The Ordinary – clinical formulations with integrity

The Ordinary, founded in 2016 under the Deciem umbrella, is an ever-evolving collection of treatments offering familiar, effective clinical technologies at affordable pricing. The Ordinary was created to “highlight a lack of integrity around pricing and communication in the world of beauty.” Says CEO and Co-Founder Nicola Kilner. “As the Abnormal Beauty Company, one of our core principles is to bring transparency and honesty to our audience. We really want people to become educated within the beauty space – to know exactly what they are putting on their skin and to understand if they are overpaying for ingredients.”

Industry Disruptor to the Leader in Treatments

Born out of frustration with an industry that lacked clarity, The Ordinary set out to lead a more transparent narrative through pricing, ingredients, and efficacy. When the brand was unveiled in 2016 by Deciem, many assumed that a brand with such simple packaging and low prices would be deemed as ‘cheap’ and ‘ineffective.’ However, The Ordinary let the formulas speak for themselves. The Ordinary began collecting accolades including, #1 Global Prestige Skincare Brand in Units and #1 Share of Voice in Serums just six years after inception. People were drawn to The Ordinary’s science-first approach to skincare, and respected the brand for not talking down to consumers, whilst also producing products with standout formulations that actually work. All of this culminated in The Ordinary being named The World’s Most Popular Skincare Brand after a Cosmetify study in 2021 which revealed The Ordinary has garnered over 37 million yearly internet searches. *

Pricing and Efficacy of The Ordinary Products

One of the first questions about The Ordinary tends to be “how is it so affordable?” Well, it’s not as complicated a reason as one might think. The Ordinary focuses on single ingredient skincare, and according to Deciem’s Chief Scientific Officer Prudvi Mohan Kaka, “single-ingredient formulations offer consumers versatility, as they are able to hand-pick the specific ingredients that will best target their main skin concerns, and layer them accordingly.” How does this then factor into affordability? The technologies offered within The Ordinary are effective and well-studied, but a formulation containing them simply doesn’t cost so much to make. As they are not new concepts, no resources are spent on marketing to convince consumers of the efficacy or a new form of innovation. The Ordinary is innovative in its transparent communication and pricing strategy. The formulas, although effective, are actually very ordinary.

Lead with Kindness

Another frequent enquiry is whether or not The Ordinary is a vegan and cruelty free line of products. The Ordinary has obtained its certified vegan status from PETA, meaning none of the products under The Ordinary test on or use ingredients provided by animals. This was one of the first steps in The Ordinary’s goal of growing as a sustainable company and becoming a catalyst for a good push in society.

Other sustainable initiatives include, but aren’t limited to; reducing emissions, renewable energy, carbon offsets, and repurposing products that cannot be sold, through our 100% Good Program: a sustainability and social impact initiative to donate products with cosmetic defects (i.e., wrinkled label, bent container, etc.), to a diverse set of organizations globally.

Deciem and The Ordinary are fully committed to the Planet, People, and Animals and aim to foster a positive social and environmental impact and are committed to responding to current events that impact the aforementioned pillars with The Good Fund and The Community Fund. These funds ensure The Ordinary is committing to taking a human approach to our giving, ensuring that organizations, big and small will be positively impacted.

The Ordinary is aware that the idea of becoming a fully sustainable company is just that, an idea. However, this should not inhibit companies from trying to create a more positive impact on the ​ People, Planet, and Animals.