How To Launch A Private Label Serum That Sells
Launching a private label serum is one of the highest ROI decisions for your beauty brand, but knowing where to start isn’t always easy.
With so many manufacturing methods and product formats to choose from, how do you know if private label is right for you? And if serums are the way forward, which ones should you launch first?
Innacos is here to help!
Our in-depth guide below outlines everything you need to know about private label manufacturing and why serums are the smartest category in skincare.
We explore the pros and cons of private label compared to other methods, the top serum trends for 2025, and the five core types of serums to choose from (plus much more!).
What is Private Label?
Between terms like custom formulating, custom product creation, contract manufacturing, and private label, the world of cosmetic manufacturing can be filled with confusing jargon. So, what exactly is private label?
Private label is one of the most accessible, cost-effective, and efficient manufacturing methods for small beauty brands. It involves adding your own customized branding to a lab’s preformulated product.
In this case, you select your preferred serums from a catalog, order samples, and choose the ones that best align with your vision to add to your skin care line.
At Innacos, we offer over 60 different clean, sustainable, and cruelty-free private label skincare products, including 14 high-quality serums to choose from. Learn more in our full private label catalog here.
The Pros & Cons of Private Label
Even large, established brands use private label manufacturing to get products to market quickly, typically at a lower development cost and with higher profit margins.
While it’s faster and more affordable than customized skincare, the major disadvantage is that private label serums are fully preformulated, with limited room for customization beyond basic changes to the fragrance or color.
That’s why choosing a high-quality manufacturer is key. Look for labs that offer effective ingredients, share your brand’s ethics, and deliver strong value for money.
Once you’ve found the right one, you’ll need to invest time and effort into your marketing to make sure your range stands out on the shelf.
To help you choose the perfect lab partner for your business, we’ve created a step-by-step guide outlining how to find the best private label labs for your needs, plus the best vetting criteria to narrow down your shortlist.
Alternatives To Private Label Manufacturing
If you have an innovative serum idea, and you can’t find a private label option that comes close, try custom product creation or custom formulating instead.
Custom product creation involves adding a limited number of ingredients to a lab’s base formula. This method is a great option if there are just a few dream ingredients you would love to add to a base serum.
Custom formulating is a step above: it involves working with a team of highly specialized chemists to create a brand-new custom serum formula from scratch.
These processes offer more formulation freedom, but they are also more expensive, have longer lead times, and typically require a higher minimum order quantity (MOQ) compared to private label or purchasing in bulk.
At Innacos, we offer a range of manufacturing methods from private label/bulk to custom product creation, custom formulating, and contract manufacturing. Find the right path for your business by taking our quiz on our website here.
Why Private Label Serums Present A Unique Opportunity For Emerging Brands
Now that you know what private label is, and if it’s right for your business, let’s talk serums.
This skincare category can be one of the most lucrative if you follow the right strategy and partner with the right lab.
The global facial serum market is experiencing steady, healthy growth year on year. Strait Research reports that this category is expected to grow from $6.24 billion in 2025 to $10.32 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 6.5%.
From a profitability perspective, serums carry a high perceived value, which often translates into stronger brand positioning and better margins.
But it’s not just about the profit margin. Here are three key reasons why serums can boost the success of your brand overall:
Hero Product Potential
Serums are often a brand’s most iconic product.
Think of Caudalie’s Resveratrol-Lift, Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair, or Ole Henriksen Truth Serum - these brands are best known and trusted because of their standout serums.
It’s much harder to build that kind of cult following around a cleanser or moisturizer. If you partner with the right private label manufacturer, the serum you choose could become the face of your brand.
Consumer Segmenting Potential
Serums give you a strategic edge when targeting niche skincare concerns.
Whether your audience is focused on anti-aging, hydration, breakouts, or pigmentation, you can formulate to address their concerns specifically.
This level of targeting makes it easier to earn market share in such a competitive industry.
The Ultimate Gateway Product
Serums tend to be where skincare shoppers are most open to trying something new. While many consumers are loyal to their holy grail moisturizer and cleanser, they often rotate serums in and out of their routines.
That makes serums the perfect gateway product - an easy entry point that hooks new buyers in and introduces them to your brand.
Plus, if the product quality is right, it can turn many of those first-time buyers into loyal repeat customers.
Types of Private Label Serums
Serums are an exciting category for any beauty brand because of how effectively they can tackle specific skincare needs. But which ones should you include in your private label skincare line?
It depends on your target market.
Whether you’re building a line for a younger or older demographic, for minimalist routines or the most dedicated skincare fanatics, choosing your serum types carefully is essential.
Here are the five core categories that dominate the serum market:
Anti-Aging:
Formulated with ingredients like retinoids, peptides, and coenzymes, these serums help minimize fine lines, wrinkles, and a loss of firmness.
Hydrating:
Packed with humectants like glycerin and hyaluronic acid, these serums help attract and retain water into the skin for a more moisturized and plump appearance.
Brightening:
Designed to even the skin tone and reduce the appearance of pigmentation thanks to actives like vitamin C, niacinamide, and licorice extract.
Clarifying:
Generally containing chemical exfoliants (like AHAs or BHAs), these formulas help exfoliate away dead skin cells and unclog pores for a clearer and even complexion.
Barrier Support:
Focused on repairing and strengthening the skin’s protective barrier, these serums often include ceramides or centella asiatica.
According to Global Growth Insights, 63% of consumers look for serums with anti-aging benefits, while 53% prefer multi-benefit formulas that deliver benefits like hydration, brightening, and repair all in one.
If your brand targets multiple different skincare segments, ideally, you should formulate a serum to suit each niche.
However, if you’re starting small, consider launching with one well-rounded, multifunctional serum to test demand, especially one that includes anti-aging benefits.
Once you see what resonates, you can expand into more targeted serum formulas.
Private Label Serum Trends In 2025 And Beyond
The serum category is exceptionally innovative, with a constant stream of new trends and an ever-present potential to go viral, perfect for building brand awareness at the early stages of your business.
Thanks to private labels manufacturing’s quick turnaround time, it’s easier than ever to react to trends without missing the moment.
The Latest Private Label Serum Trends
Because private label is relatively low risk and budget-friendly, it’s a great way to test trending products. Consider launching two or three different serums with your audience, then scale up the ones that perform the best.
One of the biggest trends in 2025 is peptide serums. As outlined by Vogue, these serums are gaining popularity thanks to their ‘Botox-like’ benefits, reducing movement in facial muscles without the need for injectables.
At Innacos, our private label Natural Botox Peptide Serum contains:
Argireline: a peptide that helps minimize muscle contractions and softens dynamic fine lines, particularly on the forehead and around the eyes.
Matrixyl 3000: a peptide complex that helps support elasticity, collagen production, and skin firmness.
Order samples of our Natural Botox Peptide Serum here.
Choosing Serums For The Modern Skincare Market
Beyond jumping on trends, focus on staying relevant to consumers’ needs in general. Modern skincare users demand serums that help solve the new skin problems impacting their everyday lives.
For example, with screen exposure rates higher than ever, consider offering anti-blue light serums to protect the skin against the light emitted by screen devices.
At Innacos, our Anti-Blue Light Serum contains blue-green algae extract, which is proven to protect the skin against prolonged blue light screen exposure. Order samples of our Anti-Blue Light Serum on our website here.
Serums also pair well with new biotechnology innovations.
For example, Caudalie’s famous Resveratrol serum uses a biotechnological process to extract resveratrol from the waste product of vineyard production.
Similarly, according to Beauty Independent, Mutha’s Rebirth (Bio)Technology mimics the exact amniotic fluid and vernix found in newborn babies’ skin.
Science-driven storytelling formulations like this work best in potent, results-focused formats like serums.
In sum, private label serums offer a huge opportunity for small beauty brands:
They’re faster and more affordable to launch than custom skincare, however, they cannot be modified
Serums provide an opportunity to build a hero product, can act as a gateway into your brand, and make consumer segmentation easier
The five core types of serums include anti-aging, clarifying, brightening, brightening support, and hydrating
Together, private label and serums offer the flexibility to follow trends, meet evolving skincare needs (like blue light protection), and help you tap into biotech-driven storytelling
Ready to manufacture your own private label serum? Innacos would love to work with your brand! Learn more about our 14 different serums here on our website. Please call: (812) 329-1105 or email: customerservice@innacos.com for more information.
