I recently discovered something interesting about the new ectoin moisturizer from Prequel. It seems like Dr. Ellis might not have actually formulated this product herself, even though she mentions in her content that she developed it. From what I found out, the cream is actually a white label formula that comes from a European company called Bitop. They apparently just slapped the Prequel branding on it and started selling it as their own creation. Has anyone else noticed this? I’m curious what other people think about brands doing this kind of thing. It feels a bit misleading when influencers claim they created something but it’s really just a rebranded existing product. What are your thoughts on this whole situation?
Been dealing with this in software for years. Companies rebrand existing solutions and claim they built everything themselves.
Using white label products isn’t bad - most successful brands do it. The problem is when Dr. Ellis acts like she was mixing compounds in the lab herself.
I see this everywhere - influencers with zero technical background become “formulators” overnight. Real product development takes months or years, not these quick turnarounds.
Look at the timeline. Someone goes from zero skincare experience to launching a full line in 6 months? They’re using existing formulas.
Bitop makes solid stuff from what I understand. The product might be good - just don’t buy the “I created this from scratch” story.
Wish more brands would own the white label approach. Nothing wrong with finding a great formula and slapping your brand on it.
totally with u on this! it’s frustrating when they don’t keep it real. brands should be honest about their ingredients and origins, ya know? ectoin has potencial, but the lack of clarity makes it hard to trust. transparency is key.
This is exactly why I cross-check patents and supplier databases before buying skincare. Found out Bitop holds the foundational patents for ectoin stabilization and delivery systems - no wonder their formulations beat anything a content creator could whip up. You can verify the actual manufacturer through FDA regulatory filings if you want proof. What really bugs me is how this tanks trust across the whole influencer beauty space. One brand gets caught lying about their development process, and suddenly we’re questioning whether other creators are honest about their involvement. Don’t get me wrong - ectoin works great for moisture retention and stress protection. But paying premium prices for what you think is custom formulation when it’s just repackaged existing products? That’s straight-up bait and switch. Brands could easily say they partnered with established manufacturers to bring proven ingredients to market. Skip the BS origin stories.
ugh, i totally get you! it’s easy to get caught up in the hype. it’s just frustrating when you think you’re getting something unique but it’s just rebranded. def do ur research next time, those markups can be crazy!
I’ve worked in cosmetics manufacturing for years, and this is totally standard practice. What bothers me about Prequel is how their marketing makes it seem like Dr. Ellis personally created these formulas when they’re clearly existing Bitop products. Anyone can check the regulatory paperwork to see who actually makes it. Don’t get me wrong - ectoin’s an amazing ingredient for barrier repair and environmental protection. Bitop holds major patents on ectoin extraction and formulation, so they know their stuff. The product quality isn’t the problem here. It’s the story they’re selling that’s sketchy. When you call yourself a formulator and talk about “developing” products, people expect you actually did R&D work. There’s nothing wrong with using established suppliers, but your marketing needs to match reality. I’ve seen brands get destroyed when customers find out they’ve been misled about authenticity.
This is exactly why I automated my skincare ingredient research a few months back. Got tired of manually checking every product claim.
Built a system that scrapes ingredient databases, cross-references supplier catalogs, and flags potential white label products. Takes about 30 seconds to verify what would normally take hours of digging.
The Prequel situation you found is pretty common actually. Most influencer brands use existing formulas from manufacturers like Bitop, Ashland, or BASF. Nothing wrong with that approach, but the sketchy part is pretending you “developed” it from scratch.
What really bugs me is how much time people waste manually researching this stuff. Set up some automation to monitor ingredient sources and brand claims automatically. Way more efficient than hunting through forums and databases by hand.
Latenode makes this kind of research automation super straightforward. You can connect ingredient databases to supplier APIs and get real transparency without the manual work.