Several years ago, a pharmacist recommended Johnson & Johnson's Anti-Itch Gel for poison ivy; I also used it for mosquito bites. It was a life-saver, but I couldn't always find it in the stores where I usually went.

Eventually I realized that the Benadryl's Children's Anti-Itch Gel I was seeing on the shelf was the same product (J&J owns the Benadryl brand). The active ingredient was the same (Camphor 0.45%). The packaging was the same clear plastic tube that stands on its cap (no box). The labels were quite similar; the Children's cap was clear rather than aqua.

Sometimes I found the Children's version stocked in a particular store, and sometimes the product which didn't target children. Though for the last few years I have only found the Children's version, for years I could find both versions for sale at the same time (though never both in a single store at the same time).

Oh yeah, children products... Aveeno baby lotion and regular Aveeno lotion has the exact same ingredients listed in the same order as well and the baby lotion is more expensive.

Well, in the case of the Anti-Itch Gel, the price was the same.

Having worked in the cosmetics/consumer products areas most of my career, I can say that having multiple products with the same ingredients and priced differently is common. There is nothing "illegal" or even wrong with this, IMO. Sometimes a product has multiple applications and unless you market it separately to each niche it will not sell as well.

In the situation OP described, the people looking for sunscreen for their kids or their own sensitive skin will tend to go for different products so different marketing is involved. Coppertone has obviously figured out that people will pay more money in the adult sensitive skin segment, so they have priced accordingly. You are smart to read labels and make decisions on that basis, as you can often save money that way.

And just because labels list the same ingredients doesn't necessarily mean the products are the same. The products can contain different concentrations, with the cheaper product having less of the expensive ingredients. Or they might contain different grades of the same ingredient. That's why the store brands are often not as good as the name brands even though the listed ingredients are the same. I'm not saying this is true of the Coppertone products since I don't know them. But it is often the case.

As sas pointed out - the products might be different, however many times it's just a manufacturers way of getting more shelf space in the store. There's nothing illegal about it - it's just marketing 101.

I was looking at Crest teeth whitener strips one time. I don't remember the exact amount of time, but the cheaper one said you would notice a difference in a couple of weeks. The more expensive one said you would notice a difference in a couple of day. When I looked at the directions, the cheaper one said to use 30 minutes at a time. The more expensive one said to use for 2 hrs at a time. So, I got the cheaper one and used 2 hrs at a time.

Or they might contain different grades of the same ingredient. That's why the store brands are often not as good as the name brands even though the listed ingredients are the same

That's interesting and discouraging. So I might think I'm saving money on the Brand X but in reality the product could be slightly inferior. I guess the only way to know which is right is to try both name brand and brand X and see which works, or is perceived to work, better for an individual. I just want to buy face lotion. I don't want to need a degree in chemistry to understand it.

FWIW, to explain better, I don't go around making constant label comparisons. I stumbled upon the Aveeno being the same when they were out the baby lotion once, I bought the regular, and when I saw they were both rated a 2, was curious of the ingredients. Sometimes on EWG some products will have harsh chemicals in the list (each ingredient is given a rating with explanation) and another will not, or have less, even though they may both have the same overall safety rating. - That's why I like to look closer.

I assumed it wasn't illegal, but I find it sneaky and dishonest. I can better understand products not being the same quality if you're comparing a name brand and a generic even if the list reads exactly the same. I have a harder time with sister products within the same brand with the same ingredient list, in the same order of potency, bottled in different amounts and charged different prices. I think it's a shame.