Tomia Beauty, parent of TréStique, files for bankruptcy

Tomia Beauty ,the parent company of colour cosmetics brand TréStique, has filed for bankruptcy in a New Jersey court following the revelation of an ongoing dispute between the founders.

Court documents linked to the case suggested that there was friction between Jennifer Kapahi and Jack Bensason, the duo that founded TréStique in 2015.

The legal papers, seen by WWD, stated that Tomia, a company affiliated with Kapahi, alleged Bensason had partnered with an outside investor and formed a new company also named Trestique.

It was claimed that a new corporation, Lucky Color Inc., had been established in January, but later amended its name to Trestique in March, setting it up to then serve as a successor to Tomia after looting TréStique’s assets.

Bensason and Lucky Color are believed to have received a loan to Tomia, with the latter then being alerted in August that there was to be a sale of all of the debtor’s property.

An auction sale found online did not reference the initial TréStique name, but would have covered the sale of the entire business, including over one million dollars of inventory and intellectual property.

As part of the plaintiff’s requests, Tomia is understood to be seeking a turnover of Bensanson’s membership interest and any compensation received.