CCTV exposes a “fake brand” scam! Suoxiang suspends its marketing operations, and the Yousiyi “Jia Mian” brand is torn apart, leading to a brand collapse

A carefully orchestrated “fake brand” health supplement scam by a marketing planning company triggered a chain reaction in the industry after being exposed on CCTV. The involved brand “Yousiyi” and its behind-the-scenes operator Zhejiang Suoxiang Holding Group were under investigation by regulatory authorities for forging import identities, fabricating brand backgrounds, and falsifying certification credentials, leading to a complete collapse of the company’s operations.

Claiming to be “originally imported from Australia,” Yousiyi Lutein products have long topped e-commerce sales charts, with a unit price ranging from 293 to 434 yuan, and over 4 million bottles sold in total. The brand claims to have been established in Melbourne in 2010, possessing “TGA certification” and multiple international awards, and has enlisted experts, scholars, celebrities, and internet influencers for endorsements. However, CCTV undercover investigations revealed its true face: the so-called “Australian headquarters” is actually a car repair shop in Melbourne, with products manufactured by OEM factories in Anhui and Guangzhou, costing only 30 to 80 yuan. All certifications and awards are either forged or purchased from “shady organizations.”

As the core operator of the Yousiyi brand, Suoxiang Group’s tactics are shocking. This marketing agency, self-proclaimed as an “expert in creating explosive products,” fabricates brand stories, purchases fake awards, and hires internet celebrities and scholars for endorsements, packaging ordinary food products as high-end imported health supplements. An employee admitted during undercover visits: “Yousiyi is from Guangzhou; we package it as Australian.” This “domestic → bonded warehouse laundering → high-price sales” routine forms a complete harvesting cycle, generating billions of yuan in sales for Yousiyi from 2023 to 2024 alone.

After the incident was exposed, Yousiyi products were removed from all platforms, and regulatory authorities in Guangdong, Hangzhou, and other regions quickly launched investigations. The brand and marketing parties fell into a “mutual blame” situation: Yousiyi counter-sued Suoxiang for leaking business data and plagiarizing designs, while Suoxiang blamed “a few employees exaggerating business.” Under public pressure, Suoxiang Holdings Chairman Lu Yongfeng publicly apologized, admitting, “Bragging is just bragging,” and announced the shutdown of all marketing planning operations, shifting focus to live-streaming e-commerce.

Lu Yongfeng admitted that, aside from the fake scandal, traditional marketing business has been severely impacted by AI technology and market contraction, leading to a sharp decline in business volume. He stated that the transition was out of necessity. Data shows that Yousiyi products have long claimed to have eye-protection and liver-protection effects but have not obtained the “blue hat” health food certification. Their success essentially relies on exploiting consumers’ “worship of foreign brands” and harvesting health-related anxieties through a “smart tax.”

This farce exposes deep-rooted chaos in the industry: some companies package low-cost products as “imported high-end goods” through domestic OEM, overseas labeling, and fabricated backgrounds, then achieve huge profits through false advertising and celebrity endorsements. Experts point out that such behavior not only damages consumer rights but also undermines fair market competition. With strengthened regulation and a more rational consumer base, the era of wild growth based on “pseudo-imports” and “fake endorsements” has come to an end. Genuine quality and compliant operations will become the fundamental basis for brand survival.