Find The Right Body Care Manufacturer In 3 Easy Steps
Choosing the right body care manufacturer is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make for your cosmetics business.
The right partner will help you create products that customers come back to time and time again, while the wrong pick can lead to poor sales, high returns, and negative reviews.
So, how do you find the right lab for your body care brand?
Innacos is here to help!
Our in-depth guide below provides a step-by-step process for finding the right body care manufacturer from start to finish.
We discuss why the groundwork you do before you begin your search is just as important as the vetting process itself. Plus, we cover the four top factors you should use to narrow down your shortlist and make the right pick.
Why Choosing The Right Body Care Manufacturer Matters
Choosing a body care manufacturer should never be an afterthought, it’s one of the biggest decisions you’ll ever make for your small business.
Your products might be made in a lab, but in the customers’ eyes, they’re a direct reflection of you.
Not all manufacturers hire the right experts, or have the right ingredient sourcing, formulating, and production processes in place to create high-quality products.
All of these factors combined have a massive impact on product quality, and ultimately the success of your business.
Plus, don’t forget about the importance of regulatory compliance. If your manufacturer cuts corners or does not follow all of the mandatory industry regulations, you could end up liable for illegal products on the market.
1. The Planning Phase: Get Clear On Your Vision
Before you begin your search for the right manufacturer, you need to develop a clear plan.
What type of body care do you actually want to sell? The competition in this industry is stiff, so finding your niche is key to standing out.
For example:
Are you creating pampering creams for postpartum mothers who want to feel more confident in their skin?
Firming lotions for women on a weight loss journey?
Hydrating formulas for those struggling with ultra-dry skin?
Simple, everyday budget-friendly body moisturizers?
The best way to build a successful body care brand is through thorough market research. Find gaps in the market: the corners that are both high in demand and low in supply, that’s how you create a winning body care line that sells.
Invest in market research reports on beauty and body care trends, and do your own digging to understand body care consumers even further. Look on social media, online forms, and customer reviews to find consumers’ biggest pain points with body care and identify where existing products are falling short.
Struggling to decide on a niche, or overwhelmed by the process of starting a body care business? At Innacos, we provide expert consultancy services on a range of business practices to make the process as simple as possible for you.
Plus, we offer a ‘Build Your Own Brand’ (BYOB) course to help you build a successful cosmetics business from start to finish. Learn more about our consultancy services here.
2. Manufacturing Method: Standardized Vs Customized Formulas
Now that you are clear on the types of products you want to sell, it’s time to choose the manufacturing process that makes the most sense for your small business. There are two main manufacturing paths: customized formulas and standardized formulas.
Standardized Formula: Private Label Or Bulk
Private labeling involves adding your own customized branding to a manufacturer’s preformulated products. Some manufacturers also offer the same formula in ‘bulk’ - in large unbranded drums, which is ideal if you already have your own filling services in place.
The benefits of the private label method include cost-efficiency and a speedier manufacturing process.
However, the downside is that there’s no possibility for formula customization beyond small tweaks like the fragrance or color of the product. Learn more about private labeling at Innacos here.
For example, let’s say your market research finds a high demand for body care formulas with cellulite-reducing and skin-firming properties.
You dig deeper and find a 2013 study proving that Gotu Kola (centella asiatica) is an effective firming, collagen-stimulating, and cellulite-reducing ingredient.
Now you have your heart set on Gotu Kola as your star ingredient, but if you choose the private label route, you may struggle to find a manufacturer that offers preformulated products that include it.
At Innacos Labs, we are consistently innovating our clean & sustainable range of body care private label products. Our current selection includes the following: a lactic resurfacing body lotion, hand cream, body lotion base, body butter, and natural deodorant. View our full private label collection and order samples on our website site.
Customized Formulas: Custom Product Creation & Custom Formulating
If private label formulas don’t fit your body care product vision, some form of customization is the best method for you.
Custom Product Creation
Look for a body care manufacturer that offers custom product creation. This process involves adding a limited number of ingredients to a lab’s existing formula.
This is a great way to introduce a unique element, like Gotu Kola in body creams, without incurring the high costs and lead times involved with fully customized formulating.
At Innacos, we offer an extremely generous custom product creation package. Our nominal $2,000 per product fee is refundable - up to 150% - as credits against your manufacturing orders. In many cases, you could be getting a custom formula, that you own, for totally free!
Read more about custom product creation at Innacos here.
Custom Formulating
What if you have a truly unique idea that goes well beyond adding a star ingredient - a new product format, or maybe a special blend of ingredients the market has never seen before in a body cream?
Custom formulating is the manufacturing process for you. This method involves working with a team of specialized chemists to create a brand-new range of body care products from scratch.
Although you can create truly unique body care using custom formulating, it is the most expensive and most time-consuming manufacturing method of all.
At Innacos, we specialize in clean beauty, novel chemical research, new-to-market concepts and formats, and hybrid products. Plus, we offer up to 200% of your formulating fees back as manufacturing credits over time! Learn more about custom formulating at Innacos here.
3. How To Choose A Body Care Manufacturer
Once you have a clear vision of your product range and your preferred manufacturing process, it’s time for the next big step: finding the perfect body care manufacturer.
With so many options domestically and abroad, we know this decision can feel overwhelming. Use these four key filters to narrow your search and find the right fit:
1. Alignment With Your Goals
Can they actually bring your vision to life? Make sure the manufacturer you choose is equipped to create the type of body care you want using your preferred manufacturing method - whether it’s private label, custom product creation, or full custom formulating.
2. Quality & Professionalism
A great manufacturer prioritizes quality and professionalism above all else.
Assess every lab on your shortlist based on the following:
The skill level of their chemists
Ingredient selection and quality
The performance of the products on the body
Always order multiple product samples and test them thoroughly before you make any decision.
3. Ethical Practices
Consumers don’t just care about product quality, they also care about how their body care products are made.
Check if each potential manufacturer aligns with your brand’s values:
Are their products clean, vegan, cruelty-free, and sustainable?
Do they treat and pay their workers fairly?
Do they source ingredients responsibly?
Are they concerned about reducing waste across their manufacturing processes?
4. Budget & Flexibility
A body care manufacturer could tick all the other boxes, but if you can’t fit their services into your budget, it will never work. At the initial stages of your business, it can be difficult to find high-quality labs that fit within a tight budget.
Always check if you can afford a manufacturer’s services first, and if they offer room for your brand to grow. Look for labs that provide:
Low MOQs
Tiered pricing across their private label ranges
Loyalty programs or manufacturing credits post-formulating
Finding the right fit is all about balancing alignment, product quality, ethics, and budget. Do the necessary research and take your time to find a partner that will help your brand thrive.
At Innacos, we pride ourselves on our flexible range of manufacturing processes, exceptional product quality, and strong commitment to ethical practices.
Whether you’re launching your first product or building on an existing body care range, we offer formulas at various price points to fit your budget.
Plus, we prioritize the best, science-backed ingredients to create only high-quality products that keep your customers coming back for more. Learn more about manufacturing at Innacos here.
In sum, finding the right body care manufacturer involves the following key steps:
Getting clear on your vision: choose a niche and develop a plan for your product range
Understanding the manufacturing process: learn the difference between private label, custom product creation, and custom formulating and identify the right method for your body care range
Making your supplier selection: find the best manufacturers online and create a shortlist based on alignment, your budget, product quality, and ethical considerations.
Looking for a high-quality body care manufacturer? Innacos would love to work with your brand! Learn more by calling: (812) 329-1105 or emailing: customerservice@innacos.com
