Bodycare Manufacturing 101: What Beauty Brands Need To Know
Bodycare manufacturing could be the beauty industry’s most overlooked opportunity.
There’s high repeat purchase potential and room for real innovation, but many brands underestimate the difference between skincare and bodycare manufacturing, leading to failed launches.
So, how can you go about creating and manufacturing bodycare the right way?
Innacos is here to help!
Our in-depth guide below covers everything you need to know about bodycare manufacturing in 2025 and beyond.
We discuss why this category is booming in the current economy, and the key differences between manufacturing bodycare compared to facial skincare (and why fragrance changes the game). Plus, we also help you choose the right manufacturing process for your brand’s needs and stage of business.
Why Choose Bodycare?
For beauty brands, the bodycare niche presents a major opportunity in 2025 and beyond.
According to a 2025 McKinsey report, 44% of global consumers surveyed in 2024 spent over $35 on bath and body care within a 6-month period.
With global retail sales reaching $52B in 2024, the bath and body category is experiencing a resurgence, driven by a demand for skincare-infused formulations and products that support the skin’s microbiome.
But while the market is growing, formulating bodycare that truly sells is more complex than it seems. Let’s discuss what makes high-quality bodycare different from skincare, and what brands need to consider when working with a bodycare manufacturer.
Why Bodycare Manufacturing Is Unique: Key Differences From Skincare
Repeat Purchase Potential & The Demand For Clean Ingredients
Bodycare products cover much larger surface areas than facial skincare, and customers tend to apply them more generously.
As a result, products like body lotions, creams, and scrubs run out faster, making the bodycare market a strong repeat purchase category.
However, because bodycare covers so much of the skin, consumers are often even more selective about the ingredients used.
Clean formulations, especially those free from phthalates, parabens, and other common irritants, are particularly important for long-term success in this niche.
Fragrance Matters More Than You Might Think
In most beauty segments, fragrance is an afterthought. For bodycare manufacturing, it’s central.
The body care market heavily overlaps with the fragrance market. As highlighted in McKinsey’s 2025 report, brands like Sol De Janiero and Bath & Body Works continue to grow by offering scented bodycare that is more affordable than traditional perfumes, encouraging repeat purchases and tying into the trend of scent layering.
Product Texture & Absorption Are Deal-Breakers
Since bodycare is applied both during and after bathing, the application process and dry-down experience are vital.
How fast does the product absorb into the skin? Does it feel sticky or greasy? Is it too watery or too rich? Does it transfer onto clothing?
All of these factors will influence repurchase behavior and brand loyalty. Partnering with a manufacturer who understands the importance of these details is key.
The Seasonality of Bodycare
Keep in mind that certain body care products are seasonal. Certain fragrances and textures/formulations are better suited to either warmer or colder weather.
Compare a thick, rich cinnamon-scented body butter to a lighter, tropical-scented lotion. The former will sell better in the winter and the latter in the summer. To stay ahead of demand, plan your production and estimated launch dates carefully to align with seasonal trends.
If you are selling internationally, remember: countries in the Southern Hemisphere experience the opposite seasons to those in the Northern Hemisphere.
Bodycare Manufacturing: The Four Possibilities
Now that you understand the key differences between bodycare and skincare manufacturing, it’s time to consider which production method will work best for your unique business.
Bulk vs. Private Label Bodycare Manufacturing
Private label is a process that involves adding your own branding and packaging to a lab’s preexisting formula. These formulas are fully tested in advance and can head straight to the production line and filling station once you sign a contract (and once you source your packaging).
Bulk manufacturing, on the other hand, involves purchasing large quantities of preformulated product in large unbranded drums - you must source filling for bulk independently.
Both options offer quick and inexpensive ways to start a bodycare brand, making them ideal for newer brands or those on a tighter budget. However, there are trade-offs.
Standing Out In A Crowded Market
Private label and bulk formulas are available to multiple brands, which means your formula is likely identical to others on the market. In most cases, only the fragrance and color of the formula can be adjusted.
Fragrance Can Be A Differentiating Factor
A huge difference between private label skincare compared to bodycare is the relative importance of fragrance. In skincare, fragrance is usually minimal and forgettable. Most people don’t remember the scent of their moisturizer or serum (unless it causes irritation).
However, in bodycare, scent can completely transform a product. Just consider the difference between Tatcha’s The Essence treatment (loved for its skincare benefits, less so the scent) and Sol de Janeiro’s iconic range of body butters, where the fragrance is the main event.
When it comes to private label bodycare, choosing the right fragrance can elevate a basic formula to something that feels completely unique to your brand. When done correctly, a fragranced private label body butter can feel like a custom-created product.
At Innacos, we offer a range of different bodycare products on a private label basis, with plenty of clean fragrance oils or essential oil scents to choose from. Our catalog includes our Lactic Resurfacing Body Lotion, Hand Cream, Natural Deodorant, Body Butter, and Body Lotion Base.
Order samples of our bodycare products directly from our website here. View our full range of essential oils, fragrance oils, and extract scents on our website here.
Custom Product Creation: Semi-Customized Manufacturing
Sometimes, changing up the fragrance alone isn’t enough to help your bodycare products stand out. If you’re looking to go a step further than standard private label, but don’t want to make the leap into full customized manufacturing, try custom product creation instead.
This process involves adding a limited number of ingredients to a lab’s existing base formula. For example, you can take a standard body cream and transform it into a firming body cream with just a couple of hand-picked added actives like caffeine or coenzyme Q10.
Custom product creation is the step between private label and custom formulating in terms of cost, complexity, and timeline.
At Innacos, we offer 150% of your CPC formulation fees back in the form of manufacturing credits. That means you could get a custom formula, that you own, for totally free! Learn more about custom product creation at Innacos on our website here.
Custom Formulating
If you’re ready to create bodycare that truly stands out, custom formulating is the manufacturing method for you. This process involves working with a team of highly trained chemists to create custom bodycare from scratch to bring your unique vision to life.
If you’ve come up with an unusual combination of ingredients, a new product benefit, or a delivery format not yet seen on the market, custom formulation is the only manufacturing method that can turn your dream product into a reality.
Although the highly customized element comes with a better chance of your product going viral, it’s also the most expensive and time-consuming manufacturing method of all.
From the R&D stage, right through to the production and testing phases, custom formulating is a long process, so you need to be confident that your concept will be a hit before you choose this method.
At Innacos, we specialize in novel chemical research, new-to-market concepts, and product formats, along with clean bodycare and hybrid formulas. Plus, we offer up to 200% of your formulating and testing fees back in the form of manufacturing credits. Learn more about custom formulating at Innacos on our website here.
Contract Manufacturing
Do you already have a formula that is ready to go, and now you’re searching for the perfect lab to bring it to life? Contract manufacturing is your next step.
Whether you developed your bodycare formula in your kitchen or partnered with another lab, as long as you own the recipe & its IP (and aren’t locked into an exclusivity manufacturing contract), you are free to manufacture your formula with any other lab of your choice.
At Innacos, we offer low MOQs for our contract manufacturing services (starting at just 2k pieces for our consulting clients) and also offer up to 150% or 200% of formulating fees back as manufacturing credits with our custom product creation and custom formulating services, respectively. That means you could get your products manufactured for free. Learn more about contract manufacturing with Innacos on our website here.
In sum, bodycare manufacturing involves the following steps:
Understanding how the bodycare market differs from the skincare market and the unique opportunities it presents
Choosing the right manufacturing partner to bring your bodycare line to life
Evaluating all the manufacturing methods: bulk/private label, custom product creation, and custom formulating, and choosing the right one for your brand’s current needs, timeline, and budget
If you already own a formula, finding the right contract manufacturing partner to manufacture your product and help you scale
Ready to begin the bodycare manufacturing process? At Innacos, we would love to work with your brand.
We offer preformulated, semi-customized, and custom-formulated clean and ethical bodycare products to suit your brand’s needs, along with contract manufacturing services.
Learn more by contacting us via email: customerservice@innacos.com or calling: (812) 329-1105
