Face Cream Manufacturers: How To Choose The Best For Your Brand
Face cream manufacturers vary widely in quality, and choosing the right one can be the difference between a sold-out launch and stock collecting dust in your warehouse.
So, how do you find the right partner to bring your brand’s dream face cream to life?
Innacos is here to help!
Our in-depth guide below reveals the 5 key criteria for choosing the right face cream manufacturer for your brand’s specific goals.
We also discuss the 3 reasons why partnering with a lab is a non-negotiable in 2025 and beyond, plus get inspired by 4 of our ready-made face creams available at Innacos.
The Importance Of Face Creams In Your Skin Care Line
According to the market research company Fact MR, the global face cream market is expected to exceed $82.8 billion by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.7%.
Not just another product on the shelf - face creams are ‘hero’ products in any skin care line - an irreplaceable staple in any good skin care brand.
As creams are used both day and night, there’s huge potential for repeat purchases.
But if you want to keep your customers coming back again and again, you need to get the formula just right.
That’s why partnering with the right laboratory and choosing the right manufacturing process for your current stage of business is so important.
Why Work With A Manufacturer?
Formulating at home can be a valuable learning experience as a brand owner, and even a workable solution in the earliest stages of your business.
However, there are three key reasons why leveling up to professional face cream manufacturers is essential if you want your business to be a success.
1. Formulating Face Creams Isn’t As Easy As It Seems
Many new skin care brand owners assume face creams will be one of the easier products to make, but in reality, it’s one of the most difficult stable skin care products to get right.
As explained in a 2017 study, face creams are typically composed of more than 20% water and volatiles, with 50% or less of hydrocarbons, glycols, and waxes as the application vehicle, usually in the form of a water-in-oil or an oil-in-water emulsion.
Due to this complex structure (a combination of high water content with oils and stabilizers), face creams are not easy to formulate.
Professional labs have access to clinical-grade ingredients and the expertise to formulate products that are safe, effective, and shelf-stable, which is much more difficult to pull off consistently solo in a home kitchen.
2. Labs Help You Scale Fast
Outgrowing at-home production can come quicker than you expect. One minute you’re comfortably meeting your order volume, the next a viral Tiktok skyrockets your sales, and you’re scrambling to keep up.
This is where working with a lab pays off. They have the facilities and systems in place to scale production quickly and efficiently, making the growth process virtually seamless for brand owners like you.
3. Regulatory Compliance Is Easier With A Lab
Due to the introduction of MoCRA in 2024, manufacturing your skin care products to the letter of the law is more complex and more critical than ever.
Partnering with a professional manufacturer helps ensure that your face cream meets all the required regulatory standards, which protects both your consumers and you as a brand.
Learn more about MoCRA and how your brand can become compliant in our full blog post here.
How To Choose The Right Face Cream Manufacturer
Now that you understand the importance of formulating with a professional lab, it’s time for the next step - choosing the right one.
Not all manufacturers are created equal. The product quality, expertise, and value for money can vary widely, so you need to vet your options carefully.
As you build a shortlist, use the following criteria to whittle it down:
1. Specialization
Does the lab specialize in skin care (or at least cosmetics)?
Some labs manufacture for a wider range of industries, and may not always work with cosmetic clients, which means they can be rusty or inexperienced when it comes to formulating skin care specifically.
If you are focused on face creams, look for labs that work with emulsions and active ingredients daily.
These niche-focused labs are more likely to have the advanced skin care formulation skills and manufacturing facility standards required for your brand’s needs.
At Innacos, we specialize in clean skin care (and color cosmetics) for small home-to-lab entrepreneurs. Learn more about getting started with Innacos on our website here.
2. Manufacturing Process Options
Which types of manufacturing processes does the lab offer?
The more flexibility, the better - especially as your brand grows.
At the early stages of your business, look for preformulated methods like bulk and private label. These are more cost-efficient and allow you to launch much quicker.
As you scale, consider customization to help your brand stand out. Look for labs that offer:
Custom product creation (adding a limited number of ingredients to a base formula)
Full custom formulating (creating brand new face creams from scratch)
At Innacos, we aim to provide as much flexibility for our clients as possible.
Our manufacturing methods include bulk, private label, custom product creation, custom formulating, and contract manufacturing. Learn more about the right path for your business with Innacos on our website here.
3. Testing & Stability
Safety, consistency, and longevity are non-negotiables for any cosmetics brand. Always ask how each lab conducts its formula testing and batch testing before signing any contract.
Manufacturers need to be fully compliant with regulatory guidelines and must test thoroughly to maximize product safety and shelf life.
At Innacos, we are transparent about our fully compliant testing processes and are always open to answering any questions you may have. Learn more about product testing with Innacos on our website here.
4. Sample Quality
Once safety and regulation compliance is covered, it’s time to judge the quality of a lab’s products.
Face creams are a staple in a skin care routine. To earn that permanent spot in your customers’ routines, your formula needs to feel amazing on the skin and deliver its promised benefits.
Take your time testing samples from every manufacturer on your shortlist. Give each face cream formula time to prove its hydration, finish, and efficacy across a couple of weeks of use.
Keep in mind that face creams designed for the daytime should also perform well under makeup.
At the end of each test, consider:
Would your target customer use this face cream every day?
Would they buy it again and again?
Move forward with the manufacturer that gets the biggest thumbs up to these two critical questions.
At Innacos, our formulas are not only clean and ethically produced, but they also deliver real results and feel incredible on the skin.
We believe in full transparency, which is why every preformulated product page includes the full ingredients list. Review the ingredients and order samples directly on our website here to experience our quality yourself.
5. MOQs & Price
Now for the elephant in the room - the price.
If a lab’s pricing is outside your budget, they're just not the right fit (at least for now). Bookmark those higher-end, pricier options for future growth, while prioritizing value and flexibility right now in the early stages of your business.
Look for:
Low minimum order quantities (MOQs)
Tiered pricing models
Loyalty programs
These factors will help keep your margins healthy without compromising on product quality, which is so important for the early stages of your brand.
At Innacos, we provide the best of both worlds to small businesses - high-quality face cream formulas without the extortionate price tag.
We offer tiered pricing across our preformulated products, up to 200% of formulating fees back with us if you choose to custom formulate, and we set a low MOQ at just 1k pieces. Learn more about our flexible pricing in our full private label catalog here.
Face Cream Options At Innacos Labs
At Innacos, we’re experts at formulating clean, cruelty-free, sustainable, and vegan skin care, including a wide range of face creams, from budget-friendly to super luxury.
In addition to custom formulating new face creams from scratch to your exact specifications, we also have an extensive preformulated cream collection in our diffusion pricing tier (our most budget-friendly tier) and our mass market tier.
If you have your heart set on a particular ingredient, we allow the addition of a limited number of ingredients to our base formulas through our custom product creation (CPC) service.
Our private label/bulk face cream catalog includes the following products:
Facial Moisturizer Base (The Most Budget-Friendly Option)
This gentle, fast-absorbing moisturizer is a versatile addition to any skincare line - ideal as is as your brand’s hero daily moisturizer, or make it unique by choosing it as a base for custom product creation.
Key ingredients include:
Glycerin for deep hydration
Meadowfoam seed oil for skin nourishment.
This formula is clean, cruelty-free, vegan, and made in the USA - ideal for brands looking for an all-rounder, adaptable moisturizer suitable for all skin types. Order samples of our Facial Moisturizer Base on our website here.
Water Cream
Inspired by K Beauty, this antioxidant-rich, lightweight moisturizer fits beautifully into any clean, hydration-focused skincare line.
Notable ingredients include:
Rose Flower Extract
White Tea
Sodium Hyaluronate
This formula delivers soothing, protecting, and barrier-repairing properties on the skin. A cruelty-free, clean formula, this water cream is a must-have for skin care lines targeted to sensitive and dry skin types.
Try samples of our Water Cream by ordering from our website here.
Sleeping Beauty Night Cream
This overnight, sleep-friendly gel moisturizer contains skin-soothing properties to calm irritation, reduce redness, and restore the skin’s barrier.
Key ingredients include:
Lavandula Hybrida Extract
Jojoba Oil
Tripeptide-29
It’s packed with anti-inflammatory ingredients, and also helps to support skin repair and elasticity.
Clean, vegan, cruelty-free, and made in the USA - this gel is a staple for any nighttime skincare line.
Learn more and order samples of our Sleeping Beauty Night Cream on our website here.
Super Rich Cream
Designed for drier and more mature skin types, our antioxidant-packed Super Rich Cream is full of deeply hydrating, nourishing, and protecting ingredients.
Notable additions include:
Shea Nut Butter
Squalene oil
Vitamin C
It restores skin elasticity, reinforces the skin’s barrier, and leaves the skin feeling smooth (without any of the greasiness).
Cruelty-free, vegan, and made in the USA, this clean formula is a staple ultra-hydrating addition to any dry or mature skin care line.
In sum, choosing the best face cream manufacturers involves the following steps:
Understanding why you should partner with a lab: the difficulty of formulating face creams at home, scaling, and regulatory compliance
Evaluating your lab options based on the following 5 criteria: specialization in skin care, manufacturing process options, testing and stability, product quality, and pricing.
Product quality should be the deciding factor between all the labs that pass the final 5 tests. At Innacos, we make testing our quality easy - simply order samples directly from our website.
Ready to source your preformulated face cream or create your own from scratch?
Check out our ready-to-order face creams at Innacos here and get in touch via email: customerservice@innacos.com or phone: (812) 329-1105 to discuss the manufacturing process that works best for you.
