It wouldn’t be a day that ends in “y’ if we weren’t talking about someone on social media coming at Beyoncé for something. This time, folks online are accusing the “Break My Soul” singer of stealing the packaging design for her Cécred haircare line from TWYG, a small skin care company based in New Zealand.
Pop culture commentator Dasher started the conversation in a March 7 TikTok, saying the similarities are too clear to miss.
“Church, if these was twins, I’d say hi to Tia and Tamera,” he said in a video that’s received over 28,000 views.
Billie Samm also called out similarities in the packaging on TikTok and shared her disappointment in Bey for thinking consumers wouldn’t catch on.
“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,” she said. “It bothers me that a celebrity like Beyoncé couldn’t think of a different design.”
Although most people in the comments didn’t think the situation was scandalous enough to be newsworth, the conversation did find it’s way to LinkedIn, where a marketing consultant weighed in.
“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,” said beauty brand strategist Fiona Glen. “It might just be me, but I think Beyoncé’s oil stands out like a sore thumb. I would have matched the packaging for sure.”
And Glen’s words got one of the designers behind TWYG’s packaging to speak out. Amanda Gaskin, founder and creative partner at Seachange, the company responsible for the design of the TWYG packaging, shared her “disappointment” in the Cécred team for putting out a design so close to what she created.
“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.
Gaskin added that she thinks it would have been “impossible” for Bey’s team to be unfamiliar with their work, considering the amount of social media attention they’ve received for their award-winning design.
“To say I’m gutted would be an understatement. But thank you for acknowledging the similarity and validating my feelings on this,” she said.