CCTV exposé of fake “Australian miracle drug” sparks crisis for Dong Yuhui’s Yuhui Tongxing (与辉同行)

Headline angle: trust, not just product, was sold

A CCTV investigation has unmasked YouSiyi (优思益), a best‑selling lutein brand long marketed as “Australian original,” as a domestically manufactured white‑label product — and the fallout has landed hardest on top streamer Yuhui Tongxing (与辉同行) and its frontman Dong Yuhui (董宇辉). In China, where livestream commerce and celebrity endorsements carry huge sway over middle‑class consumption, the revelation raises a basic question: when every detail can be faked, whom can shoppers trust?

How the “Australian” story fell apart

It has been reported that CCTV reporters visited the Melbourne address printed on YouSiyi packaging and found no health‑products company there — only an auto repair shop. Further reporting traced marketing work to Hangzhou Suoxiang Marketing (杭州索象营销策划有限公司), whose executives reportedly admitted packaging a Guangzhou product as an Australian brand and paying for foreign “awards” (about RMB 20–30k each) and expert endorsements to inflate margins. YouSiyi’s products — priced around RMB 293–434 and claiming millions of cumulative sales — were reportedly produced in factories in Anhui and Guangzhou, and none carried China’s official “blue hat” health‑food certification (蓝帽子).

Influencers, refunds and the legal backlash

Celebrities and influencers who promoted the brand have issued apologies and refund plans; many platforms have taken the products down. It has been reported that Yuhui Tongxing’s livestreams may have contributed RMB 10–25 million in sales for the product, and the streamer’s team eventually pledged to front full refunds while promising a review of selection processes — a statement made only after intense public pressure. Dong Yuhui reportedly lost hundreds of thousands of followers in days. Regulators have moved quickly: local market supervision, customs and police opened probes, and national food‑safety and platform regulators summoned major e‑commerce sites. Under China’s Consumer Rights Protection Law (Article 55), consumers can seek treble damages for fraud — a legal lever platforms and endorsers now cannot ignore.

Bigger picture: endemic weakness in vetting and the geopolitics of “imported” goods

This episode is the latest in a string of head‑streamer trust crises and highlights why “imported” branding commands a premium in China’s market — especially as cross‑border e‑commerce grows and consumers prize foreign safety signals amid broader geopolitical trade tensions. It has been reported that platforms and the state are accelerating oversight, but critics ask: can volunteer vetting inside flashy livestream rooms ever substitute for independent certification? For consumers and regulators alike, the YouSiyi case is a reminder that quick profits from perceived foreign provenance have become an industry problem, not just a single bad product.