Episode 4: A Primer On Developing A Clean Beauty Brand! – Manufacturing & Go To Market
You have approved the prototypes developed by your Cosmetic Chemist and they are now undergoing Product Stability Testing, Preservative Challenge Testing, Skin Patch Testing, your Chemist or Regulatory Consultant has prepared a Cosmetic Ingredient Safety Report for Safety Substantiation, ensured MoCRA compliance and you’ve selected your packaging.
Generally, your Cosmetic Chemist will either conduct or coordinate the testing required to ensure the stability and safety substantiation of your products.
It’s time to engage Contract Manufacturers (‘CM”) and conduct Consumer Perception Studies.
Your Cosmetic Chemist can introduce you to Cosmetic Contract Manufacturers that they have experience working with that meet your production run size requirements or you can chose a CM on your own. Read our Blog Post https://desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com/tips-for-selecting-and-working-with-a-contract-manufacturer/. We recommend working with a CM that your Cosmetic Chemist has experience working with as it generally makes your tech transfer to a CM a smoother process.
The CM will quote you a unit cost for the manufacture and fill of your products. If the quote and contract terms are acceptable to you, then the CM will order-in ingredients for your production run. Some ingredients may have lead times of up to 12 weeks and the CM needs to fit you into their production schedule, so be prepared that it may take up to 12-16 weeks for your first run to be manufactured after you sign the contract.
During this timeframe, you may want to conduct Consumer Perception Studies, or you can conduct Consumer Perception Studie prior to engaging a Contract Manufacturer. Consumer Perception Studies are a great way for your brand to quantify the impact of your products. They provide you with data to make claims such as “97% agree that this product reduced the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles.” This is very powerful for marketing your products. Consumer Perception Studies are not mandatory, but highly recommended to signal to potential consumers that your products are effective.
During this timeframe you will be busy developing your website, preparing your social media marketing campaign, developing your PR strategy and getting ready to implement your go-to-market strategy. All of these activities should be timed to dovetail with your manufacturing run when you actually have product to deliver to consumers.
A useful strategy is to pursue a “soft launch” with samples in your local geographic market. This will enable you to garner Product Reviews, accumulate User Generated Content and gauge consumer reaction to your products before a full-scale launch.
Pre-seed the market by engaging your target Consumer Persona online prior to your product launch. Establishing yourself as a Sensitive Skin expert in online groups and announcing “Coming Soon” or making samples available to local consumers in exchange for Reviews is a good strategy.