Costs
The cost of starting a cosmetic line comes down to a few specific choices: ready-made or custom formula, type of packaging, number of products and quantities ordered. In this guide we go through each cost item, what drives it and where you can save without taking risks, starting from a first batch of 500 units per product.
Search for “how much does it cost to start a cosmetic line” and you mostly find vague answers. The reason is simple: a cream in a glass jar with a hot-foiled carton and a cream in a tube with no carton are two products with very different costs, even with the same formula. That is why no price list works for everyone.
There is, however, a way to understand in advance where your money will go: break the cost down into its items. Each one has its own factors that push it up or down.
This is what goes inside the pack. With a ready-made private-label formula, development is already done: you pay for the product, not the research. With a custom formula you add the lab’s work: development, samples, revisions. The ingredients matter too: special actives or certified raw materials cost more.
The container in contact with the product: bottle, tube or jar, with its closure. The cost depends on the material, the type of dispenser (cap, pump, airless) and the decoration: printing, colours, finishes.
The carton or box that holds the container. It isn’t always required, but it changes how the product is perceived. Size, board and finishes such as hot foil or embossing make a difference to the price.
You need artwork for the label and carton, with all the mandatory information. The cost depends on how many products you have and how many versions are needed, for example for different label languages across EU countries. If you are starting from scratch, the brand logo counts too.
Every cosmetic sold in the EU must have a PIF (Product Information File) including a Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR) signed by a qualified safety assessor, under Articles 10 and 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. The assessment also relies on lab tests such as stability and preservation testing. The cost is per product and varies with the complexity of the formula. The UK Cosmetics Regulation has equivalent requirements for Great Britain.
Notification on the EU’s CPNP (Cosmetic Products Notification Portal) is free: the European Commission charges no fee to use it. Notification for Great Britain goes through SCPN (Submit Cosmetic Product Notification), the UK government service. The cost, where there is one, is the work of preparing the data and submitting the notification. We submit the CPNP notification ourselves as part of our EU and UK compliance service, and arrange SCPN through partners.
If your business is not established in the EU, you need an EU Responsible Person; to sell in Great Britain you need a UK Responsible Person. If you don’t have one, this becomes a cost item of its own. We can provide both through our partners.
If you want to print claims such as “dermatologically tested” or “moisturising”, you need tests that support them. The cost depends on the claim: a test on volunteers costs more than a lab analysis. It is an optional item, but often decisive for pharmacy sales. Find out more in our guide to cosmetic claims and testing.
Filling, capping, labelling, cartoning: the cost depends on the quantity and how much manual work packing requires. A kit with several products in a gift box involves more steps than a single tube.
Storage, order picking and shipping. If you sell on Amazon, there is also the cost of sending stock to Amazon fulfilment centres. Shipments from Italy to other EU countries need no customs formalities, while shipments to the UK involve customs documents and costs to be assessed case by case. With our logistics and storage service, your stock can stay with us and be shipped when needed.
Not a production cost, but don’t forget it. You can register a European Union trade mark with the EUIPO and a UK trade mark with the UK Intellectual Property Office; both publish their official fees, which depend on the number of classes. Any adviser you use is paid separately.
| Item | Ready formula (private label) | Custom formula |
|---|---|---|
| Development | Already done | Lab work, samples and revisions |
| Samples | Straight away | About 2 weeks with us |
| Safety documents | Built on existing data | Built from scratch for the new formula |
| Exclusivity | Shared formula | Possible, on request |
| Starting cost | Lower | Higher |
With a ready formula you start sooner and spend less up front: you can choose from more than 300 formulas for private-label skincare. A custom formula costs more but gives you a unique product, exclusive if you wish: see custom formulation.
Some costs are fixed for each batch: setting up and cleaning the line, lab testing, printing plates for labels and cartons. These costs are spread across the number of units produced. That is why the cost per unit of a small batch is higher than that of a large one.
Packaging suppliers have minimums too: printing 500 custom tubes costs more per unit than printing 10,000. This is why manufacturers set a minimum order quantity, as we explain in our guide to minimum order quantities.
The right choice balances cost per unit against stock left in the warehouse. A huge batch at a low unit price is no bargain if you can’t sell it before it expires.
Your budget doesn’t end with the first delivery. When you reorder, some items don’t come back: the formula is ready, the artwork is done, the documents exist and the printing plates can be reused. That is why a reorder usually costs less than the first batch for the same quantity.
Other items do come back: if you change the formula, even slightly, the PIF must be updated and the CPNP notification reviewed; if you change the label, you need new print runs. Also allow for the cost of stock sitting in a warehouse and of shipping to customers and marketplaces.
If you want to start with a limited investment, see our page on small batch cosmetic manufacturing.
To compare offers from different manufacturers, check that the quote clearly states:
A dedicated project manager prepares your quote once they understand your project, and we reply within one hour of your enquiry. The full process is described in how we work.
It depends on the formula, packaging, number of products, quantities and the tests you need. A ready private-label formula in personalised stock packaging is the route with the lowest starting cost.
No, notification on the EU’s CPNP portal is free. You may pay for the work of preparing the data and submitting it; with us, the CPNP notification is part of the service.
It depends on the complexity of the formula and the tests needed for the safety assessment. It is a cost per product and can’t be avoided: without a PIF the product can’t be sold in the EU.
The cost per unit falls as quantities rise, because fixed costs are spread over more units. But only order what you can sell in a reasonable time, so you don’t tie up money in stock.
Yes, from 500 units per SKU. Tell us about your project and we will send you a quote with every item listed.
Tell us what you want to produce: we reply within one hour with initial guidance.
Free checklist
Choices, mandatory documents, realistic timelines and mistakes to avoid, in a 4-page PDF. What's inside
