What are private label cosmetics?
The cosmetics industry has become a thriving arena for aspiring entrepreneurs. There’s never been a better time to launch your own beauty brand, whether it’s a side hustle, passion project, or empire. But how do you begin?
In this guide, we outline everything you need to know about launching your own cosmetics brand, including finding a niche, setting up your business, developing & testing your products, and creating a marketing strategy.Â
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1. Decide on your nicheÂ
The beauty industry is heavily saturated. Before you start creating your products, you need to consider where your brand will be situated in the market. The most successful beauty brands have a clearly defined target market and products which serve those audiences.
Start by thinking about what kind of beauty products you want to create, then narrowing it down to be more specific. Perhaps you want to launch your own makeup line with organic products. What kind of makeup do you want to create? Is it for everyday use or a night out? Are you targeting teenage girls or busy career women? What will make your beauty products stand out amongst a sea of makeup brands?Â
When choosing your niche, make sure that it meets these two criteria:Â
- Passion/Understanding: It’s something you’re passionate about, a product you use regularly, or something you know a lot about. This ensures that you enjoy the journey of building your own business..Â
- Market demand: There’s proven market demand for that product type. This means your beauty brand has a chance of success.
To help you in this step, conduct market research into similar products, what your competitors are doing, how they’re pricing their products, and how much demand there is from audiences.Â
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2. Consider what kind of beauty business you want
The next step is to think about how you want your business to be. Consider some of these questions:
- Do you plan to sell your beauty products in stores or sell online? Department stores or supermarkets? A website or marketplace like Etsy?
- Will you formulate products yourself or use a private label cosmetics manufacturer?
- Do you need to rent a space to make, store, or sell your products?
- Will you need to hire staff to help with orders, marketing, sales, or distribution?
- What kind of business structure do you intend to set up?
- How will you scale your business if demand soared by 10x, 100x, or 1000x?Â
All of these questions will influence the decisions you make next, so take the time to think about this carefully so you can proceed to create the cosmetics business you really want.Â
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3. Create a marketing planÂ
Sorting out your marketing plan before you start formulating your products means that when your products are ready to go to market, you already have a strategy in place and can start selling immediately. Think about whether you’ll advertise online, in magazines, at events or markets, or using influencers or beauty bloggers.Â
At this stage, you may want to set up a website and social media profiles. Start building an online presence and garnering demand for your products before they’re ready to launch! This way, you can post about building your business in real-time, nurture an audience, and potentially have a group of customers ready to purchase from the moment you launch.
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4. Consider your budgetÂ
Before you start forking out cash for product development and marketing, take the time to consider your budget. A beauty brand is still a business, and if you want to succeed, you need to focus on the financials as much as the creative.Â
Here are some things to consider before you move on to the fun stuff:
- How many products do you want to release initially, and how much will it cost you to manufacture that?
- How much will it cost to hire staff?
- If you’re making products yourself, how much will you have to spend on equipment?
- How much will it cost to lease a space for storage, rent an office, or hire a market stall?
- If you’re selling online, what are the costs associated with setting up a website, email address, and digital marketing efforts?
Carefully consider all these expenses before you rush ahead to avoid any unpleasant surprises. If you don’t have enough money for what you need, consider whether you need a business loan or cut down on some of your expenses initially. Â
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5. Define your brand identity
This is the personality you choose to evoke through your products and how you communicate it to audiences. Will you be refined and luxurious or an affordable brand? Cheerful and empowering? Feminine and earthy natural cosmetics?
Defining your brand identity will help you nail down branding elements like colour scheme, logo design, illustrations, typography, packaging, and the tone of voice in your marketing and promotions.Â
A good brand identity is what draws in a loyal, die hard following. It’s what will attract audiences and make you stand out in the cosmetics industry. Once you’ve nailed it down, you can start designing basic branding elements like your logo, labels, and packaging.Â
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6. Develop and test your cosmetics productsÂ
Finally, it’s the part you’ve been waiting for. Now that you’ve taken the time to set up your business foundations and brand identity, you can start developing a product range that is cohesive, carefully considered, and stands out amongst other beauty brands.Â
If you’re making your own products, spend some time perfecting formulations until you have something you’re truly proud of.Â
If you’re using a private label manufacturer, you can work with an expert team to develop and adjust formulas to your exact needs, including using particular colours, textures, or scents. This takes the guesswork out of formulation and can help you develop and launch your products faster.
Once you’ve found a formula you love, you must test it for effectiveness and safety. Testing is part of the process when using a private label manufacturer and they’ll do it for you as per EU regulations. Otherwise, you must ensure you do it correctly yourself to avoid liability.Â
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7. Launch your beauty brandÂ
Finally, your beauty products are ready to launch! It’s time to show the world what you’ve been working so hard on, execute the marketing strategy you’ve created, and start attracting new customers who’ll become your loyal followers over time.Â
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Your long-term cosmetics business partner
Launching may seem like the final step in building a beauty brand, but in many cases it’s the beginning of a long, beautiful journey. Your brand will continue to evolve and grow over time as you perfect your formulations in response to feedback and develop new products your customers will love.Â
Let us guide you along the journey to growing and scaling your cosmetic business by connecting you with a private label manufacturer who meets your needs. With a network of 85+ private and white label cosmetics manufacturers across Europe, we’ll find you a manufacturer who will formulate products you love and become your trusted partner over time.Â
What are private label cosmetics?
- You don’t have ownership of the formulation
- Your product line won’t be unique – there may be many brands selling the exact same product
- You can’t change the formulation or choose what it looks or feels like
- Customers can feel betrayed if they find out your product is not unique so you have to align this kind of product launch with your brand values and buyer personas
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