No Shame In The Dupe Game: MCoBeauty, Timeless And Skincare Generics On Imitation’s Upsides

The market research firm NIQ has determined dupes or less expensive alternatives to hot premium beauty products are good for the beauty business: They encourage trial, provide value for those seeking it, and facilitate matriculation into the beauty category for consumers who could trade up when they have the cash to do so.

Not surprisingly, dupe product propagators agree. Instead of bemoaning the appropriation of pricy bestsellers, during a Beauty Independent In Conversation webinar last week featuring Meridith Rojas, CMO of MCoBeauty, Will Henderson, founder of Skincare Generics, and Veronica Pedersen, co-founder and CEO of Timeless Skin Care, they argued that brands with duped products should realize that imitation isn’t only flattery, it’s lucrative earned publicity that reinforces their goods are worthy of desire.

Rojas said, “The product gets more excitement, more user generated content…than ever before, from the high price-point prestige to the more accessible affordable version that we bring to market.”

Some 150 products from MCoBeauty’s wide-ranging 300-item assortment are lookalikes of items from brands like Charlotte Tilbury, Summer Fridays, Dior and Drunk Elephant generally retailing for a third less than the originals. The model has been appreciated by retailers in the United States where shoppers under inflationary pressures are cutting costs. MCoBeauty is available at Kroger and Target. Last year, its sales were forecast to reach about $152 million, and last month DBG Group, an Australian business led by healthcare tycoon Dennis Bastas, took over full control of it in a $1 billion deal.

Timeless, another Target entrant, didn’t intend to proffer in dupes at its inception in 2009, but is proud to play the dupe game today. Its bestseller, 20% Vitamin C + E Ferulic Acid Serum, is a dupe for SkinCeuticals’C E Ferulic priced at $25.99 compared to $182. All told, Timeless’s selection spans 16 facial sprays, oils, eye creams and serums priced from $11.95 to $27.95. Manufacturing products in-house in a 60,000-square-foot facility in Houston, it’s been notching double-digit growth and is on pace to hit $50 million in sales this year.

“We would see things in reviews in which the customer would say, ‘I went to so-and-so, and I tried their product, but I had to come back to Timeless,’” says Pedersen. “I’m thankful to be in the dupe space. It’s really a true testimony to the organic representation of what we do.”

Henderson is puzzled why many in the beauty industry bristle at dupe merchandise. He previously worked in the pharmaceutical industry at GSK, Merck and Par Pharmaceutical, where he called duping “a staple.” He asked, “If you can have a generic version for a medication that is efficacious and costs a bunch less, then why can’t we have a generic version of luxury skincare?”

Launched in 2024, Skincare Generics is currently selling three products priced at $39.99 each that are dupes for Augustinus Bader’s The Rich Cream, Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Hyaluronic Serum and La Mer’s Creme de la Mer. It’s not afraid to mention the products its duping directly on its packaging. In developing formulas, the brand aims to replicate at least 80% of the ingredients on ingredient decks of coveted luxury skincare products and order them similarly for concentration reasons.

“We’re not saying we are exactly the same,” said Henderson. “It’s up to the customer to let us know if it is comparable, and they’re the ultimate decider of whether or not they want to buy and continue to buy.”  

The Process Of Duping

MCoBeauty can go from product ideation to release in roughly six months. While it operates quickly, it isn’t interested in quick trends and tries to avoid products isolated to fleeting trends. “It’s not like, oh, that’s trending, let’s create a version of it. There’s way more that goes into it,” says Rojas. “Through a combination of community marketing, having a great relationship with your audience and tracking that conversation alongside different products or categories that are really exploding, you can really can understand what’s a good opportunity to test.”

Skincare Generics sidesteps trends altogether in its product development decisions. Instead, it’s inspired by iconic beauty products. Still, as it matures, its product development process is becoming more community-driven as it taps into its direct-to-consumer audience. In its early days, Henderson reported that its products are being purchased by customers spanning the socioeconomic range, including shoppers traditionally buying luxury skincare products such as the ones Skincare Generics dupes.

Henderson said, “We found some use cases where they use both. They may use La Mer on their face, but then they’ll use our version…and they’ll use it all over their body more liberally.”

Dupes at REtail 

Retailers have been down with dupes. Sol de Janeiro dupes have been proliferating at Walmart and Target from MCoBeauty, Inc.redible and Naturewell. Walmart has fragrance and makeup dupes from Dossier and Revolution Beauty, too, and Target peddles perfume dupes from Fine’ry. Target has also onboarded SLF, a purveyor of skincare devices duping popular skincare devices like Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare’s DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro. Dr. Dennis Gross’s device is $455, and SLF’s version is $99.99.

After making its Target debut online in 2020, Timeless recently rolled out to 1,550 of the big-box chain’s stores. About half of its sales are from the retail channel. Beyond them, it sells on Amazon, which accounts for 3% to 4% of sales. Timeless was previously carried by CVS.

The gap between Timeless’s online launch at Target and its store rollout allowed it to prepare for a massive shelf presence. Pedersen said, “We’ve gotten very good at what we’re doing as far as manufacturing ourselves, being that we do have a very limited number of SKUs, and we just kind of focus on exactly what we do best.”

Last month, MCoBeauty expanded to 1,200 Target stores, and Rojas said it’s starting to gain traction at the retailer. To support its business in the United States, it’s trying to be creative with its marketing. Last year, it sent a TikTok content creator to a Timothee Chalamet lookalike contest in New York City’s Washington Square Park to hand out products. The event got picked up by press around the world after the actor showed up to it.

Rojas said, “Creating entertainment and content that people want to watch and share is more important now than ever.”