A Wren Says

I remember well when I started seeing ads for Lume, the whole body deodorant. It struck me, largely because I didn’t really even know it was a thing. It had been designed by a doctor to address a particular need in the market she had been made aware of: body odor beyond the armpits. Flash forward years later and I am being bombarded with ads for whole body deodorant from major brands. That little company and its success opened their eyes to a huge market they had been overlooking.

Yesterday, I wrote about outright dupes. They make me uneasy. I wonder about the clear ripoffs in visuals aimed to look exactly like designer brands. Personal opinion, I think this Lume example is a case of healthy competition and innovation to try and corner a market. Here, in the deodorant aisle, we see multiple competitors filling their shelves with similar products because there is clear largely untapped consumer segment. Brands are researching, developing, and product testing to better meet the needs of the consumers. They are not just copying the work of Lume and trying to undercut them on prices. They are trying to win with innovation and better marketing.

I could be wrong. What do you think? How do you feel about the idea of creating similar product categories vs outright dupes?