The Ordinary: identikit of the low cost brand that revolutionized cosmetics

The Ordinary has gone down in the history of cosmetics as one of the brands that revolutionized it. The vision of its founder, the Canadian-born entrepreneur, Brandon Truaxe, with experience in IT and engineering, was to lift the veil of secrecy on the ingredients and be clear, transparent and accessible in price. The Ordinary was born in 2016, within the portfolio of Deciem, a parent company and multi-brand company that dates back to 2013. The brand's first launches were retinol, niacinamide, vitamin C, matrixyl serums sold for less than 10 EUR. Remember the little white bottle with the red liquid? Then the portfolio expanded into all skin care areas and in 2017 The Odinaru and Deciem was sold to the giant Estée Lauder, which took over ownership entirely in 2021. Unfortunately, the founder of Brandon Truaxe had already tragically passed away in 2019, because he fell from a building in Toronto, according to news reports.

«The Ordinary was the eleventh brand launched under the Deciem umbrella, which in Latin means ten, and was born from the idea of ​​building 10 brands at the same time», he says Nicola Kilner, CEO and co-Founder of the parent company. «We never imagined it would become such a success. It was born out of our frustration that there was no transparency in ingredients when it came to skincare. The inspiration came from the world of healthcare and pharmacy, where you know what ingredients are in the drugs you need and this allows you to buy painkillers or aspirin based on the problem. An approach that didn't exist in skin care,” he said.

A decidedly innovative vision which, if on the one hand it has had the advantage of making consumers more informed and aware of what they apply on the skin, on the other hand it has been pointed out among the factors responsible in the social media era for the phenomenon of dermorexia, the obsession with beauty products, a consequence of the availability of more information on active ingredients which have transformed the approach to skincare making it more medical.

How can The Ordinary products be effective and cost-effective?

«They knew each other a little C vitamin And retinol when we were born, but not ingredients like niacinamide, today our best-selling product: it can be found on Google Trends, present every year for the last decade. They are ingredients that have always existed, which consolidates the effectiveness and reliability of our products. Also, since they have been around for so long, they no longer have patents, which answers the question of why they are so cheap. I can't think of a better example, but to explain, when Viagra was launched it cost one hundred euros per tablet and there was a ban on research and use of the formula. Now that the patent has expired, it costs one euro per tablet and anyone could produce it. This also applies to cosmetics, the non-exclusivity of the ingredients significantly reduces the price. And there is also less marketing to do, because many people already know the ingredients we offer in an essential way. We started from the awareness that if we invented a brand new product, without revealing the ingredients, we would have to sell it as miracles in a bottle and we would have to spend a lot on marketing to convince people to buy it and choose it among all the other serums in circulation. But when you actually focus on the ingredients and give consumers the power of education, positioning becomes much easier, and that's why we decided to do all the manufacturing in-house. We do not use celebrities or models, the faces of our employees can be found on social media and in advertisements. All these choices help reduce costs. Minimal packaging, all serums in the same glass bottle, also reduced the cost. We were the first to promote this concept of transparency.”

How did The Ordinary brand become famous?

«At first The Ordinary was only available online and everyone was surprised at how great this appetite for transparency and knowledge was. The trust we had with all the beauty press in the United Kingdom also helped us. Then when we first pitched our idea to a couple of large global retailers, who are now some of our biggest partners, we were told that consumers wouldn't understand it, that it was too complicated, and that having white boxes in a retail store does not highlight. But we believed in it and we knew there was an audience out there that would appreciate them. At the beginning, many people said to us in surprise: “Wow, they really work!”, because if the price is low it is assumed that they are not as effective as those that cost 90 euros. But we took a pharmacy approach, extracting the ingredient and its effectiveness from the serums, and at that point no one questioned the price anymore and they believed it, as happens with aspirin: you buy it regardless, because you know that it frees you from headaches.”

Who can use The Ordinary serums?

The low price has put The Ordinary brand on the radar of the so-called Sephora Kids, the pre-adolescents who, overcome by dermorexia, cosmetic bulimia or age anxiety, have plunged into the wonderful way of skicnare, imitating beauty creators on social media. But when the alarm was raised about the phenomenon, The Ordinary was among the first brands to be responsive to the urgent need to inform and launched the campaign «teen you don't need 10 steps».

«The need to explain even to the youngest is actually something we have always been very aware of. When about three years ago, AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution went viral on Tik Tok we asked ourselves the problem because it is the youngest who use it. In reality, we paid influencers to make videos and explain to parents, and then to the children who use them, that those products were not for them. We spent money on an anti-sales campaign. Integrity is important to us, and even though we have an incredible business with Sephora, we realize from the data that among our customers we have age groups that are too young and need to be educated, which is why we focused on their mothers and launched the campaign on Facebook and Instagram to help people understand how to explain to pre-teens that they don't really need 10 steps. We always recommend a good cleanser, a good moisturizer and SPF. At that age you start to really understand your skin and want to take care of it, but when it comes to acids, vitamin C, retinoids, you have to be aware of the fact that your skin is too young to use them. As you progress into adolescence, hyaluronic acid may be added. And if you have blemish problems, you can explore niacinamide. But everything must be done gradually.”

What to do if it is parents, like Kim Kardashian who manages her daughter North West's profile with videos of her skin routine, who make them understand that they need to change their approach and not induce their children to use aggressive skincare products?

«With the post on Instagram we wanted to reach the parents and we succeeded, many thanked us. Informing is our goal and we will continue to do so. We see many brands doing the same. We are seeing similar campaigns, and if this educational aspect becomes a common approach sooner or later it will help get the message across.”

The Ordinary and attention to mental health

«Mental health is an incredibly important topic for us, just because of what we went through with our founder and the loss of him. So, even just from a business point of view, we try to give psychological support. All employees have access, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to psychological counseling extended to their family. Making counseling available is a way of saying they can be themselves every day in the workplace and they will be loved and feel like they belong there. We work a lot on this aspect and get pretty good scores in this area. I believe it all starts with the people around you, not just offering them advice, but doing what we can to contribute to their mental health and making sure they are comfortable in the workplace is among our priorities. Only in this way can we be sure that they will accompany us in a long-term project. We've never talked much about what we went through with Brandon because it was so painful for so many years, now we're working on a project to tell more of his story. Because we think he can help. Not everyone sings the same tune. If someone is diagnosed with cancer, everyone is aligned on the treatment plan and everyone supports it. When it comes to mental health, you don't even have an option of confirming a diagnosis and the sick person is told otherwise by his brain. This is the most difficult aspect. Our belief is that skin care can't change the world, but it can change the way someone feels about themselves. And if your skin feels great, it can give you confidence. Knowing that there are little things like this that we can do keeps us going. We will start to have more of a voice in the area of ​​mental health, we want to be perceived as the brand that deals with it and its history confirms this.”

What teachings from Brandon Truxe have remained?

“Passion. When Deciem was born we were all very young and no one had experience, we were a startup, and those who arrived in the first years were so passionate, so committed and really good that they wanted to make a difference. Brandon was an incredible teacher to all of us who shared his knowledge. Today most of the people in senior roles are those who were trained by him.”

The latest launch from The Ordinary

By exploring the fermentation process, naturally capable of changing the chemical composition of what is fermented and helping to break down molecules or even create new ones, the new Saccharomyces Ferment 30% Milky Toner which, without resorting to acids, accelerates the exfoliation and renewal of the skin in a delicate way.

This gentle and hydrating exfoliating toner is made with yeast fermentation technology, which uses 30% fermented Saccharomyces, containing 3% fermented N-Acetyl Glucosamine. Traditional exfoliating formulations such as those based on AHA act on keratinocytes, the bricks of the skin, anchored to each other by means of small filaments called desmosomes, which like a glue hold the dead cells together and which break down with the acids causing the exfoliation. The action of Saccharomyces Ferment 30% Milky Toner which contains fermented N-Acetyl Glucosamine in the formula, rather than breaking the desmosomes, prevents them from adhering to dead cells, thus promoting cell turnover and exfoliation without attacking the skin.