Ami Colé Announces Closure
Ami Colé, the beloved Black-owned beauty brand backed by L’Oréal’s venture arm, is set to shut down this September. The news was announced by founder Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye in an open letter published in The Cut, marking the end of what she described as “nearly four beautiful soul-stretching years.”
N’Diaye-Mbaye, who previously held roles at L’Oréal and Glossier, founded Ami Colé in 2021 to fill the void of inclusive, no-makeup-makeup options for women of colour. The brand launched with skin tints and lip oils, selling out its first run in just a month. It later expanded into Sephora, reaching more than 600 stores across the US, and garnered over 80 beauty awards.
“I had no coaches, no family money,” she wrote. “Just those Instagram comments and my own momentum.”
The momentum was significant. Ami Colé secured investment from prominent backers including True Beauty Ventures, Imaginary Ventures, Greycroft, Debut Capital, and L’Oréal’s BOLD venture fund. The company saw a 75% increase in revenue year-on-year at the time of its L’Oréal investment in 2024, with celebrity fans including Kelly Rowland and Nia Long helping fuel its rise.
But behind the scenes, the brand was struggling with the realities of scaling in an unforgiving market. “We made operational decisions that felt necessary at the time — like scaling up production to meet potential demand — without truly knowing how the market would respond,” N’Diaye-Mbaye wrote. Viral peaks created unpredictable spikes in sales, followed by periods of overstock. “One week we’d be completely sold out because an influencer mentioned us; the next, we’d be stuck with inventory we couldn’t move.”
Ami Colé’s story is symptomatic of the broader challenges facing Black-owned beauty brands today. After a wave of post-2020 funding, many are now contending with reduced access to funding and waning institutional support. As N’Diaye-Mbaye noted, “when the economy feels uncertain, funding becomes even more risk-averse which often means underfunded minority-owned businesses will suffer.”
Even partnerships with major retailers didn’t guarantee long-term sustainability. “I couldn’t compete with the deep pockets of corporate brands; at retail stores, prime shelf space comes at a price, and we couldn’t afford it,” she wrote. Despite efforts to fundraise again after giving birth to her second child in March 2024, Ami Colé was unable to close its latest investment round.
Still, N’Diaye-Mbaye remains both proud of what the brand achieved and clear-sighted about its limitations. “This decision was so hard for me — the business bears my mother’s name [Aminata ‘Ami’ Colé] and, as I built it, my daughter’s name, too. But after looking at every option, it became clear that continuing in this current market wasn’t sustainable.”
She added, “I worked really hard as a solo founder, and every single one of my investors can attest that I have turned every rock and stone and pebble to make sure that we were as diligent as possible. Are we a business? Yes. Do businesses fail? Yes.”
With the closure now imminent, she’s prioritising her team’s future and preparing for what’s next. “I want to make sure my existing team land on their feet,” she said. “Then, I guess the job search will start.”
While Ami Colé’s chapter may be ending, the legacy of both the brand and its founder will continue to shape the beauty industry. As N’Diaye-Mbaye wrote in the closing lines of her essay, “I still believe in beauty — at every level — and I’m looking forward to discovering what comes next.”