With the K18 hair care product, everything starts and ends with K18Peptide. “Peptide is not about marketing; it’s about product development,” explains Rita El-Khouri, PhD, senior vice president of research and innovation at K18. According to the product, the ingredient – born from decades of research and testing – corrects the structure of the hair within the “molecular level,” unlike conventional conditioning agents that simply coat the hair to make it smooth. “Every formula is designed to support or extend the benefits of cell repair. That creates a very different approach compared to products that rely on cosmetic ingredients or high-level repair,” explains El-Khouri.
But what’s stopping other companies from simply copying and pasting those most successful technologies for their own profit? State of ownership.
A proprietary ingredient is simply an ingredient found only in a product, cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos tells Ujo Shop. It could be a specific molecule, new to the market, a unique combination of existing ingredients or a new way to process an existing ingredient that could improve its effectiveness (perhaps through new delivery systems or stabilization). In the case of K18, it is that all-powerful peptide.
Image: Courtesy of K18
The word “proprietary” suggests something that is inherently different from other available ingredients; The company considers its design or processing to be a trade secret. In the highly competitive beauty market where differentiation can make or break a sales goal, that’s a big story with a lot of potential to move the needle. It is also another marketing tool in the product portfolio that can be stamped on packages, discussed in social media and advertisements, used to attract salespeople and so on. But the product is not easy to knowchooseto call something concerning.
Ahead, a closer look at the beauty industry’s proprietary ingredient.
What makes an ingredient proprietary?
Although beauty products are required to have an ingredient list under the Fair Packaging and Label Act, the list cannot be used to force a company to reveal any “trade secrets.” Capitalism! Companies can request “trade secret” status for a cosmetic ingredient from the US Food and Drug Administration based largely on two key factors: 1) the extent to which the ingredient is known, both inside and outside the company, and 2) what has been done to protect that information.
Other relevant criteria may include how easily the ingredient can be identified or replicated, the value of the ingredient to the company or its competitors and the effort and cost involved in developing it. In other words, the proprietary ingredient needs to be a real differentiating factor in its use; one that is not widely known, and one that is subject to a large amount of research and testing.
Besides, the FDA doesn’t define or regulate what a proprietary ingredient is, but “sets rules about safety, proper ingredient labeling and truthful claims,” Dobos explains. “Even if the supplier keeps the composition of the compound confidential, every single component must still be listed on the ingredient label in descending order of dominance unless it is part of a fragrance or flavor mixture, which has a special labeling exemption under US law.” Indeed, perfumes rarely provide an ingredient list, because each compound is considered a trade secret.
Image: Courtesy of Augustinus Bader
Many proprietary ingredients can also be patented. If an ingredient, molecule or delivery system is patented, its design, testing and performance are considered public knowledge; However, competitors are prohibited from using that ingredient (or molecule or delivery system) for a set period of time, usually between 15 and 20 years, according to Dobos. This gives brands legal protection over their ingredient – to a certain extent: Says a company finds the right mix of another company’s proprietary ingredient by chance; in those cases, it becomes more difficult to prove intentions and legitimacy. According to Dobos, a patented ingredient is often also a proprietary ingredient, but a proprietary ingredient is not necessarily a proprietary ingredient.
Take Augustinus Bader’s TFC8®, the Trigger Factor Complex TFC™, patented by both.againconcerning. The brand builds its entire product range – and much of its marketing – on it. “What makes the product unique is that its technology is not just an ingredient,” explains Aimee Nottingham, director of foundation and R&D innovation for Augustinus Bader. “It is the result of Professor Augustinus Bader’s decades of research in regenerative medicine and stem cell biology. TFC8® grew out of Professor Bader’s medical work studying how the body naturally repairs and regenerates itself. That scientific breakthrough was the foundation of the company, not an addition to it.”
What is the benefit of a proprietary ingredient?
There is more than trade secrets and exclusivity on the line. “Proprietary ingredients are attractive to brands because they help create differentiation and tell stories,” explains Victoria Fu, one part of the cosmetic-chemist team behind Chemist Confessions. “They can also be used to justify a premium price and build a brand.” And there are many brands that do just that, using a proprietary ingredient as a line across all offerings, an anchor tenant that customers see as synonymous with the name.
According to Tyler Williams, US managing director at beauty PR agency 1Milk2Sugars, the proprietary ingredient can act as a “cut-off” to the brand’s story. “When done right, it gives your product something clear, tangible and repeatable that sets it apart in an overcrowded market,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be groundbreaking to work. What matters is that it’s easy to understand, easy to communicate and clearly aligned with the product’s promise and results.”
From a practical point of view, proprietary ingredients can also organize the formulation – per Dobos, many of these compounds are designed to be easy to use, stable and multi-functional, so the cosmetic chemist can achieve a certain level of performance with little trial and error. All this helps the product base.
“Consumers also like the idea of a signature or technology that feels special,” Dobos said. “I sat in on many focus groups and reviewed the data to support this.”
Image: Dario Pignatelli/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Can consumers distinguish between a genuine and non-proprietary ingredient?
“The average consumer can’t tell the difference between a true innovation and a combination of used ingredients that have been re-engineered as complex,” says William. That is, unless they were taught by someone with more experience. “When a product has a weak ‘proprietary’ statusit is possiblefalter is associated with third-party reliability; we’ve seen the media question the authenticity of well-known brands and proprietary ingredient claims, and TikTok dermatologists and cosmetic chemists have become more vocal about misleading marketing. “
Although customers may not be able to understand the chemistry behind the formula and proprietary ingredient, theyit can betell the difference in performance. “Ultimately, consumers may be into the story, but they’re always looking for results,” UU Beauty Co-Founder and CMO Katie Borghese says. “And continuous effects are what separates original innovation from repackaged adaptations.”
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