The Concern
A Delhi-based personal care and wellness brand sold through its own website, major online marketplaces and a growing network of retail distributors. Read More
What We Did
Mapped the brand’s exposure. With the client, we identified the marketplaces, social platforms, regions and product lines most likely to be targeted. Read More
What We Found
The brand’s own products weren’t the problem. Several separate risks were. Read More
The Outcome
The brand acted quickly, with evidence behind every step Read More
The Concern
A Delhi-based personal care and wellness brand sold through its own website, major online marketplaces and a growing network of retail distributors. Over three years it had grown rapidly, helped by strong digital visibility and loyal customers.
Within a few months, complaints rose sharply. Customers reported skin reactions, unusual packaging and products that didn’t match the usual quality. The manufacturing and quality teams reviewed the batch records and found no problems.
Around the same time, the sales team started getting enquiries from people who said they had paid a “registration fee” for a distributorship the company had never offered. Leadership wanted to know what was happening, how widespread it was and what could be done before customer trust suffered further.
What We Did
- Mapped the brand’s exposure. With the client, we identified the marketplaces, social platforms, regions and product lines most likely to be targeted.
- Separated the issues. We reviewed customer complaints, distributor enquiries and online activity to distinguish genuine counterfeiting and impersonation from unrelated quality concerns or unauthorised resale of genuine stock.
- Investigated online activity. We examined marketplace listings, look-alike websites and domains, and social media accounts using the brand’s identity.
- Tested the products. We made lawful test purchases from suspect sellers and examined the products against genuine stock.
- Built an evidence base. We traced links between listings, sellers and the businesses behind them, and documented all evidence to support enforcement and legal action.
What We Found
The brand’s own products weren’t the problem. Several separate risks were.
- Counterfeit products on marketplaces. Multiple sellers were offering products in near-identical packaging at prices well below the brand’s standard rates. Test purchases confirmed the products were not genuine: batch codes, labelling and formulation all differed.
- A connected seller network. Several seller accounts that looked independent shared contact details, return addresses and listing patterns, which pointed to a single coordinated operation.
- A fake distributorship website. A look-alike domain used the brand’s logo, product images and leadership names to invite distributorship applications and collect upfront fees.
- Impersonation on social media. Accounts posing as official brand pages promoted heavily discounted offers and sent buyers to the counterfeit listings.
Together, these findings explained the complaints and showed a real risk to customer safety, revenue and the brand’s reputation.
The Outcome
The brand acted quickly, with evidence behind every step:
- Counterfeit listings removed: The listings were reported and taken down through marketplace brand-protection mechanisms, and the linked seller accounts were blocked.
- Fake website taken down: The distributorship site was removed through the domain registrar and hosting provider.
- Impersonation accounts removed: The platforms took down the accounts after they were reported.
- Legal action supported: Documented evidence was shared with the brand’s legal counsel for further action against the operators.
- Customers informed: Customers and distributors were told through official channels where to buy genuine products.
- Ongoing monitoring: Marketplaces, domains and social platforms are now monitored so future misuse is caught early.
In the months that followed, quality complaints fell sharply, and the brand gained firmer control over where and how its products were sold.