Beyoncé is once again embroiled in theft accusations as several TikTok users have accused her of imitating the packaging of a smaller skincare brand located in a southwestern Pacific country thousands of miles away. Allegedly, she replicated the design for her newly launched Cécred haircare line.
The package designer from TWYG, a company based in New Zealand, has expressed her frustration, feeling that Beyoncé has appropriated her original design without crediting the effort her team put into creating it.
Thousands of viewers followed TikToker Billie Samm as she sought to highlight “Beybottle-gate” through multiple videos on her profile.
The social media influencer juxtaposed the bottles of both brands, highlighting their striking resemblance. Additionally, she pointed out that TWYG had been on the market for over a year prior to the launch of Beyoncé’s new line last month.
One user said:
“I don’t understand why celebrities think thank because a brand they think we don’t know has something that they can use, we not gonna find out.”
“It bothers me that a celebrity like Beyoncé couldn’t think of a different design,” she continued.
According to Atlanta Black Star Another content creator who took issue with the packaging being similar stated that she actually did a story last year on the company that made the original packaging.
“You can’t tell me they don’t look identical,” she said in a video post.
In addition to the TikTokers taking exception with the singer-turned-beauty maven’s choice of packaging, people in the industry, including the actual designer of the abstract art-influenced bottle took exception.
Amanda Gaskin, the founder and creative partner at Seachange, the company responsible for the unique packaging of the TWYG skincare line, took to Linkedin as her platform of choice to address the matter. She not only put the 32-time Grammy winner on blast, but shared with her peers how “disappointed” she is to have a superstar represent her creation as their own.
At the end of February, Fiona Glen, a beauty brand strategist, attempted to spark up the conversation about the similarities online.
“The first image is the newly launched CÉRED 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,” Glen wrote. “There is a stark similarity, let’s be honest both are aesthetically pleasing, impactful but horrifically over packaged.”
She continued, saying, “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. Defending IP, or receiving fair recognition for being a first mover is even more difficult when the challenger founder has 319m followers just on instagram alone.”
Gaskin was one of the first people to reply, saying she felt the “pangs of deep disappointment” and “gutted” after seeing Cécred’s bottles.
“As the designer behind TWYG skincare’s brand and packaging, launched in June 2023, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of deep disappointment upon discovering Beyoncé’s recent hair care 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.
“These lids required intricate engineering to achieve their unique shapes, particularly challenging given our commitment to using recycled plastic—a material known for its difficulty in manipulation,” she continued. “However, the founders of TWYG remained steadfast in their mission to prioritise sustainability by utilising recycled materials wherever possible.”
The designer then called the “Halo” singer out by name.
“It’s hard to believe that Beyoncé’s brand and packaging team hadn’t stumbled across our work, especially considering the recognition TWYG received last year. 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 said before adding, “To say I’m gutted would be an understatement.”
Beyoncé hinted that she would be launching a hair care line right before the 2023 Christmas Holiday, during the debut of her film “Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé.” Fans spotted the bottles on her vanity, noting that the logo read Cécred.
In February, she dropped the teaser for the product, leaning on her family’s rich heritage and connection to hair, hairstyling, and hair growth.
And then one of our amazing followers (Thanks Teri) found the trademark name details which outlines the filing date:
Now with this new development, folks are now questioning brand credibility.
Twitter reaction:
Mind you, Cécred has been in the works for 6 years so the packaging would’ve been done for a year or more. Also https://t.co/hEvQVH4RSc pic.twitter.com/94PseDeu5y
— BOTUS (@un1quesvperst4r) March 7, 2024
and
Both arguments are stupid. Cécred didn’t copy cause the brand wasn’t on the market yet. But that brand as well was already doing press releases about the products in July. It’s just a coincidence and probably we should expect more of those packaging in the industry. https://t.co/u6vNLhjKkb
— sagittarius season (@fentyanayonce) March 7, 2024
and
It wasn’t a photo, she was filmed during the movie next to Cécred. Do you think that between October ‘23- Feb ‘24 Bey would’ve had time to finalise the movie, do 3 movie premieres, finalise the designs for the Cécred packaging as well as film promo with lots of different people? https://t.co/26zPS7ZLYw pic.twitter.com/53wvBSnEZ1
— BOTUS (@un1quesvperst4r) March 7, 2024
But is this a reach? Let us know your thoughts.
