A Guide To Finding The Best Skin Care Contract Manufacturer
Is it time for your skin care brand to level up and work with a contract manufacturer?
And, if so, how do you find the ideal partner for your business?
Innacos is here to help!
Our in-depth guide below outlines everything you need to know about contract manufacturing.
We discuss the most common misconceptions, the four criteria you need to meet before you begin your search, and the five steps to vetting labs to find the right one for you.
What Exactly Is Contract Manufacturing?
Terms like custom formulating and contract manufacturing can be confusing and easy to mix up, especially if you’re new to the skin care industry.
Understanding the definitions and how each stage fits into the product development process is key to deciding whether or not contract manufacturing is the right next step for your business.
Let’s discuss the stages in more detail so you can approach product manufacturing for your brand with confidence.
Custom Formulating
Custom formulating is the stage before contract manufacturing.
This involves working with a team of highly trained chemists in a professional lab to create brand-new custom skin care from scratch. Once the formula is ready, you own full legal rights to the recipe.
At this point, you have two options:
Manufacture it with the same lab that formulated it (often as part of a custom formulating package that includes product manufacturing at the end)
Work with a third-party lab (a contract manufacturer) to manufacture it at scale.
Still searching for that perfect skin care formula? Not sure if private label/bulk, custom product creation, or custom formulating is the right path for you?
Innacos is here to help. Learn more about all the formulating paths at Innacos here.
Contract Manufacturing
Contract manufacturing is the next step once your custom skin care formula is finalized and fully ready for production.
It doesn’t matter whether you developed the formula yourself at home or through a professional lab, as long as it is legally tested, safe, and you own the IP.
At this stage, a contract manufacturer will make your skin care product at scale, following your exact recipe, including the specific ingredient percentages and mixing instructions.
Before we discuss whether your business is ready for this step, let’s clear up two common misconceptions that often confuse small skin care brand owners:
Misconception 1: The manufacturer will help improve your formula first
Not true.
Contract manufacturing services do not include any adjustments to your formula. They will manufacture the product exactly as it is described in your recipe and instructions.
If you believe your formula still needs some work, invest in R&D/custom formulating services first before the manufacturing stage takes place.
Misconception 2: You don’t need to test your product before contract manufacturing
This is not correct.
All skin care products on the market must meet legal safety and stability testing standards.
If your formula hasn’t been professionally tested yet, this is the next step before contract manufacturing.
Some labs offer testing before the manufacturing phase, but it’s not always included, and it’s not optional.
Is My Skin Care Business Ready For Contract Manufacturing?
If you are still making your own skin care at home, it can be difficult to know when it’s time to level up to lab-based production.
There comes a point in every brand’s journey where your growth outpaces what you can realistically manage on your own. That’s when working with a lab becomes the natural next step.
So, how do you know if your business is prepared for the contract manufacturing stage?
Ensure you meet these four criteria before you begin your search:
1. Confidence In Your Product
Your formula has been thoroughly tested, perfected, and you are no longer adjusting ingredients or ratios after each batch.
You’re seeing consistent positive customer feedback, a steady rate of sales, and are beginning to build that loyal customer base. You feel confident about selling this product at scale, exactly as it is.
You also need to be clear on your business goals in both the short and long term. Are you scaling up dramatically for wholesale, or at a slow and steady pace for direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales online?
Create a small business plan detailing your short-term and long-term projections and growth goals to help ensure your manufacturer is aligned on batch sizes and timelines.
2. Legal Ownership Of The Formula
You may love your private label/bulk formula, but if you didn’t create the recipe, you don’t own it.
Contract manufacturing requires full formula intellectual property (IP) rights. Whether it was custom-formulated in a lab or created in your kitchen, it must legally be yours.
If you need your manufacturer to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement), be ready to send that over before sharing your recipe or any other confidential documents.
3. Professional Testing
All skin care on the market must meet the legal regulatory safety standards. Every formula must undergo stability testing, and may require additional testing depending on your product formula. For example, all skin care that contains water requires PET (preservative efficacy testing).
If your formulas haven’t been tested yet, this is the next step before moving on to contract manufacturing. Some contract manufacturers handle testing as a separate service for an additional fee.
4. Full Technical Documentation
You must be ready to hand over the formula’s exact recipe and detailed instructions, not just the ingredient list.
This includes:
Ingredients listed in INCI format, common names, and trade names
Precise percentages of each ingredient by weight
Full mixing instructions with detailed information on temperature, phases, and equipment
Once you have all of this in place and ready to share, you’re ready to start the search.
At Innacos, we offer a low MOQ, flexible, and hands-on contract manufacturing process. We will assign a responsive team and a dedicated project manager to ensure we recreate your product exactly as described.
Plus, if you choose to custom formulate with us, you can earn up to 200% back as manufacturing credits. Learn more about contract manufacturing at Innacos here.
How To Find The Right Contract Manufacturer For Skin Care
Now that you understand contract manufacturing and what’s required to get started, it’s time to find the right partner for your small skin care business.
Although you can find great recommendations through word of mouth, in directories, or at trade shows, searching online is the easiest way to compare all your options at once to find the right fit.
Start by searching for terms like ‘contract manufacturer of skin care’ and add the keyword ‘US’ if domestic manufacturing is a priority for your business.
Create a new spreadsheet to track and organize all your options.
Helpful column headers include: services offered, location, minimum order quantities (MOQs), estimated pricing, and contact information.
Choosing The Right Contract Manufacturer
Once you have a shortlist of potential partners, it’s time to vet each option more closely.
Try filtering based on the following five criteria to find the ideal fit for your business stage, product type, and goals:
1. Area of Specialization
Does this manufacturer specialize in cosmetics, or does it manufacture for many different industries?
Specialized cosmetics labs are typically more familiar with the complexities of manufacturing skin care than generalists. This can result in smoother communication, fewer errors, and a faster, more efficient production process.
At Innacos, we specialize in clean, cruelty-free, sustainable, and vegan skin care (and color cosmetics). Learn more about why we specialize in clean skin care here.
2. Reviews and Testimonials
What do past clients have to say? A lack of testimonials or reviews can be a red flag.
Look for feedback that discusses the manufacturer’s professionalism, speed, manufacturing quality, and post-manufacturing support.
At Innacos, we are responsive to client feedback and currently have a 4.8/5 star rating from past clients. Review our unbiased testimonials here.
3. Pricing, MOQs, & Flexibility
Does the manufacturer’s pricing and MOQ align with your manufacturing goals? For example, if you want to produce 3k units, but the manufacturer requires 10k minimum, they’re not the right fit for you.
Secondly, are they flexible? Can they scale up volume as your business grows? The right lab won’t just make sense in the short term, it will also fit into your plans as you grow and produce more products later down the line.
At Innacos, we offer a low MOQ, starting at just 2k pcs for consulting clients.
We are proudly flexible and ready to scale, with extensive experience working with home-to-lab, start ups, and scale ups skin care businesses. Learn more about the flexibility of our contract manufacturing services here.
4. Location & Shipping
Working with a domestic manufacturer can help shorten your lead times, reduce communication barriers, and cut shipping costs.
These cost savings are especially important at the early stages of your business when profit margins are slim.
Innacos is based in the US and we are proud to conduct our manufacturing right here at home. Learn more about working with Innacos here.
5. Loyalty Perks
Some labs that offer both custom formulation and contract manufacturing services reward loyalty through discounted manufacturing rates if you also use their formulation services.
If you are still searching for a custom formulator, consider choosing a lab that offers contract manufacturing services at a reduced price as a loyalty perk. This will help cut your costs of production.
At Innacos, we offer up to 200% of formulating and testing fees back as credits against your contract manufacturing orders! Learn more about custom formulating and testing at Innacos here.
In sum, finding the right skin care contract manufacturer involves the following key steps:
Understanding the definition of contract manufacturing and how it differs from custom formulating
Fulfilling the four key criteria before your search: confidence in your product, full legal testing, ownership rights, and full technical documentation
Searching for potential labs online, through trade shows, word of mouth, and in directories
Evaluating your options based on specialization, MOQs and price, reviews and testimonials, location and shipping, and loyalty perks.
Ready to contract manufacture your skin care? Innacos would love to work with your brand! Get in touch by calling: (812) 329-1105 or emailing: customerservice@innacos.com.
