"Why Is Only Daiso's Hair Dye Cheap?" Pharmacists Outraged... Eventually 'Surrender'

Controversy Over DongSung Pharmaceutical's Flagship Hair Dye Sevenate
Pharmacy and Daiso Products Differ but Design Is Identical
Daiso Products Fully Recalled and Scheduled for Relaunch

DongSung Pharmaceutical has halted the distribution of its hair dye product 'Seven Eight' to Daiso. This came after pharmacists raised concerns about the price difference with Daiso and even mentioned a 'boycott movement,' prompting the company to back down.

Seven Eight supplied to pharmacies by Dong Sung Pharmaceutical (left) and Seven Eight shipped to Daiso (right). The Daiso product does not contain ingredients that protect hair and lacks accessories such as combs, but the packaging design is similar, making it difficult to distinguish the products by appearance alone. [Image source=Captured from Dong Sung Pharmaceutical and Daiso online mall]

On the 25th, the Korea Pharmaceutical Association announced that it had recently received an apology and a response regarding follow-up measures from DongSung Pharmaceutical concerning the distribution of Seven Eight to Daiso. The hair dye Seven Eight is DongSung Pharmaceutical's flagship product. In the first quarter alone, hair dye sales accounted for 6.1 billion KRW out of DongSung Pharmaceutical's total sales of 22.7 billion KRW, indicating a significant portion. However, issues arose recently as DongSung Pharmaceutical began supplying similar products to Daiso.

Although the two products appear almost identical to the naked eye, the problem was the significant price difference. The product was sold at pharmacies for 7,000 to 8,000 KRW, while it was sold at Daiso for 5,000 KRW. This led to strong consumer complaints, mistakenly believing that pharmacies were profiteering.

However, upon closer inspection, the two products are different. The product supplied to pharmacies contains ingredients that protect hair and includes accessories such as a comb. In contrast, the Daiso product lacks hair protection ingredients and does not include accessories like a comb.

Along with consumer complaints, pharmacists also voiced their dissatisfaction. Pharmacists threatened to boycott DongSung Pharmaceutical if product improvements were not made. In response to the pharmacists' backlash, DongSung Pharmaceutical stated that it would stop shipping Seven Eight products to all Daiso stores nationwide and recall all existing products. Furthermore, they added that the Seven Eight products supplied to Daiso would be redesigned in packaging and relaunched. Specific details regarding the relaunched Daiso product are currently under discussion.