Is it copying or a coincidence? Creatives behind New Zealand brand TWYG reflect on the noted similarities.
Last month, Beyoncé stepped into the haircare space with the launch of Cécred. However, as fans continue to react and review the star’s newest business venture, on Linkedin, professionals are looking into the brand’s packaging.
Fiona Glen, a strategic beauty brand consultant, noticed a “stark similarity” between Cécred’s product design and the packaging of a New Zealand skincare brand, TWYG.
“The first image is the newly launched CÉCRED, the haircare brand from Beyoncé. The second image is a New Zealand-based skincare brand TWYG, which I shared on a work WhatsApp group back in November. There is a stark similarity, let’s be honest, both are aesthetically pleasing, impactful but horrifically over-packaged,” Glen wrote in a LinkedIn post. “There’s a good chance that the packaging similarity is a coincidence however, it’s proof that it’s harder than ever to launch a truly different product and IP is increasingly difficult to defend.”
In the comments of Glen’s post, Amanda Gaskin, the designer behind TWYG skincare’s brand and packaging, gave her insights on the highlighted similarities. According to Gaskin, TWYG, which launched in June 2023, invested a lot of time in designing its unique packaging.
“I couldn’t help but feel a pang of deep disappointment upon discovering Beyoncé’s recent haircare packaging. Over the span of 18 months, my team poured countless hours into TWYG, with a significant portion of that time dedicated to crafting the custom-formed lids,” she wrote, explaining how the lids made of recycled materials required intricate engineering to achieve their looks.
While some may see the similarities as a coincidence, Gaskin finds it “hard to believe that Beyoncé’s brand and packaging team hadn’t stumbled across [their] work” for TWYG as it received a series of awards in 2023. Last year, the international skincare brand won the highest honors at the Australian Graphic Design Awards and earned distinctions for its structural designs.
“We won multiple design awards from some of the most esteemed design schemes globally and the work we created for TWYG was widely shared and featured on packaging blogs, social media platforms, and within industry circles,” she added. “To say I’m gutted would be an understatement.”
The conversation quickly spread to other social media platforms and sparked a larger debate on whether or not Cécred pulled inspiration from the international skincare brand.
“If you ask me, they’re so damn similar, they might as well be identical,” TikTok creator Dasher noted in a video.
“I don’t understand why celebrities think that because a brand they think we don’t know has something that they can use, we not gonna find out,” another user noted. “It bothers me that a celebrity like Beyoncé couldn’t think of a different design.”
On the other hand, members of the Beyhive noted that the launch of the star’s haircare brand was reportedly six years in the making, highlighting all the moments the star teased the brand — and its packaging — ahead of its 2024 release date.
“Cécred is a legacy project for me, one that’s probably the most rooted in my ancestry. It’s so far beyond business. Hair is our lineage; it’s our family story,” Beyoncé told Essence about the brand’s ethos. “This business was led by heart and passion, not by a business plan.”
At the time of publication, Cécred did not respond to theGrio’s requests for comment.
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