It’s been a busy year for the Kardashian-Jenners, with the announcement of new lines, new partnerships, and even a debut cosmetics collection between Kendall and Kylie Jenner – among others.
And now, according to an article by WWD, KKW Beauty is allegedly being sued by its manufacturer, Seed Beauty, in order to block the brand from leaking trade secrets.
The lawsuit comes following global beauty company, Coty, confirming it is currently in negotiations with Kim Kardashian West over acquiring a majority stake in KKW, Seed said in court documents. With Coty being a main competitor of Seed, it’s no surprise Seed wants to protect its trade secrets from being revealed.
“Seed Beauty has learned that Coty intends to acquire the KKW Beauty brand through purchasing an equity interest in KKW…the ‘collaboration’ reported in the press is actually a majority-stake investment in KKW,” the company said in court papers.
In an SEC filing, Coty revealed it was in talks with KKW “regarding a possible collaboration with respect to certain beauty products,” but that it wouldn’t comment further on the potential transaction, unless required to do so.
Coty already owns a 51% stake in Kylie Jenner’s beauty brands, Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin, which Seed is also the manufacturer of. Seed said it is unsure whether these brands revealed company secrets to Coty following their acquisitions, however the suit claims that after asking Jenner and her team not to disclose confidential parts of their agreement, they refused to confirm or deny what they had shared. The suit also maintains that Seed could still potentially sue Kylie Cosmetics.
