Scarlett Johansson's skincare brand The Outset announced Wednesday that it is winding down operations, exiting a clean beauty category it entered just three years ago.

The brand broke the news through a message on its website rather than a detailed statement. "After an incredible journey, The Outset has made the decision to wind down operations. We're so grateful to everyone who welcomed us into their routines and supported us along the way," the website reads. The Outset did not respond to Adweek's request for comment.

Johansson co-founded the vegan, allergen-free skincare line with Kate Foster Lengyel in 2022. The company started as a direct-to-consumer operation and later landed retail deals with Sephora, Amazon and Nordstrom — distribution wins that many celebrity brands never achieve. Existing orders will still be processed as usual, and customers may continue to find The Outset products on Sephora shelves or on Amazon while the retailers work through remaining stock.

The closure fits a well-documented pattern in consumer goods. Roughly 75 percent of new products introduced in retail stores fail after three to five years in business, JP Kuehlwein, an adjunct associate professor of business at Columbia Business School, told Adweek. That rate varies across industries, but skincare is not an easy category to break into by any means, he said.

The math is unforgiving. To make their mark in a crowded category, brands need something that stands out: a revolutionary new ingredient, an emotional backstory, or a celebrity face. For brands built around celebrities or influencers, that promotional engine comes built in. Gwyneth Paltrow serves as the face of her brand, Goop, and the identity works because consumers buy into her.

Johansson took the opposite path with The Outset. She stayed relatively invisible in the brand's marketing, an approach that seemed intentional — she aimed to build a brand that did not rely solely on her name. That decision carried a cost. In doing so, she sacrificed believability, Kuehlwein told Adweek.

"We're using that moisturizer in a way to become Scarlett," Kuehlwein said. "If that's not credible, if there's no strong link to that, then the proposition quickly loses interest, which seems like what happened here."

The paradox is stark. The Outset's undoing may have been not foregrounding its celebrity founder enough. A famous face alone does not guarantee survival in skincare — the category remains brutally competitive, and celebrity dabbling in business ventures makes failures routine, as Kuehlwein noted. But an unused famous face leaves a brand with neither the differentiation of a genuine innovation nor the emotional pull of a personal story.

For marketers, the case study cuts two ways. Celebrity association can open retail doors and generate initial trial, yet it converts into lasting equity only when the founder actively embodies the promise. The Outset secured Sephora, Amazon and Nordstrom placement within three years of launch — and still could not sustain operations. The brands that survive the 75 percent failure window will be the ones that give consumers a credible reason to believe, whether that belief comes from a formula, a story or a star who shows up.