Heard a marketing team talk about 'quietly' changing a product's formula

I was in a coffee shop in Austin and the people at the next table were clearly from a skincare brand's marketing team. One said, 'We just have to roll out the new version and hope no one notices the shea butter is gone.' They were laughing about how to avoid a backlash. Has any brand you like done this and gotten caught?

3 comments

3 Comments

grayc272mo ago

Yeah, the "hope no one notices" line is the whole playbook... I check ingredient lists on stuff I buy often, like my go-to shampoo. Saw the sulfates quietly come back in after they'd made a big deal about taking them out. They never said a word, just counted on people not looking.

daniel_lane302mo agoMost Upvoted

Ever feel like you need a spreadsheet just to keep up with this stuff? I started taking pictures of the ingredient panel every time I buy something like my body wash, @grayc27. That way I can compare the old bottle to the new one side by side. It's the only way to catch those quiet swaps for sure. They totally bank on us forgetting the exact order or specific chemicals.

the_caleb2mo ago

Honestly that picture idea is smart, I should start doing that. Tbh it's crazy how they rely on our bad memory. My favorite oat milk brand did this, swapped to a cheaper oil and the texture got weird. I only noticed because my coffee tasted off for a week straight. They never admitted it either, just quietly changed it back months later.

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