Kylie Jenner’s cosmetics company King Kylie has been sued by Seed Beauty over fears their trade secrets will be shared with Coty, the beauty conglomerate which owns a 51% stake in the reality star’s makeup line.
King Kylie, Kylie’s old parent company that has been working with Seed since 2016, allegedly refused to sufficiently assure Seed their trade secrets would be protected from Coty in the lead up to the acquisition, according to documents obtained by TMZ.
Seed believes their knowledge helped Kylie, 22, reach billionaire status, after years of providing their recipe for makeup success to her company.
Now, concerned their information will be shared with Coty, their competition, and potentially be used to enhance their business, Seed is asking a judge to block Kylie and the beauty conglomerate from using their trade secrets.
Sued: Kylie Jenner’s cosmetics company King Kylie has been sued by Seed Beauty over fears their trade secrets will be shared with Coty, the beauty conglomerate which owns a 51% stake in the reality star’s makeup line
Beauty empire: Kylie has achieved massive success after launching a lip kit range at age 18
However, a beauty business source tells TMZ there is no actual ‘secret’ behind their success, and instead credits their thriving business to the Kardashian/Jenner brand name, along with the family’s huge following on social media.
The lawsuit is strikingly similar to the one Kim Kardashian’s beauty line, KKW Beauty, was slapped with just a few days earlier by Seed, who also feared her range would jeopardize their trade secrets with Coty, which inked a deal to purchase a 20% stake in Kim’s company days after their filing.
Kylie made headlines in 2019 after Coty purchased a 51% stake of her beauty company, Kylie Cosmetics, for $600 million.
Kylie achieved massive success after launching her lip kits at age 18 in 2015.
Key to success: Seed believes their knowledge helped Kylie reach billionaire status, after years of providing their recipe for makeup success to the star’s range
Going big: The lip kits were frequently sold-out just minutes after their release online, and eventually resulted in Kylie expanding her range to include an assortment of other makeup products, including eye shadow, blush, and pressed powder
The lip kits were frequently sold-out just minutes after their release online, and eventually resulted in Kylie expanding her range to include an assortment of other makeup products, including eye shadow, blush, and pressed powder.
This all led to Kylie being named a ‘self-made billionaire’ by Forbes in 2019 and 2020, but last month they stripped her of the title, accusing her of inflated business figures and ‘forging’ tax returns and suggesting she is worth around $950million.
Kylie slammed Forbes after the publication released a bombshell report accusing her of inflating figures and ‘forging’ tax returns for the makeup mogul’s cosmetics company.
Similar: The lawsuit is strikingly similar to the one Kim Kardashian’s beauty line, KKW Beauty, was slapped with just a few days earlier by Seed, who also feared her range would jeopardize their trade secrets with Coty, which recently bought a 20% stake in Kim’s company
It appeared the reality star was taken by surprise at the article, which claims Kylie Cosmetics is not doing as well as the Jenners want people to think – and that the Lip Kit creator is not actually a billionaire.
Forbes named Kylie the world’s youngest self-made billionaire in 2019 and again in 2020, and of her surprise over their latest article she wrote on Twitter: ‘What am i even waking up to. i thought this was a reputable site.
‘All i see are a number of inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions lol. i’ve never asked for any title or tried to lie my way there EVER. period’
Controversy: This all led to Kylie being named a ‘self-made billionaire’ by Forbes in 2019 and 2020, but last month they stripped her of the title, accusing her of inflated business figures and ‘forging’ tax returns and suggesting she is worth around $950million
She followed up with a quote from the Forbes report that accused the Jenners and their accountant of producing false tax returns.
‘“Even creating tax returns that were likely forged” that’s your proof? so you just THOUGHT they were forged? like actually what am i reading.’ Kylie tweeted incredulously.
She followed up with another post focusing on the positive, ‘but okay i am blessed beyond my years, i have a beautiful daughter, and a successful business and i’m doing perfectly fine.’
The publication accused Kylie of ‘lying about company figures and forging tax returns’ to be dubbed a billionaire.
Strike a pose: The reality star with her mother Kris Jenner in 2016