This brand had the moment. It dominated Instagram. Influencers couldn’t get enough. It sold out at Sephora again and again. With playful packaging and a loud, no-nonsense tone, it built a loyal following that made it feel more like a movement than a skincare line.
But that moment? It’s fading — fast.
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Going viral doesn’t equal staying power. And in today’s brutally competitive beauty space, even cult-favorite status won’t protect you from an identity crisis.
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Now, a brand once seen as unstoppable is stumbling — and its parent company is racing to keep pace.
The glow-up turned into a wake-up. And no amount of TikTok buzz can hide it.
Drunk Elephant sales plummet as its parent company scrambles to recover.
Image source: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Shiseido, Drunk Elephant take a nosedive
Shiseido dropped its 2025 Q1 earnings report this week, and the numbers weren’t pretty. Net sales were down 8.5% across the board, but one brand took a major hit: Drunk Elephant.
Sales for the once-white-hot skincare label plunged 65% year-over-year. Yes, 65%.
The company blamed inventory issues. Its $39 bronzing drops went viral (again), but couldn’t stay on shelves. Still, that’s not the whole story.
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Shiseido cited a need to strengthen brand value and profitability for Drunk Elephant, noting that it plans to “accelerate initiatives to rebuild the brand.”
Translation? The Gen Z crowd may have pushed away Drunk Elephant’s original Millennial and Gen X fans.
That disconnect is proving costly. Drunk Elephant isn’t the only name suffering, though. NARS and Shiseido’s flagship line both saw declines, along with fragrance staples like Issey Miyake and Narciso Rodriguez.
Leadership shakeup adds to Shiseido’s mounting problems
Drunk Elephant’s free fall isn’t happening in a vacuum. Shiseido’s leadership bench is also thinning out. In April, Ron Gee, CEO of the company’s U.S. business and head of mergers and aquisitions, stepped down. A few weeks later, Franck Marilly, longtime European chair, also exited.
Now, Alberto Noe, who oversees EMEA, is doubling up as interim CEO for the U.S. region. It’s a big ask — and a sign the company’s restructuring playbook is still being written.
Shiseido says it’s working on fixes: local sourcing to avoid tariff hits, price tweaks, and a brand refresh.
But industry watchers aren’t convinced. One analyst called it an “identity crisis,” not just for Drunk Elephant, but for Shiseido itself.
The real question? Whether Drunk Elephant can grow up and evolve without losing the Gen Z hype — or the trust of the audience that built it in the first place.
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