The beauty world is about as cutthroat as an industry can be. From failed product launches, to anti-fans on social media, beauty brands and influencers have to be five steps ahead not only to avoid controversy but to remain in a positive light in the public eye.
However, the breadth that this industry covers also allows for crazy amounts of exposure not just for large scale brands but also for bright up and coming brands (also known as “indi” brands) that 20 years ago never would have seen the light of day.
These indi brands are often a bit more expensive - due to production costs - and often made in smaller batches so if something becomes a viral sensation, many who are on the late end of the story will lose out on getting their hands on the product.
There is also a chance with these brands that what you will be getting is higher quality because they want to build up repeat customers so spending a bit more for qualities sake is something these brands are more likely to go the extra mile on than mainstream brands.
There is one thing, however, that many indi brands run the risk of; and that is having their ideas stolen by larger, more established brands. Whether it is stealing a packaging design, concept, or blatantly copying a launch, indi brands oftentimes lose out on getting justice when their concepts are stolen. One of the brands who has most recently fallen victim to this is Beauty Bakerie.
What is Beauty Bakerie?
In 2011 Cashmere Nicole (Founder and CEO of Beauty Bakerie), a single mother, breast cancer survivor, and cosmetics lover set out to create her own venture to begin her independent career. Until she found a lump in her right breast. Being a trained nurse, Cashmere was familiar with self-assessing and never thought much of it; that is until it began to grow. The following spring she was officially diagnosed and began her treatments to fight the cancer. Though she is now healthy and thriving, she has had lumps reappear over the years but has yet to lose her unrelenting passion for seizing the day and taking full advantage of every opportunity that comes her way.
According the the Beauty Bakerie website: “Cashmere’s inspiration for starting Beauty Bakerie sprang from her love of the arts. With a natural knack for creating and after past dreams of becoming an architect, Cashmere found her love for makeup artistry. Beauty Bakerie’s motto, “Be Better, not Bitter,” says a lot about the inspiration behind the sweetly named brand. Cashmere’s view on life and business, to be sweet and sweeten the lives of others, is especially inspiring considering the hardships she faced along the way to founding Beauty Bakerie. Cashmere views mistakes only as learning opportunities, and wishes to inspire others to see the very best in people.”
And she and her company are doing just that. With her wide range of products all packaged and named with baking and baked goods in mind, as well as shade ranges and products that work for a wide spectrum of beauty users - including dedicated products for those of darker complexions - Cashmere is on the cusp of exploding onto the beauty scene.
The Controversy
That is until Huda Beauty came across it. This controversy is the reason social media has become so dangerous when many different industries launch something new. The immediacy effect of debuting something can either be super positive or debilitatingly negative. In Huda Beauty’s case, she was without a leg to stand on very quickly. Now, Huda Beauty has for a long time been a brand that wasn’t without controversy. Whether that controversy was about color ranges offered, lack of customer service if something was wrong, or flat out lying to customers, up until now the brand has maintained its stronghold on being a top makeup creator.
In mid-June this year, Huda Beauty teased it’s newest makeup launch “Huda Easy Bake” with a PR package that featured Huda Kattan herself (founder of Huda Beauty) in an apron in the kitchen mixing up ingredients. Her launch, of course, then being completely about baking. Though the first comments on the Instagram launch of the photos were positive, the comments sections were soon filled with messages from disappointed and angered fans from what many considered to be “blatant copying” of Beauty Bakerie’s whole brand identity. One commenter went as far as telling Huda to change her brand’s name to “Huda Bakerie” as they stole Beauty Bakerie’s whole concept. The comments only got nastier from there. Even hardcore supporters were upset that someone with such a huge platform - who preaches on being authentic and original - would go so far to be so disrespectful by ripping off another creators line.
The Aftermath
What happened next was probably one of the best moments in social media history - in terms of beauty brands. Beauty Bakerie responded on their official twitter with an image that read “Hey Sweets, Everyone’s invited to the baking party, even Huda.” The caption under the photo reading, “To everyone “@” us from her page: always know there’s enough cake for everyone. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery That’s why we’re better not bitter.”
And that is the absolute best way to clap back at a brand. Without being hateful or accusatory, Beauty Bakerie managed to maintain it’s sweet taste in everyone’s mouth as well as incorporating their company’s motto to promote themselves rather than focus on the controversy.
Bottom line: any makeup brands with large platforms that decide stealing from lesser known brands is okay remember this: they may be smaller brands, but their fans are ardent and social media is a powerful thing. And above all, never mess with the sweetest brand in the makeup industry.
