-owned beauty label known for its clean, skin-first products designed for melanin-rich skin, has announced that it will officially shut down in September 2025.
Founded by Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye in 2021, the brand quickly rose to prominence, earning over 80 beauty awards and securing shelf space in more than 600 Sephora stores.
Backed by more than $3 million in venture capital, including a $1 million pre-seed round in 2021 and a $2 million seed round in 2022, Ami Colé was supported by firms like Imaginary Ventures, Debut Capital, and Female Founders Fund.
From the outside, it looked like a modern beauty success story — but the brand’s closure is a powerful reminder that raising millions doesn’t guarantee longevity. In fact, the story of Ami Colé reveals just how difficult it remains to scale a mission-driven, Black-owned company in a volatile, capital-intensive industry.
“I am not walking away because the products weren’t great,” Diarrha shared in her farewell essay for The Cut. “I’m walking away because the economics no longer work.”
A Brand Rooted in Representation
Born to Senegalese parents and raised in Harlem, Diarrha launched Ami Colé to fill a gap in the clean beauty space: products that celebrated, not corrected, deeper skin tones. Prior to starting the brand, she worked at both L’Oréal and Glossier — experiences that helped shape her vision for a company grounded in transparency, cultural pride, and community.
From the viral Lip Treatment Oil to the Skin-Enhancing Tint, Ami Colé became a go-to for beauty lovers seeking effortless, shade-inclusive essentials.
Why It’s Shutting Down
Despite strong consumer demand and industry praise, Ami Colé faced challenges that many Black-led startups encounter:
High operational costs from scaling into retail and funding ongoing marketing efforts
Uneven and short-lived investor support, especially as post-2020 diversity pledges faded
Broader economic pressures — inflation, tariffs, and tightening capital markets — that made it harder to sustain margins
As Diarrha noted, maintaining growth required pushing more product, more often — even when demand was steady. For a brand rooted in intention and quality, that pressure created a disconnect between mission and market dynamics.
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What This Signals for Black-Owned Brands
Ami Colé’s closure is more than a business headline — it highlights the structural challenges still facing Black founders in beauty and beyond. Securing funding is often seen as the finish line, but in reality, it’s just the beginning of a much steeper climb.
Without sustained capital, patient growth expectations, and ecosystem-level support, even well-loved, well-capitalized brands can struggle to survive — especially when they’re trying to build something culturally meaningful.
What’s Next?
Products will remain available until September, giving customers a final window to stock up on their favorites. As for Diarrha, she’s taking time to rest and reflect — but given her track record and creative vision, her influence in the beauty world is far from over.
Ami Colé may be closing, but its impact — and the hard truths it reveals — will continue to shape conversations about beauty, equity, and what it truly takes to build something lasting.
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The post Why Is Beauty Brand Ami Colé Shutting Down After Raising Millions? appeared first on SHOPPE BLACK.
