A QUICK GUIDE TO DEVELOPING A NEW BEAUTY PRODUCT

Want to launch a new beauty brand, or wondering how to grow your existing one? Don’t know where to start?

We’re a small but mighty team of beauty industry experts, who love working with entrepreneurs to help bring their brands to life.

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A BIT ABOUT US

Sam, our lovely founder, has a wealth of experience working for beauty retailers and design agencies, and has built a team of experienced product development specialists to offer a full end-to-end service for a success beauty launch.

So where do conversations usually start with our clients looking to bring their beauty ideas to life? The most important stage of all - THE PRODUCT BRIEF….

BUILDING THE BRIEF

The quality of a beauty product brief developed at the beginning of any beauty development launch will define how smoothly the project runs.

We aim to walk through all aspects of a new product brief that will define a clear vision for the product, from concept creation through to carton board spec. Whether its claims, ingredient traceability or fragrances, we aim to outline what really matters to each unique product and brand. This process often helps to drive forward innovation and help make sure the product really stands out against the competition.

BUDGETS AND COMMERCIALS

Spending time at the beginning of a project discussing all potential project costs is key. Honesty and transparency is key here so that we rule out what isnt going to add value, and make sure we cover off all the must-have spend with clear reasoning of why its needed.

FINDING THE RIGHT MANUFACTURING PARTNER

Whether the priorities are COG, sustainable credentials or the manufacturer location to support supply chain requirements, its key that the brand and manufacturer are aligned in values and expectations.

Often the response to brief from manfacturers will give an early indication on who really “gets” you and your brief, and what you want to achieve. You may be working with the manufacturer for many years so its important to get this decision right!

DESIGN

The exciting bit! The look and feel of any beauty product cannot be underestimated. It showcases who the product is targeted at, the quality of the product, the sustainability ethos of the brand…basically it’s key to nail this for your brand launch.

At this stage you also need to be clear on your vision for key messaging on your product is critical e.g. product claims and brand comms. We can support you to create a knock-out brief for a designer to get to work. We also have some amazing design partners who have years of experience working on beauty product design, so you can land a on-brand pack design to grab your customers attention vs the competition.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

So you’ve got your brand positioning, product brief and manufacturing partner lined up. What comes next?

From formulation and packaging approval, critical paths, claims testing regulatory support, artwork creation…..every aspect of a beauty product launch needs to be managed to launch on time and on budget. We can help you plan for what to expect and how to keep your launch on track.

SETTING UP FOR A SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH

As a skincare brand owner herself (hi Clear Skin Days!) Sam Murton has first hand experience on what is needed to set up for a strong brand launch.

From website creation, sales support for beauty bricks and mortar and e-retailers, warehousing services, drop-ship services, introductions to beauty PR partners, amazon account support - basically we can help with anything that you might need outside of the actual product launch to help hit your commercial targets. Even if you have already created your product, we work with existing brand owners to help elevate your brand in market.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU NEED!

Product photography? Product mock-ups? Translations? Anything that you might need to support your beauty brand is possible.

If you would like to find out more about the beauty coaching and beauty support services we can provide get in touch for a chat.

THE BEAUTY BRAND COACH

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO LAUNCH A NEW BEAUTY PRODUCT?

For any new beauty brand, one of the first challenges they will come up against is trying to plan a firm launch date for their new product range.

So what sort of timings should you plan for when developing a new beauty product launch??

For years brands, suppliers and retailers have been quoted as saying it takes at least two years to develop beauty products. On the other hand, there are fast beauty brand who have launched in just a matter of months.

So, who is right? The answer is both - it depends on what you need and when you need it.

If you are looking at a major launch within a big corporate operation it could take two years or even more. There are often months of consumer research, concept ideation & testing, many stakeholders to engage and numerous boards to present to. This process alone can take a year, and you haven’t even started to develop the products.

Timing will also be dictated by the type of product you want to develop. If you are working on the next breakthrough in clinically proven anti-ageing you can go through months or even years of creating formulas, testing these and not achieving the results you need to. Or, if you want to develop a monograph product (a US registered drug such as SPF) there is a minimum testing requirement that can put development lead times up to 18 months!

The issue with taking two years is that you are missing out on trends and ingredients that are created, realised and done before the year is out. So how do you do it quicker?

The answer could be that the manufacturers have done the leg work for you. They have their own laboratories and scientists whose sole role it is to create the next generation beauty products - they are looking at the same trends as you and fantasising over the possibilities with the newest ingredients. If these ready to go / off-the-shelf products tick the boxes of your brief, then go for it! Don’t feel the need to tinker with something they have spent months crafting and perfecting.  

The other way to improve your speed to launch is to work with one of these ready to go products but tweak (with something that is essential to your brand or consumer of course). This might be a shade of lipstick inspired by the catwalk or an ingredient that has to be present in all of your brand’s products. By working with formulations that are already developed and tested you not only reduce your development time but also your risk.

In summary, yes you can develop a product in a few months, or it can take 2 years. It all depends on whether your product simply needs to hit a current trend, and you can source a great ready-to-go product from a manufacturer, or whether you want to develop something truly innovative in the market. 

THE BEAUTY BRAND COACH

WHY IS EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT THE SKIN BARRIER?

With over 2.5bnviews on Tiktok the #skinbarrier is big news in the skincare industry right now.

Whether it’s at the core of new skincare product development, being discussed by influencers and beauty press, or being heavily researched by consumers who want to know more about it, the skin barrier has gone beyond a trend and moved into a core pillar of the skincare industry.

So what is it, and why is the skin barrier such a huge topic?

THE ROLE OF THE SKIN BARRIER

To understand why the barrier such a focus, it’s important to look at the fundamental role it plays in overall skin health. It’s the bodies first line of defence and has two vital roles:

Hydration - Internally regulates water loss and retains moisture, ensuring water and electrolytes do not evaporate from the skin

Protection - Externally shields from external aggressors such as bacteria, chemicals, pollutants, irritants & UV

WHAT IS THE SKIN BARRIER?

The barrier is in the outermost level of our skin within the Stratum Corneum in the Epidermis. Contained in the skin barrier are 3 main layers:

The Lipid barrier, which is protected by our Acid Mantle and above this is our Microbiome:

Microbiome - The skin microbiome is the billions of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that comprise the skin microbiota. The natural bacteria maintains the skin’s immunity and prevents pathogenic growth

Acid mantle - The Hydrolipidic film on the skin's surface made from sweat and sebum that has a pH of around 5.5. It's acidic nature acts as barrier to unwanted bacteria. It also supports a balanced microbiome and locks in hydration

Lipid barrier - Composed of Ceramides, Cholesterol & Free Fatty Acids, it supports the skin barrier function by reducing Trans-Epidermal Water Loss and protects from external chemicals, pollutants, irritants & UV

If a skin barrier is healthy then skin should feel at its best - soft, supple and hydrated. Likewise, the cause and effect of a #damagedbarrier is under the spotlight and is linked to a wide range of skin issues.

A DAMAGED SKIN BARRIER

What does this mean when our skin barrier is compromised? Well, unfortunately it can lead to a wide range of skin concerns:

• Cracks in the Lipid Matrix can allow irritants such as bacteria to penetrate skin, leading to breakouts. Gaps can also allow water to escape which can cause skin to become dehydrated

• A disrupted microbiome can lead to an imbalance between the beneficial and harmful bacteria, resulting in skin conditions such as acne and rosacea

• An imbalanced pH can lead to an overgrowth of bacteria, leading to skin irritations such acne & dryness

With the range of skin concerns linked a disrupted barrier, no wonder the skincare industry is heavily focused on barrier repair. As a result, new launches are coming thick and fast from all skincare brands which will continue into 2023.

So, if barrier health has always been so important, and so many varied skin concerns can be linked back to a disrupted barrier, why is it such a topic of conversation now in the skincare industry?

SKIN BARRIER TREND INFLUENCERS

• The long standing wellness movement helped to drive a focus on skin health rather than just skin aesthetics. Multiple skin wellness trends have since emerged, such as pre/pro/post biotic skincare for a healthy microbiome and the embracing of ceramides through brands like CeraVe to promote skin health. The foundation of all these skin-wellness trends is always taking care of the skin barrier

• #skinimalism has driven a change in brand and consumer behaviour. Complicated, multi-step skincare routines fell out of favour during the pandemic, driven by factors such as more mindful purchasing and concerns that high strength layered ingredients were irritating skin. The push for simplicity helped the industry to really hone in on solving the root cause of skin conditions, supporting again the focus on the skin barrier

• Protecting skin from external aggressors has been a long standing mission in skincare industry e.g. through SPF, pollution shields, blue light shields and wide-spread use of antioxidants. Promoting a healthy skincare barrier has naturally emerged from this, helping to nurture and strengthen your skins natural defences against external irritants

• The viral #cleangirl aesthetic showed off fresh-faced beauty on Tiktok, ideally with minimal makeup, which again focused attention on the goal of naturally healthy skin. The conversation around the skin barrier has blown up on Tiktok, which will continue into 2024 and beyond

We hope that’s helped to break down the need-to-knows on the skin barrier.

The great news for our skin is that improving barrier health will continue to be a focus in skincare industry for the foreseeable future.

THE BEAUTY BRAND COACH

HOW TO LAUNCH YOUR OWN BEAUTY BRAND

Beauty is big business.

Globally worth around $528 billion, the BeAUTY AND PERSONAL CARE market is now fully democratised with tradtional beauty powerhouse brands existing alongside celebrity brands, retailer own labels and market disrupting entreprenuers.

If you have the passion and budget, the beauty market is open to anyone who dreams of owning their own beauty business.

So if you are thinking about taking the first steps on your beauty brand journey, we thought it would good to share some thoughts on what to plan for first. As a team with decades of beauty development experience with large global retailers as well as beauty start-ups, we have experienced and worked through many bumps in the end-to-end product development journey.

So, where do you start?

BRAND DEVELOPMENT

When you have a spark of an idea, spend quality time working through your brand vision and plan.
What will your brand stand for and what are its values? Who is the target customer and why? Where will your brand be positioned in the market vs its competitors?
Laying down the brand foundations at the beginning, and understanding what will make it stand out from a crowd, is vital to set a clear path ahead and anchor all the decisions you make in the future.

BUDGET

Speak to an experienced product developer early on to understand the sort of costs involved in launching a beauty brand. There are many areas of costs to be aware of and factor into budgets at the outset - from regulatory support through to website creation. The more questions you ask at the beginning of your project will make sure you can set up your product brief and launch for success.

It may also be helpful to reach out to other beauty entrepreneurs to make sure you have a view of what costs to expect. Many in the beauty industry are happy to share their experiences! This will help to ensure you are going into your beauty launch with your eyes open and aren’t caught out late into your project.

TIMINGS

Depending on the type of beauty product you are planning to create, its important to be aware of timings. Even if you take off-the-shelf formulations, packaging and raw materials can be on leadtimes of up to 16 weeks. For new formulations testing will take 3 months, and for true innovation or SPF products you may find that project leadtimes stretch to 18+ months.

Once you know more about the leadtimes expected to develop a new range, work with a product developer to draft a project timeplan with deadlines for all key activities, and set a clear, realistic launch date to drive the pace of your decisions.

PRODUCT BRIEF

When drafting your brief for your product launch, think about every aspect of the formulation that matters to you. Whether its formulation claims (e.g. vegan), texture or fragrance, you need a clear idea about what you are looking for and what is going to matter to your customer. Then when you speak to product and formulation developers, you have the foundations of your product ready to build upon.

Understanding what markets you want to launch is is important to consider at this stage as well. This will make sure your formulators take into account the relevant regulatory compliance for that region.

If the first attempts don’t meet your vision, spend the time revisiting the brief and making sure you know what want to improve so you can give the clearest feedback possible.

For packaging do your research with experienced developers to understand what are your must-haves and what are your nice-to-haves. Sustainability will be one of the first things to discuss. Go out to beauty stores to look at whats out there in the market, so you can pull together examples of the sorts of packs you do and don’t like. This will set up conversations with your developer about what is going to work within your budget.

Finally, have a clear idea on your RRP, margin and target cost of goods. This will help make sure you achieve the best possible product within your budget.

MANUFACTURING PARTNER

An experienced product development agency will have a trusted network of manufacturing partners across the globe. This means you can issue your product brief to a number of manufacturers and select the best partner for you based on response to brief.

Make sure you know what to expect around things like production tolerances, management of excess components and payment terms. Standard terms and ways of working can vary, so having an early conversation on this means that you and your manufacturing partner are on the same page from the outset.

LAUNCH PLAN
Understanding which markets you want to target is really key not only to shape your product brief, but also to set up the right conversations with retailers and distributors. What are your priorities for launch markets, and where do you want to focus in the future?

Again, speak to industry experts about setting up for retailer conversations so you know what sort of questions to prepare for. The earlier you start these conversations the better so you can shape your launch plans early.

Take the time to find the right partners for PR, marketing and website development. There is no point coming up with an amazing product if nobody knows it exists!

We hope this helps with getting started on your beauty brand journey - it’s an amazing industry which we love working in!

If you would like some support delivering your beauty range to market, please get in touch for chat.

THE BEAUTY BRAND COACH