LETIQUE Brand Launches New Gourmet Spa Line with Cherry Scent
The Rich Treatment series includes a cream butter, shower gel, and salt scrub shimmer with notes of ripe cherry, almond, and vanilla; formulas are enriched with ceramides, oils, and bakuchiol for deep skin nourishment.
Gourmet Cherry LETIQUE: Why Launching a "Tasty" Spa is an Attempt to Revive the Brand After the Collapse of the Lerchek Empire
The Gist: What's Really Happening
On May 18, 2026, the LETIQUE brand announced the launch of the gourmet spa line Rich Treatment with the scent of ripe cherry — a cream butter, shower gel, and salt scrub shimmer with ceramides, oils, and bakuchiol. The media present this as a routine beauty novelty. The reality, however, is that this launch is the first serious attempt to revive the brand after the high-profile scandal involving its founder, blogger Valeria Chekalina (Lerchek), and her exit from the founders in February 2026.
Lerchek left the company "Be Fit," which developed the LETIQUE brand, due to multi-million dollar tax debts and criminal cases. Her 37.5% stake was transferred to the company, and the brand's financial indicators collapsed: over the past year, revenue amounted to only about $37,000 USD.
The launch of the cherry series is not just a product line expansion, but a strategic maneuver designed to detach the brand from the toxic shadow of Lerchek's name. Essentially, we are witnessing an attempt at a reboot through a product completely devoid of associations with a scandalous past.
Timeline and Context
2019-2021. LETIQUE, founded by Chekalina together with her husband Artyom and partner Roman Vishnyak, experiences a boom riding on the blogger's popularity. Revenue grows through aggressive influencer marketing and promotions like the "Wheel of Fortune."
2023. The "Wheel of Fortune" scandal: participants accuse Chekalina of fraud, and the brand's reputation suffers seriously. Criminal cases are opened against the couple for tax evasion and money laundering.
February 2026. Lerchek leaves the founders of "Be Fit," her 37.5% stake transfers to the company. Partner Roman Vishnyak is sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for illegally transferring about $2.7 million USD abroad.
May 2026. LETIQUE launches Rich Treatment — a spa line completely different from the anti-cellulite hits on which the brand was built. This is a conscious departure from Lerchek's legacy.
Who Wins and Who Loses
The new management of LETIQUE wins. The launch of cherry gourmet products is a smart entry into a growing trend. The global bakuchiol market (a key component of the new line) was valued at $1.02 billion USD in 2025 and is projected to reach $1.12 billion USD in 2026, with a CAGR of 9.9%. LETIQUE taps into this mainstream trend, adding a gourmet scent — a trend experts call one of the key ones for 2026.
Retail chains win. "Zolotoe Yabloko," "Letual," "Rive Gauche," and "Podruzhka" get a product with potentially high demand from a brand they already know, but without toxic associations. The price segment — affordable luxury — is ideal for today's consumer.
Competitors in the gourmet body care niche lose. Russian brands that bet on "edible" scents — from vanilla to caramel — gain a strong player with a recognizable name and shelf space in federal chains.
Lerchek herself loses. Every success of LETIQUE after her departure is confirmation that the brand is better off without her. If Rich Treatment takes off, it will finally prove that the problem was not the product, but the face of the brand.
What the Media Aren't Saying
First: bakuchiol in the formula is not so much an innovation as following a global trend. Analysts at Research and Markets note that bakuchiol adoption tripled between 2023 and 2025, and the component Sytenol A now appears in over 120 global SKUs. LETIQUE is not reinventing the wheel but using an ingredient already "warmed up" by the market.
Second: the gourmet cherry scent is part of a macro trend. According to Cosmetics Design Europe, gourmet and fruity notes remain dominant in 2026, but are moving away from cloying sweetness toward more "adult," complex profiles. Cherry with almond, musk, and vanilla is precisely "adult gourmand."
Third: debts and lawsuits haven't gone away. According to Mash, the tax debt amounts to about $1.8 million USD, and although Lerchek left the business, legal consequences could still affect the company. Investors know this, so the Rich Treatment launch is also a test of the brand's viability without its founder.
Forecast: Next 30 Days and 90 Days
Next 30 days. Rich Treatment will appear on the shelves of "Zolotoe Yabloko" and other chains. Given the trend toward wellness and home spa rituals, the launch will be successful, especially among women aged 25-40 seeking "emotional functionality" in skincare. I estimate initial sales at $150-200 thousand USD.
90-day horizon. By August 2026, it will become clear whether LETIQUE can exist without Lerchek. If the line shows good sales, the brand will launch the next gourmet collection — likely with trendy notes of pistachio or pineapple, which analysts call the scents of 2026.
Strategic forecast. LETIQUE will either successfully rebrand and distance itself from its scandalous past, or be forced to find a buyer for its assets. Given that the luxury beauty market will grow from $78.7 billion USD in 2025 to $86.1 billion USD in 2026, a buyer for a brand with federal distribution will be found. But the price will depend on the results of Rich Treatment over the next three months. The cherry must "pop" — otherwise, the brand risks forever remaining in the shadow of criminal chronicles.
— Editorial Team
