The Strategic Shift of Chloe Hardy: Why the “Dupe” Business Model Is Growing

Many consumer industries are entering a period where brand prestige alone no longer justifies premium pricing. In beauty and fragrance, rising costs and greater access to product information have changed how people shop. Instead of relying on brand reputation, more buyers now compare ingredient lists, formulation quality, and practical value, such as cost per use.

This shift has created space for companies that compete on efficiency rather than exclusivity. “Dupe” brands are part of that change. While often described as imitators, many of these companies position their products as lower-cost alternatives in a market where pricing has historically relied heavily on brand perception.

Changing Priorities in Beauty

The global beauty market remains large. The U.S. beauty industry generated about $101.5 billion in revenue in 2023. Worldwide beauty retail sales reached roughly $441 billion in 2024, with skincare accounting for about 41% of the market, followed by haircare (21%), colour cosmetics (19%), and fragrance (19%).

Despite that scale, consumer behavior is shifting. Inflation and rising living costs have pushed many shoppers to evaluate purchases more carefully. As a result, loyalty is increasingly tied to product performance and transparency rather than brand identity alone.

Within this environment, companies built around efficiency, clear pricing, and straightforward formulations have begun to gain traction.

Entrepreneur Chloe Hardy, Founder and CEO of Dupes & Co., illustrates how this shift is playing out in practice.

Understanding the “Prestige Gap”

The “dupe” business model is often framed as imitation, but in practice, it functions more like value engineering – completely legal.

When examining the fragrance market in Australia, Chloe Hardy identified a pricing pattern common in the luxury segment: smaller bottle sizes paired with much higher price-per-spray ratios. Instead of competing directly on prestige branding, her company entered the market with larger 100 mL bottles produced locally.

The strategy focused on a practical weakness in the existing market structure: the gap between cost and everyday usability. By increasing volume while maintaining competitive pricing, the product aimed to offer consumers a clearer value proposition.

For newer entrants, this approach suggests that disruption may come less from invention and more from reworking how products are packaged, priced, and delivered.

Technical Knowledge as a Competitive Advantage

Another shift within the direct-to-consumer beauty sector is the growing importance of technical knowledge among founders.

Earlier waves of beauty startups often relied heavily on influencer marketing. Increasingly, however, consumers expect founders to understand and explain their products in greater depth. Ingredient lists, formulation choices, and product performance are now part of everyday consumer conversations.

In a market where shoppers frequently research ingredients such as Vitamin B5 or Macadamia Oil, founders often need to communicate clearly about how products are made and why they perform the way they do.

This type of hands-on understanding can also support expansion into new markets, particularly when selling directly to consumers who rely on online product research.

Three Patterns in Market Entry

The strategic shift at Dupes & Co. illustrates several broader patterns currently seen in startups entering highly competitive legacy industries:
1. Re-evaluating support networks: Hardy suggests that as companies scale, founders must move beyond “cheerleader” networks toward those that provide critical, constructive friction.

2. The MVP over Perfection: In fast-moving sectors, the data shows that launching a limited range to gather real-world feedback is more effective than waiting for a “perfect” catalog.

3. Democratizing the Premium Experience: This model focuses on replicating the functional and sensory results of high-end goods while removing the “prestige tax.”

A Market Focused on Practical Value

The growth of high-quality alternatives reflects a broader change in consumer behavior. Many buyers now place greater emphasis on product quality, transparency, and fair pricing rather than on brand status alone.
By focusing on pricing structure, formulation transparency, and direct relationships with customers, newer brands are finding ways to compete in markets traditionally dominated by long-established companies.
More broadly, the trend suggests that in the current beauty economy, success may depend less on prestige and more on delivering clear value to increasingly informed consumers.