For years, the country of origin was treated as an operational detail for brands, a line on a spec sheet for procurement to worry about. That era is ending. Provenance now shapes how consumers judge a brand, how retailers range it, and how buyers value it. For British beauty, this is an advantage hiding in plain sight.

An industry that pulls its weight

British beauty is worth £28.3 billion to the UK economy. That’s the headline figure from the British Beauty Council’s latest Value of Beauty report, compiled by Oxford Economics. The industry is also responsible for more than 595,000 jobs (a workforce not far off the size of construction), pays £8.8 billion into the Treasury and delivers £4.2 billion of exports shipped around the world.

Whilst the industry is largely recognised for exciting launches, cult movements, and dominating social feeds, the ‘glamorous’ side of things is only half the story. The other half happens early, in labs, filling halls, and loading bays, long before a product gets anywhere near a counter. Much of beauty’s real value is created in places the public never sees, by people whose names never appear on the packaging.

None of it happens without manufacturing. Every brand that scales, every shelf that stays stocked, every pallet bound for an export market started life in a factory. And when that factory is in Britain, the value stays here too. It goes into UK jobs, wages, and training. It reaches packaging suppliers, packaging firms, contract manufacturers, hauliers; one production run can support a whole web of British businesses before a product has even arrived on shelf.

That’s what Made in Britain means, underneath the label. Real jobs, sustained every time a brand chooses to make it here.

Proximity matters

One of the most underrated strengths of British manufacturing is proximity, because proximity changes the nature of the relationship between a brand and its manufacturer.

When the factory is a train ride away rather than a thirteen-hour flight, founders visit, buyers visit, brand managers visit. They stand on the filling line and watch their product come to life, they speak with the Development Chemists creating the product, they can be part of the process in the lab, conversations happen face to face and in the same time zone. Problems get solved side by side, and trust builds at the speed of conversation rather than the speed of sea freight.

The foundation of a strong relationship is partnership over transaction; the strongest British brands are not simply buying capacity from their manufacturers, they are building shared knowledge with them, run after run, year after year, until the manufacturer understands the product almost as well as the founder does. The wider ecosystem reinforces it: the British Beauty Council (of which we are a proud patron) alongside the trade bodies and founder networks working to put British brands on the world stage.

More brands are reaching the same conclusion. A Make UK survey found that 40% of manufacturers had reshored suppliers in the past year, with a similar number planning to follow, and the results are visible in the market. Several of the most celebrated British beauty exits of recent years were built on UK and European manufacturing, with supply chains that held up under a buyer’s scrutiny. 

What the consumer sees

Research from Barclays in 2025 found that 71% of UK consumers want to support British businesses by buying more products that are Made in Britain, while two in five are actively looking for UK-made alternatives to the imported products they currently buy. Against a backdrop of tariffs, shipping disruption and rising import costs, buying British has stopped being a sentiment and started becoming a strategy, for shoppers as much as for brands.

The label works because it answers questions before they are asked; Is this made to a standard I can trust? Are the people who made it treated fairly? Do the claims on the front of the pack survive contact with reality?

When manufacturing happens in the UK, those answers can be checked. Certifications like B Corp, ISO, Sedex, and COSMOS are audited realities rather than marketing language, and they carry through to the finished product in a way a consumer can believe. With ‘greenwashing’ and safety claims under closer regulatory and public scrutiny than ever, a supply chain a brand can point to is worth far more than a supply chain it has to explain or justify.

Beneath all of it sits a simpler truth, people like buying products made near them, by companies that invest in the places where they operate. ‘Made in Britain’ is a mark of trust, that can be printed on the back of a bottle.

The cost question

Every conversation about UK manufacturing arrives at the same place eventually… Surely it is cheaper to make it abroad?

For years the honest answer was yes, and in many cases would be today if the only line that mattered was unit price. But unit price was never the full cost, and in 2026 the distance between the unit quote and the true cost has never been wider. Freight rates that swing violently from one quarter to the next. Sixteen-week lead times in a market where demand moves in hours. Growth capital locked up in deposits and stock on the water. Compliance bills that land in the UK regardless of where the bottle was filled. When you evaluate the total landed cost, particularly at the volumes a scaling brand orders, the numbers tell a very interesting story.

We have published a report that does exactly those sums:

Read the report: The true cost of “Made in China” is sitting on your balance sheet →

Making things in Britain was once framed as the sentimental choice, but in 2026 and beyond, it is simply the commercial one, and the feel-good part comes free.

We break down the freight, the working capital, the compliance and the hidden extras that never make the spreadsheet, and compare them honestly against making in the UK. Every figure is sourced. If you’re a funded, founder-led brand doing £3m to £50m and weighing up where to make your products, this is written for you.

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Most growth stories are about energy. New products, new channels, faster launches.

The ones that actually finish are about something quieter.

Foundations strong enough to absorb the ambition built on top of them. Manufacturing partnerships that hold when forecasts double. Operations that don’t require heroics on a Tuesday afternoon.

Stability isn’t the opposite of growth: It’s the precondition for it.

The numbers most brands don’t run

Stockouts cost the global retail industry $1.2 trillion in lost sales every year.

The average one lasts 35 days from first occurrence to full replenishment.

9% of customers permanently switch to a competitor after a single stockout. 55% switch after multiple.

A 2023 PwC study found 32% of consumers stop doing business with a brand they love after just one bad experience.

These are not abstractions. They are the cost of one missed delivery, one short shipment, one launch that didn’t land on the shelf when the buyer expected it. And they compound. Research shows supply chain disruptions cost the average organisation 45% of its annual profits over a decade. 94% of manufacturers say they are concerned about their supply chain’s resilience.

Most of them are right to be.

Growth doesn’t create instability. It exposes it.

A 30,000-unit forecast is forgiving. A 300,000-unit launch into Pets at Home is not.

The same supplier weakness that was tolerable at small scale becomes a balance-sheet event at the next stage. Forecast variance lands harder. Lead time slippage triggers retailer chargebacks. Quality issues hit national distribution before they’re caught.

This is what scaling actually feels like. Not a smooth upward curve, but the exposure of every weak link in the chain at once.

The intent to fix this is widespread. The execution isn’t. A 2021 McKinsey study found 93% of companies surveyed planned to diversify their supply chains. By 2022, fewer than 10% had actually done it.

The cost you can’t see is the one you’re paying

The visible costs of supplier instability are easy to count. Rush freight. Expedited materials. Retailer chargebacks. Write-offs.

The invisible cost is the one that compounds.

When leadership doesn’t trust the foundations beneath them, decisions get hedged. Forecasts get padded. Marketing spend pulls back. Range extensions slip. New retailer conversations get postponed because nobody wants to commit to a launch window the factory might miss.

Call it decision drag. It is the tax of fragility. And it’s paid in growth that didn’t happen, not just margin that disappeared.

What stable manufacturing actually buys you

Three things, all of them commercial:

• Forecasting that holds. Predictable lead times narrow the gap between commercial planning and operational reality. Companies using AI-powered supply chain management cut logistics costs by 15% and reduce inventory by 35%. Most of that benefit is unlocked by a manufacturing partner whose data and processes are integrated enough to feed the system.
• Working capital efficiency. Reliable production reduces the safety stock buffer brands hold against supplier failure. For a brand running £5m of inventory at a 25% carrying cost, a 20% reduction in safety stock is £250k back in the business each year. That’s not just a saving; that’s a marketing budget.
• Retailer credibility. Buying teams track on-time-in-full performance. Brands that hit it get better terms, better slots, first call on incremental ranging. Brands that don’t get managed out quietly. Your manufacturer’s reliability becomes your reliability on the retailer’s scorecard.

What to actually look for

Reliability is not a marketing claim; It’s an audit.

• Vertical integration where it matters. Every handoff is a place where things break. Partners with in-house formulation, filling, and packaging remove the seams.
• Quality infrastructure already in place. B Corp certification, ISO accreditations, documented QA, and evidence that the systems were built before they were urgently needed.
• Demonstrated capacity headroom. The right question isn’t “can you make my volumes?” It’s “What happens to my lead times when your biggest customer doubles their forecast next quarter?”
• Aligned commercial incentives. Partners paid to ship boxes will ship boxes. Partners who understand that your launch failing is their problem operate differently.

The clearest signal of a strong partner

It isn’t how well things go when everything works.

It’s how few hours your team spends managing the relationship when they don’t.

Stability is the absence of friction. The forecasting call that takes 20 minutes instead of two hours. The retailer launch that doesn’t need a contingency plan. The founder who can spend their week on brand and growth, not in a WhatsApp group with the factory.

That quiet absence of drag is the most undervalued line on the operational P&L. And it’s the one that decides whether ambition compounds or collapses.

Boring, in other words, is a growth strategy.

Preventing Microbial Growth

Consider the scenario: every time a consumer dips their finger into a product, or uses the applicator on their skin, it introduces bacteria and potential contaminants into the formulation. Preservatives in this formula play the vital role of fighting off that bacteria and preventing bacteria growth. Without preservatives, these bacterial intruders thrive, which could jeopardise both the product’s stability and the user’s well-being.

Dispelling Misconceptions

Despite their critical role in many consumer goods, preservatives have often borne the brunt of public scrutiny. Take parabens, for instance, these preservatives have a particularly bad reputation despite their natural occurrence in foods such as blueberries. Context is crucial; not all preservatives warrant condemnation and in most cases preservatives are safe, and ensure that the products that contain them remain safe too. It is true that the use of large amounts of certain preservatives, or preservatives used incorrectly, can be harmful; which is why it’s very important to work with talented chemists, with access to the latest guidance and raw materials, that can advise on the right ingredients and preservatives to use in your products. 

Preservatives in Natural vs. Synthetic Formulations

Across many categories, beauty and personal care included, many see natural products as superior to their synthetic counterparts – but when it comes to the stability of a product, natural ingredients can result in a number of challenges that we need to overcome. Natural ingredients can have inconsistencies between batches, and they also can result in unpredictable reactions to bacteria. This is where the role of preservatives in natural formulations can present a number of complexities that the formulation chemist will need to navigate.

Can You Get Natural Preservatives?

If you’re in pursuit of creating an all natural product, you may wonder, do natural preservatives exist? While there are natural preservatives available, most of the high performing preservatives available come from synthetic sources. Natural alternatives may lack the broad-spectrum efficacy and stability exhibited by synthetic counterparts, and are at higher risk of the products failing during their testing period. But, it is possible, and if an all-natural product is of high importance to your brand it can be achieved – it may just take a little longer and some more testing to get you there. 

Can You Have a Preservative Free Formulation?

Any product that contains water has the potential for microbial growth, so therefore requires preservatives. However, if you create an anhydrous product (not containing water) this would not require preservatives.

Conclusion: Preserving Integrity and Safety

Preservatives are often the unsung heroes of cosmetic and personal care formulations, ensuring the delicate balance between efficacy and safety. When starting on your formulation journey, it’s important to understand the role of preservatives and to have a good handle on what key features and claims are most important to you so that your formulation chemist can help guide you down the right path and create the best product to work for your brand.

Want to talk about creating new formulations? Make an enquiry and we’d love to chat.

What is it (in layman’s terms)?

IFRA 51 is a change to regulations about fragrance that impacts the usage levels of fragrance, named allergens in fragrances and what types of products can use certain fragrances at certain levels. 

Why is it happening?

IFRA is the governing body that maintains the rules and standards on the use of fragrances. This is a change that they have reviewed and implemented. This will have been influenced by many factors such as new research, safety reports and increased learnings about people and reactions.

How does it affect me?

As a brand, it means that all of your products that contain fragrances or essential oils, need to be checked and reviewed. We’ll get a new IFRA 51 statement and new list of allergens for all of those fragrances and check each product against the new guidelines. Depending on the outcome of this review, there is a small chance there could be no changes and you can continue as you were, it could most likely result in the need for a label change, or in the most severe cases it could mean that your product needs reformulating with a new fragrance.

What do I need to do about it?

You need to review the guideline shared by Group55 and instruct us to review your products. We’ll then take care of the rest. 

What will it cost?

There will be an admin fee to complete the review, then depending on the outcome the overall cost impact could vary depending on whether you’ll need to complete a label change or whether new formulations will be required.  

If I have the same fragrance across different products, will I need to pay for every product to be tested?

Each product will need to be assessed because there are different inclusion limits for different product types, every product would need to be assessed individually and the costs would be reflective of this.

How long will it take to come into effect?

We’ve got a while to implement this for existing formulations, with the cut off date for all existing products on the market to be in compliance by October 30th 2025. That being said, if the outcome of the review is going to impact your packaging or require a new formulation, time for this to be actioned need to be factored in, and you also need to consider the selling rate of your current product format. We’d recommend starting ASAP to ensure a smooth transition so that you’re not caught having to make significant changes too late.

What happens if I don’t do it?

After the cut off period, your labelling may be incorrect and your formulation could potentially be illegal. Therefore your safety assessment will be null and void and you’ll be at risk of product recalls, delisting and potential prosecution.

If you have any further questions about IFRA 51 and how to navigate this regulation change, reach out to your Group55 Commercial Manager or contact sales@group55.co.uk. 

Regulation changes can have a significant impact on the cosmetics and personal care industry. Whether it’s new ingredient restrictions, labelling requirements, or safety guidelines, staying compliant is essential to safeguarding consumer trust and brand reputation. Failure to comply could potentially result in costly recalls, legal repercussions, and damage to brand credibility.

So, how can brand owners stay on top of regulation changes and navigate them effectively?

First and foremost, staying informed is key. It’s essential as a brand owner that you have an up-to-date PIF (product information file) and that it’s in your possession, this is the bible for your product and contains all of the information you need concerning the product. We often come across brands whose previous manufacturer did not provide them with their PIF, this is a big red flag and not acceptable – always ensure you’ve got this! It’s also vital to know who the named Responsible Person is for your product and to know who has completed your safety assessment.

 You can also keep up to date of regulatory updates from relevant authorities such as EU Cosmetics Regulation, and other governing bodies. Subscribing to industry newsletters, attending conferences, and actively participating in industry associations can provide valuable insights into upcoming changes. Your manufacturer should also be all over this and be able to proactively advise you of any upcoming changes that may affect your products, so if you’re working with a reliable partner they should be able to do a lot of the legwork on this for you and be your advisor in navigating what to do next. At Group55, we’re members of the CTPA meaning we have access to the latest information and can in turn use this to guide conversations with our customers so they’re doing the best for their brands.

As a brand owner, we’d recommend a regulatory check at least once annually, whether this is with the technical lead at your manufacturer, or with an independent safety assessor. Being aware of changes as far in advance as possible is beneficial as it arms you with the ability to make decisions about any changes you may need to make and how you phase out of any current formulations, stock or label designs ahead of any cutoff points so that you have the minimum possible commercial impact from any changes.

Once you’ve identified a change and understand it, ask the following questions:

• How does this affect my brand?
• What are my options?
• What impact will this have?
• What timeline should we work to?

This will help you determine the best next steps for you.

Keeping up with regulation changes is imperative for brand owners. By staying informed, fostering strong relationships with your manufacturer, and adopting a proactive approach, brands can navigate regulatory changes effectively and uphold their commitment to consumer safety and compliance. Remember, compliance is not just a legal obligation—it’s a cornerstone of building trust and credibility in the cosmetics and personal care industry.

So, we walked you through the first 4 mistakes we see brands make, let’s get stuck in with number 5… 

5. Creating an in-cohesive product range

We’ve spoken a lot about what comes after creating the product range, but let’s take a step back again and think about the range of products that are being developed. All too often, we’ve seen customers start with one idea and as they’ve gone through the process they’ve tweaked and changed things so much that it’s no longer a range that makes sense and no longer appeals to their target customer. Sometimes this could be wanting to add more and more claims that involve more expensive ingredients which bumps the retail price up and out of the budget range for the consumer, or they try to make a product appeal to everybody to the point where it’s not unique enough to really appeal to anybody.

It’s vital to have a clear vision of who you want the product to be for, what you want it to do for them, and what price and position you want to have in the market. We recommend creating a customer persona(s) to understand who your target audience is right at the very start of your project and then as you make each decision for your brand, refer back to these and evaluate whether this is the right thing to do based on your target customer, Does it meet their needs? Does it hit the target price point? Do the claims align with their values?

Keeping the target customer at the forefront of your decisions will help keep the project on brief and give you the best chance of creating a cohesive product range that makes sense and appeals most to your target customer which will set you up with the best chance of success.

6. Ignoring the basic business requirements

Developing a skincare range and a brand can be very exciting, especially for creatively-minded people. However, sometimes sorting out trademarks, business insurance, regulation requirements, accountancy and logistics may not have the same kind of appeal – but these are fundamental areas of business that cannot be ignored!

This is the really important stuff to make sure that you’re doing things by the book, that you can process sales, you have the right trademarks, that you understand your cash flow and that you can manage stock levels, storage, and deliveries – if you don’t have these fundamentals well established then your business could be at risk and there are likely to be lots of hurdles and issues that arise that you’re not equipped to cope with.

We find that for most of our customers, the creative side of the project is right in their comfort zone, but that the more process or function-led areas are a bit more out of their area of expertise – which is absolutely fine! There are 3 main ways that can be addressed:

1. You can learn what’s required and manage this.
2. You can employ someone to manage these areas for you.
3. You can work with third parties who specialise in these areas to manage this activity for you.

You should evaluate what route is going to work best for you and your business, but whatever you do, make sure you have a plan in place and don’t let these things get overlooked!

7. Over-optimistic business plans

You absolutely must be confident in your business and plan for success, why would you do it if you didn’t think it would be successful? However, it’s important to have realistic expectations so that you’re prepared for the scale-up rate of the business and don’t overextend yourself too early. We often ask our prospective customers ‘How many units do you expect to sell in the first year?’ we get all sorts of responses, but the way we like to have this discussion is to start with the number they give and then break that down to how many units will be sold per day. For example, say someone says they’ll sell 100,000 units in year 1, that breaks down to just under 275 units per day. We’ll then open up the discussion about what are you going to do to sell 275 units a day? What infrastructure will you have in place to make that happen? What advertising spend will you see to achieve that volume of daily sales? We often see that by breaking it down to a daily number, it helps to contextualise the big number and either ensure that the right infrastructure is in place to achieve that year 1 goal, or more often it leads to an adjustment in that target year 1 figure.

It’s important to have a realistic and accurate forecast so that you can plan your resources, budgets, production runs and marketing campaigns to align. A good manufacturing partner can be key to having these conversations and helping to guide you in your plans and ask the questions that you may have otherwise not thought about to ensure that your planning and forecasting is taking you in the right direction and setting you up for successful growth.

8. Choosing an unreliable partner

This is one of the more heart-breaking mistakes to see and it’s one of the most crucial things to get right! There are a huge number of contract manufacturers that have the ability to produce a product, but the service levels, quality levels and advisory support that is on offer from these companies can vary astronomically. Choosing a great partner can help accelerate your brand and choosing the wrong partner can result in huge issues for your business. When looking for the right manufacturing partner explore the following areas:

• What advice and guidance can they give you along the way?
• Can they offer you a full service to meet your needs?
• What experience & expertise do they have?
• Do their values align with your brand’s values?
• What are their quality assurance standards?
• What is their communication like?

Your manufacturing partner is responsible for making your product. The foundation of your brand. So you need to be confident in your choice that they will communicate with you effectively, produce and maintain the highest standards of quality and that they will be there to advise and support you as you start your journey and throughout your growth.

We truly hope that our experience in seeing these mistakes play out helps other brands and aspiring entrepreneurs avoid the same when starting out on their ventures. This is truly an exciting industry and there is so much potential for brands to flourish if they’re well-prepared and have the right support network. What this boils down to is preparation and planning, at the very start of your venture consider the following – What are the expectations and aspirations for your brand? What is going to make you different? What help do you need along the way? And then go from there…

1. Budget and budget mix

Let’s go straight in with the big one! There are a number of costs associated with starting a business, developing products, and launching a brand. We often find that customers who are committed to their venture are prepared for development costs, they understand that to formulate, tweak and test a range of products will need some investment – but past that point, is where we start to see some unpreparedness from people. Once a product has been developed, it then needs to be manufactured in bulk ready to be sold, with many private label manufacturers you’re looking at a minimum order quantity (MOQ) of around 5,000+ units. In addition to the product itself, you’ll need packaging and branding too, and if that’s outside of your skill set, you may need to work with a designer or agency to develop your branding and labels for your packaging and this is only to a physical sales-ready product!

You’ve then got to think about some of the less sexy logistics stuff like, where will your products be stored? Do you have a warehouse or will you be using a third-party logistics (3PL) partner to store and distribute your products? What costs are associated with this?

You then need to consider your marketing costs, what is your marketing plan and how much budget do you need to promote your brand so that people know about your products and want to purchase? Will you be doing the activity yourself or do you need a team? The costs involved in marketing can vary dramatically depending on your tactics and goals so it’s best to go in with your eyes open and set a realistic budget to align with your goals.

Your cashflow will also play into your budget in the early days, particularly if you’ve got a B2B strategy to sell your products through retailers, lots of these retailers have a 30, 60 or 90 day payment policy on invoices, so if your product is performing well, it’s likely that you’ll need to place your next order with your manufacturer before the money for your first batch has hit your bank.

Our top tip for budgeting and your budget mix when starting out in creating a product line whether that’s skincare, haircare, male grooming or pet care is don’t press ‘go’ on the project just because you can meet the development cost – this is probably the easiest milestone to meet, depending on how many products you’re looking to develop it could be in the low thousands to develop the product itself, you need to think about all of the above and consider what investment and budget is this venture likely to need over the first 12 months and go into the project prepared for success.

2. Marketing preparedness

We’ve touched on it a little above, but a strong marketing plan is vital to launching a new product range and without it, it will be hard to gain any traction in a crowded market such as personal care. We often speak with customers who have something that could help cement a foothold and give them a good foundation – sometimes this is a large and loyal social media following, or a good connection with a buyer at a major retailer, or a credible reputation – but what about everything else?

Marketing can consist of a complex mix of activities across different channels that complement each other and come together to attract your target audience and ultimately encourage sales of your product. Understanding how you’re going to do this for your brand is super important and should be considered right at the start of your project before starting the product development phase. Some key questions to start with for yourself are:

• Who is my target customer?
• How do they like to receive information?
• Where do they look for advice on what products to use?
• Will I be selling these products through retailers in-store? Or through retailers online? Or will I be selling them direct to consumer?

Once you know how your products will be sold and who you want to sell them to, you can then start building a marketing plan of how you’re going to target these people to attract, convert and delight them. This usually requires a mix of activities, you’ll likely need to create a website for your brand with content that will attract and engage your customer. Some areas to start thinking about are:

• Website
• Social media
• Influencer marketing
• Google ads
• SEO
• PR
• Events
• Affiliate marketing
• Content marketing
• Print advertising
• Multimedia advertising (eg. TV, Podcasts etc.)

You may choose to not to include all of these channels in your strategy, but you need to consider them and decide what your marketing plan will be and to ensure you’re not missing out on something key. It may also help you in determining what you can/want to do yourself, what you may choose to outsource or indeed whether you’re going to expand your team and hire an in-house marketer.

However you choose to do it, please at least think about it! Where we see the most issues arise are people get to the point where they’ve developed their product, they place their first manufacturing order and then they don’t know what they’re going to do to sell the product. Remember, creating the product is only the start!

3. Growth preparedness

Many people think the first order is the hardest as it’s an upfront investment, but it’s actually the easiest order you’ll ever place as you’re fully in control and you’re working with even numbers across your product range. When your brand takes off and sales are being made, it’s unlikely that every product in the range will sell at the same rate, so it may be that you have 1 or 2 products that need to be reordered before others in your range – no problem, right?

Well, this could have unexpected knock-on effects that it’s good to be aware of upfront. For example, if your second production run is smaller, your cost per unit may be higher due to economies of scale, or your cost of ingredients may be higher based on ordering a smaller quantity. Another challenge that is quite common in recent years is unpredictable lead times on raw materials as the supply chain is still seeing knock-on effects from Covid, Brexit and the war in Ukraine.

A good manufacturing partner can help you navigate this kind of situation and advise on what’s best to do based on your current and future needs to work most economically. This point is a little tricky to prepare for as it may be unpredictable before you actually get your product on the market to know what your rate of sale will be and what your situation will be when it comes to your 2nd, 3rd, 4th order etc. but it’s a good one to be aware of and to understand that not every order you place with your manufacturer will be exactly the same.

4. Assuming that retailers will stock your products

The competition to get on fixture in major retailers is fierce – their shelves will already be full and there are tonnes of brands competing to get some space on those shelves too, so you need to be prepared for a battle to fight the corner for your brand and get that listing. We often hear prospective customers at the start of their product development journey say “I’ll sell the products in X,Y & Z major retailer” and when discussed further it emerges that they haven’t sold products through a major retailer before or don’t have a plan for how they’ll make this happen.

The first question a retail buyer would want to know is “why would a customer buy your product over what I already have on shelf?” so you’ve got to have a great unique selling point (USP) that will differentiate you from the competition – having a ‘me too’ approach won’t cut it when getting listings in stores unfortunately! This is where a killer marketing plan can come into play as well to demonstrate what support you’re putting behind the brand and driving consumer demand for the products in their store.

The positive thing here is, buyers are always looking for the next big thing and they have targets to deliver on innovation within the category, so the likelihood is you’ll be able to get a conversation – it’s what impact you make and how convincing your products and promotional plan are that are the unknown.

On a similar note, we often see influencers and celebrities in a position where they have a great, large social media following and start a venture into creating a cosmetics product line to sell online under the assumption that their followers will buy the products. You’ve got a great foundation if you’ve got an engaged following, but it’s important to not just assume that the products will sell as it can give a false sense of success before you’ve even started. Having clear and appropriate USPs, a fantastic user experience, excellent packaging, great communications and customer service and ultimately an amazing product are essential to give your following a reason to buy into the brand, purchase the products and continue to do so moving forward.

Our best piece of advice would be to assume nothing. Take nothing for granted. Even if you know you’ve got a foot in the door with a retailer, or you’ve got an amazing Instagram following, plan plan plan for how you’re going to maximise on the return from that. How are you going to use these things to your advantage as part of a wider strategy? Don’t just rely on it being a given.

Check out part two here!

What is a white label product?

A white label product is an off-the-shelf formulation which is put into your own branded packaging. This type of product will be formulated and tested before it’s even on offer to you so it’s ready to go to market once it’s been branded. It’s ideal for small businesses who are looking to sell branded products but don’t need to create their own formulations.

Let’s take a local hairdresser or dog groomer, for example. They want their own shampoo that they can sell to customers to promote their brand and extend their product offering. Using a white label manufacturer, they’d be able to pick their preferred product from a selection of ready-made shampoos. They would then choose what quantity they’d like and submit their design for how the product is labelled.

White label products can be sourced quickly and with low minimum order requirements, but may not be suitable for ambitious startups, established brands or retailers. This is because the formulation is owned by the manufacturer, not the brand. This means that competitors can be on the market with the exact same product under different branding and can also make changing supplier extremely difficult, if not impossible, and can hold brands back when attempting to grow their business.

Essentially, a white label is a ‘blank label’. You can’t change what’s inside, and you don’t own it, but you can customise how the product looks and brand it as your own. This option is perfect if you’re looking to start small, if you’re looking to sell direct to consumers and if you’re looking to not invest funds upfront in large quantities. However, if you aim to sell your products through retailers in the future, or have a totally unique product, private label could be a better solution for you.

What is a private label product?

A key difference between white label and private label comes down to how the product is developed. When working to produce a private label product, this would be formulated by a development chemist specifically based on the customer’s brief and designed specifically for them. This is perfect for brands and retailers who want to take a new product to market where they have full input on the product claims they want to make, the ingredients they want to include and where they can also be part of the process to determine texture, scent and product cost. Most products on the shelves of health and beauty retailers and supermarkets are contract manufactured by private label experts like Group55.

Let’s take a skincare brand as an example here. They want to launch a new vegan moisturiser that’s made in the UK and is totally unique to them. They know which functions they want the product to deliver, and how they’d like it to look, feel and smell, but they don’t have the facilities or expertise to develop, test and manufacture it themselves. A brand like this would choose to work with a private label manufacturer to take the project from an idea to a finished product. This process would typically include a formulation and development stage where sample formulations will be created and tweaked until the customer is happy. The customer would have full input as to the texture, colour, fragrance and packaging that is used for this product based on their vision and specification. This product would then go through a testing stage where the stability of the product is tested in different temperatures and environments and its compatibility with packaging is also tested – this process typically takes around 12 weeks. Once the product has passed testing, it would then be scaled up to be manufactured in bulk ready to be packaged and shipped off to its retail destination.

Being involved from the start of the product development process means that you have a unique product designed specifically for your brand, but it does take approximately 9 months from idea to a physical product ready to sell. You would also likely have minimum order quantities (MOQs) to meet and depending on your manufacturer, this could be somewhere from 5,000 units to 100,000 units per SKU, but this does mean that with the economies of scale you’ll have a lower unit cost than if you were to work on a white label basis.

Private label projects require more upfront investment and have a longer lead time to hitting shelves than white label, but the beauty of private label manufacturing is that it allows brands to sell their unique products without any risk of there being the exact same product on the market. In most cases with private label manufacturing, you’ll also own the formulations which means that you have greater flexibility in working with a manufacturer of your choice at any point moving forward – just be sure to ask this question as some manufacturers will retain ownership of the formulations.

In simple terms, a private label product belongs to your brand but is formulated, developed and contract-manufactured by specialists+ on your behalf. You (most likely) own it, have total control over what’s going into it, how it looks and feels, but you leave it to the experts to make it for you.

How to choose which is best for you

The terminology can often be used interchangeably, and it may be confusing when deciding which route you need to go down and what’s best for your business, you may think you’re looking for white label, when in fact private label could be much more suitable for your needs. Here’s a handy list of pros and cons to help you establish which is best for your brand.

How to find white label products

Here’s a simple step-by-step process for sourcing a white label product.

1. Set out your requirements

Think about which products you need, the quantities you require and your budget.

2. Consider your claims
Your manufacturer must be able to support any product claims you wish to make, such as UK made, vegan and cruelty-free.

3. Seek out suppliers who meet your requirements

Once you’ve shortlisted some manufacturers, request samples so you can compare product quality.

How to find private label products

The process for sourcing a private label manufacturer is naturally a bit more complex as there are lots of different elements to consider. Luckily, we’ve written a blog which tells you everything you know about choosing a private label cosmetic manufacturer.

If you have a private label project that you’d like to discuss with us, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch here

What is CLP Regulation?

CLP stands for ‘The Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Chemicals Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008’. It is based on the United Nation’s Globally Harmonised System (GHS). CLP is most commonly known for regulating household products, such as washing up liquid. Pet care products in the UK also fall under this regulation, NOT the Cosmetic Product Directive, despite many products incorrectly following the latter.

CLP was introduced in the UK in 2009, and the cut off for bringing products in line with the regulation was June 2017. After this date, all products which fail to comply are at risk of legal action.

What are the rules?

CLP is triggered when something hazardous is contained within a product. Each hazard has a maximum % allowed before a warning symbol, hazard or precautionary statement MUST be displayed on the product’s packaging. The two most common causes of triggers in pet care products are surfactants (soaps) and fragrances.

Below are the warning/danger symbols that may be required if CLP is triggered:

If a product triggers a hazard, the symbols MUST be displayed in the correct format (above) and sized 1cm² on any product under 3 litres. It must also be outlined in red on a white background with a black symbol. This ensures the symbols are visible and cannot be ‘hidden’ on a product’s label.

As well as pictograms, products may also be required to include warning text on their labels when a hazard is triggered, such as “may cause an allergic reaction”.

What happens if a product isn’t CLP compliant?

Trading Standards are responsible for monitoring whether products in the UK comply with CLP Regulations. Failure to comply can result in a large fine and a full product recall.

When it comes to making changes to bring products in line, it goes without saying that a warning/danger symbol on the product’s packaging would be off-putting for customers. Instead, brands usually choose to reformulate their existing product to reduce or remove certain ingredients to avoid a trigger.

Other important pet care regulations

All preservatives used in a pet care formulation that’s sold in the UK MUST be listed on article 95 of the Biocidal Products Directive under the correct product type and MUST have been supplied by a registered licence holder and/or approved downstream supplier.

Unlike personal care products that fall under the Cosmetic Product Directive, pet care products DON’T require an INCI (ingredients) list. They DO, however, need to list certain ingredients and their inclusion levels in the ‘contains’ section of the product.

Here’s an example of a fully compliant pet care product’s label made by Group55 for our own brand, Animology.

How to check if products are CLP compliant

At Group55, we’re experienced in running compliance checks and reformulating pet care products to bring them in line with CLP and all pet care regulations.

If you would like to check whether your pet brand’s products are in line with regulations or discuss a reformulation project, we’re here to help. Get in touch with us and we’ll guide you through the process.