Why Is The Ordinary Charging Hundreds of Dollars for Produce?
The brand is spotlighting skincare inflation at its Markup Marché pop-up.
At The Ordinary‘s Markup Marché pop-up, everyday grocery staples like apples and oranges become grass-enriched activators and glow-amplifying capsules. Inspired by the idea that skincare brands sell ordinary things with extraordinary words, the brand is leading with transparency by letting the ingredients speak for themselves.
Through the Markup Marché, The Ordinary is spotlighting how exaggerated language, fancy packaging and inflated prices transform everyday items into luxury products. Popping up in Paris, Toronto, Melbourne, São Paulo, Mexico City and London, the activation is the brand’s latest attempt at tapping into its passion for skincare accessibility and the democracy of effective ingredients. As a leader in the space, The Ordinary hopes to establish a new standard thanks to minimalist packaging and reasonable price points.
Ahead, we speak to Amy Bi, the vice president of global brand at DECIEM, about what the Markup Marché means for The Ordinary.
On the Inspiration Behind the Markup Marché
The Markup Marché is designed to sell you [produce] the way beauty sells you products. We see so much in terms of exaggerated language, marketing claims and fancy packaging. We wanted to bring that parallel to a grocery store and show that if you had an avocado that was priced with fancy packaging or a fancy name, you would never accept it. So why do we accept it in our skincare products?
On the Main Takeaway of the Pop-Up
We want consumers to understand that they should really be paying for the ingredients in their products, and not the hype. When it comes to skincare, that’s why we’re so focused on transparency and education. We want people to know exactly what they’re buying. Hyaluronic acid at the end of the day, is just hyaluronic acid, no matter how you dress it up. So we want people to understand the importance of transparency, pricing, integrity and clear communication. I mean, that’s why The Ordinary was started in the very beginning — to bring that level of transparency to consumers. We hope that the Markup Marché further emphasizes that point.
On How The Ordinary Is Setting Itself Apart
Transparency and pricing integrity were the reasons why The Ordinary was born. The mission of The Ordinary is to shine a light on commodity ingredients within skincare that are disguised as ingenuity. You often have ingredients that have been in the industry for decades — yet they are still being marketed to consumers through exaggerated claims and dressed up with celebrity endorsements and marketing treatments. So much so, that consumers end up paying well beyond what the ingredients should cost.
That level of accessibility and clear communication is what we’re committed to with The Ordinary, and with any products that we launch. We’re always asking ourselves, “How can we democratize new ingredients?” “How can we make it as accessible and as affordable as possible, [while] showing consumers the real benefit of these ingredients through clear communication, minimal packaging and education?”
