Source: Vogue
When Fenty, Huda, and Glow Recipe launched functionally identical eye patches within weeks of each other, it wasn't a coincidence—it was a portfolio management failure dressed up as trend-chasing. The beauty industry has optimized itself toward incremental reformulations and me-too launches rather than actual product R&D, squeezing margins while flooding retailers with indistinguishable SKUs that train consumers to shop on price and influencer endorsement alone. Brands that redirect innovation spend away from marketing-driven line extensions and toward differentiated actives and delivery systems will avoid cannibalizing each other's sales in an increasingly crowded, undifferentiated middle market.