The Complete Guide To Custom Skin Care Manufacturers
Custom skin care manufacturers are the ticket to innovative products that earn you loyal customers.
But with the significant financial cost involved, how can you determine if this path is the best option for your business?
Innacos Labs is here to help!
Our in-depth guide below reveals why custom skin care matters more than ever, what to expect from the entire process, and the five key criteria to choose the right lab for you.
Why Custom Skin Care Is Important in 2025
Whether it’s preformulated, customized, or semi-customized, choosing the right type of formula for your brand is not easy. Your manufacturing approach will directly impact your costs, risks, and ultimately, the success of your small skin care business.
As outlined by Modor Business, the beauty industry is highly competitive. It’s dominated by a few major players at the top, and the acquisition of smaller companies is commonplace.
Despite the stiff competition, Euromonitor reports that almost 25% of all new brand launches each year are in the beauty and personal care sector. Many of these launches happen online, most commonly in the US, where the large market and wide customer base provide a perfect testing ground before scaling worldwide.
The options are endless. Consumers, however, are creatures of habit. With thousands of new products hitting the market each year, getting them to switch from their holy grail favorites requires more than just good marketing - it takes something truly different.
A standardized formula won’t cut it. It’s time to create something original.
Custom Formulating Explained
From snail mucin and color-changing BB creams to pimple patches and deodorant creams, consumers are open to trying new ingredients, new product formats, and other fresh ways to improve their beauty routine.
That’s where custom formulating comes in. Unlike standardized, bulk, or private label preformulated products (the same ones countless other brands already sell), custom formulating involves working with a team of professional custom skin care chemists and manufacturers to create an entirely new formula from scratch.
From new-to-market concepts and product formats, to hybrid formulas, or the application of novel chemical research, custom formulating is what drives innovation on the supply side in the cosmetics market.
Take Caudalie’s Resveratrol anti-aging serum as an example. Its star ingredient is upcycled from vineyards, delivering skin care benefits while also telling a unique brand story that hooks customers in and makes them want to buy.
Custom formulating is not just about creating a unique product - it’s also about ownership. You will own the exclusive rights to your formula’s Intellectual Property (IP), meaning no other brand can sell the same product.
Plus, you can tailor the ingredients to exactly align with your brand ethos, whether that means clean, vegan, sustainable, or clinical-grade standards.
Don’t forget to fine-tune the smaller details like texture, scent, and performance to put your brand’s signature stamp on your customized products! This highly customized process is all about making your products exactly how you envision them to be.
At Innacos, we offer a broad range of manufacturing options from bulk, private label, custom product creation, to custom formulating. Not sure which path is right for you? Find the right manufacturing process for you in our quiz.
The Disadvantages Of Custom Formulating
While custom skin care formulas can set your brand apart and attract a loyal fan base, they also come with challenges. From R&D costs, chemist fees, production costs, plus any additional reformulation expenses, there is a lot of work involved in this process, and it all adds up.
Working with custom skin care manufacturers also takes time - careful planning, research, and testing are essential to get it right. If you are on a tight budget or need to launch quickly, private labeling or buying in bulk may be a better option.
At Innacos, we are experts at providing clean, vegan, sustainable, and cruelty-free private label skincare. Learn more in our full product catalog here.
Have your heart set on a customized product, but don’t have the budget or patience for highly custom skin care? Try custom product creation instead! This process involves adding a limited number of ingredients to a lab’s base formula. Learn more about custom product creation on our website here.
Choosing The Best Custom Skin Care Manufacturers
Working with custom skin care manufacturers is a lengthy process, so choosing the right lab from the start is important.
Don’t rush into a decision.
Take the time to explore your options carefully before signing a contract. Struggling to choose? Use the following five-step criteria as a guide:
Reviews & Testimonials
What do other skin care brand owners have to say? Look for reviews on both the custom formulating process and the overall experience of working with each manufacturer.
Customization Possibilities
When a lab claims to formulate ‘from scratch’, how custom are we talking? Some custom skin care manufacturers are limited in terms of equipment, ingredient sourcing, and professional skillset than others.
If your formula concept is highly innovative and unique, it’s important to pitch it clearly during the discovery phase to ensure the lab has the capabilities to bring your vision to life.
Expertise & Experience
Does this lab focus on a niche category of skin care products, or are they more of a generalist in the beauty space? If you are a niche skin care brand, it can make sense to choose a manufacturer with a lot of expertise in your specific area. However, keep in mind that you may need to work with a different lab if you decide to venture outside your niche in the future.
Timelines & Production Capacity
Custom formulating doesn’t happen overnight, but some manufacturers are faster and more organized than others. Is the onboarding process speedy and efficient? Do they communicate fast and provide regular updates? Speed will become particularly important as you scale your business.
Costs
High-quality custom formulating will never come cheap, but some labs will offer better value for money than others. Ask whether or not they offer any perks or loyalty incentives, for example, applying development fees as manufacturing credits, to help soften the financial impact of formulating from scratch.
At Innacos, we reward loyalty and offer 200% of our custom formulating fees back as manufacturing credits over time. Learn more about the full custom formulating costs and reward program here.
Working With Custom Skin Care Manufacturers: How the Process Works
You’ve got a great idea for a new innovative skin care product, and found the best custom skin care manufacturer for your brand.
It’s time to take it to the lab!
The custom skin care manufacturing process can be split into 3 stages:
Formulating (3 months)
Testing (3 months)
Manufacturing (3 months).
At Innacos, the entire process takes approximately 9 months, however, timelines can vary depending on the complexity of the formula.
Custom Formulating Step By Step: A Three-Stage Process
Submission stage (1- 3 weeks):
Fill out the onboarding document for consideration/a quote
Initial call or email to clarify your vision with questions
If accepted, you’ll receive an R&D quote + testing schedule
Final call if needed for further clarification
Deposit invoice and onboarding paperwork are sent
Onboarding and formulating (4 weeks - 6 months):
A kickoff call with your chemist and R&D team will be set up within 2 weeks of receipt signing/deposit
Please have your expected MSRP range for product(s) ready for this call
The first prototype (sample) is typically ready within 3-6 weeks
Follow-up samples are sent about every 2 weeks, pending your feedback
Testing Phase (2 months+):
Testing requirements depend on your formula and may include:
Preservative Efficacy Test (PET) for formulas with water (approximately 6 weeks)
In-house stability testing (rapid: 3 weeks, regular: 12 weeks)
Additional testing may include 3rd party tests (RIPT, etc), which can extend timelines
Once the testing phase is over, your custom formula is complete - congratulations!
You own the IP, meaning you can choose to manufacture with Innacos or take the formula elsewhere for contract manufacturing. Learn more about custom formulating and our pricing structure at Innacos Labs on our website here.
Contract Manufacturing Explained
Whether you manufacture with us or work with other custom skin care manufacturers, the typical contract manufacturing process is as follows:
Contract Manufacturing: (3 - 4 months):
Includes USP 61 & 62 testing
Timelines vary based on whether or not the contract manufacturer offers turnkey services. For Bring Your Own Packaging (BYOP) at Innacos, this process takes on average 6-8 weeks
Add additional time for specialty ingredient inclusions/arrival
We highly recommend that clients accepted to our R&D program manufacture with us to ensure consistent formulation results. However, neither party is obligated to manufacture the final formulation(s). Read more about contract manufacturing at Innacos here.
In sum, working with custom skin care manufacturers involves the following key steps:
Understanding the different manufacturing options available to your skin care brand and deciding if custom formulating is right for your business
Next, it’s time to choose the right custom skin care manufacturer for you. Base your decision on reviews and testimonials, customization possibilities, expertise and experience, timelines and production capacity, and costs
Once you have chosen a manufacturer, it’s time to start the process. Custom formulating involves 3 key stages: formulating, testing, and manufacturing
Following the custom formulating stage, the next step is to get your products manufactured through contract manufacturing
Looking for a custom skin care manufacturer for your small beauty brand? Innacos would love to collaborate! Get in touch to learn more via phone: (812) 329-1105 or email: customerservice@innacos.com.
