Starting a cosmetic line
Starting a cosmetic line follows a clear sequence: you decide who you are selling to, choose your products and formulas, prepare packaging and labels, complete the documents the law requires in the EU or the UK, and then go into production. This guide takes you through each step in order, with real timings and the most common mistakes, based on what happens every day in our plant near Rome, Italy.
You don’t need your own laboratory to launch a cosmetic brand. Almost every new brand, and many established ones, works with a manufacturer that formulates, produces and fills the products for them. There are two routes:
If you are not sure which suits you, our guide to private label vs contract manufacturing compares the two.
Everything starts with one question: who are you selling to? A pharmacy chain looking for sensitive-skin products, a spa that wants treatment and retail products, an online brand focused on Amazon: each has very different needs. Your audience decides the formula, the price, the packaging and the sales channels.
Decide where your brand sits: price, style, main promise. “Hydration for dry skin”, “minimal skincare with few ingredients”, “pharmacy-grade care”: a clear promise makes every later choice easier, from formula to design.
Start with a few products done well rather than many done in a hurry. Manufacturers count products as SKUs (stock keeping units): one product in one format. A 50 ml face cream is one SKU; the same cream in 100 ml is another. Many brands start with 2–4 products that work together, such as a cleanser, a cream and a serum, and expand after the first sales.
With a ready formula, samples are available straight away and you can try them before deciding. We offer more than 300 ready formulas for private-label skincare. With a custom formulation, our lab works to your brief: texture, fragrance, ingredients to highlight or to avoid. In that case the first samples arrive in about 2 weeks, and one or more rounds of changes are usual.
The container must be compatible with the formula, easy to use and in line with your price point. A thick cream suits a jar or a tube; a fluid gel works better in a bottle with a pump. Then there is secondary packaging: the carton or box. Our guide on how to choose cosmetic packaging helps you find your way.
A label must look good, but first of all it must comply. In the EU, Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 lists the mandatory information: name and address of the Responsible Person, nominal content, date of minimum durability or period after opening (PAO), precautions for use, batch number, the product’s function if it isn’t obvious, and the ingredient list using INCI names (the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients). Each EU country decides which languages are mandatory on its market, and for Great Britain the label needs a UK Responsible Person with a UK address. The details are in our guide to EU cosmetic labelling.
Before you sell a cosmetic in the European Union you need three things:
Selling in Great Britain follows the same logic under the UK Cosmetics Regulation: a UK Responsible Person and a notification through SCPN (Submit Cosmetic Product Notification). We arrange both through our partners. Northern Ireland has its own specific arrangements, so check them if you plan to sell there.
If you want to print claims such as “dermatologically tested”, you need suitable tests: our guide to cosmetic claims and testing explains how.
Once samples, packaging and artwork are approved, the order is confirmed and production starts. Our minimum is 500 units per SKU, and delivery takes 4–6 weeks from order confirmation. Every batch is tested and traceable by a code before it leaves.
Pharmacy, spa, shop, your own online store or a marketplace: each channel has its own rules. If you sell on Amazon, logistics matter too: stock can stay in the manufacturer’s warehouse and be shipped to Amazon fulfilment centres when needed. Our guide to selling cosmetics on Amazon in Europe explains how to organise it.
Timings depend mainly on two things: the type of formula and how quickly decisions are made. This is how our timings add up.
| Phase | Our timing |
|---|---|
| Reply to your enquiry | Within one hour |
| Samples of a ready formula | Straight away |
| Samples of a custom formula | About 2 weeks, plus any revisions |
| Approval of packaging and artwork | Depends on your decisions and revisions |
| Production and delivery | 4–6 weeks from order confirmation |
With a ready formula the path is shortest: samples are available at once and the time goes into packaging, artwork and production. With a custom formula you add development, revisions and the checks needed for the safety assessment. The surest way to avoid delays is to arrive with a clear idea of your audience, range and budget.
A dedicated project manager follows each project and remains your single point of contact. Our method has six phases: assessment, formula, packaging and design, regulatory approval, production and delivery, described in how we work. We submit the CPNP notification, prepare the EU documentation with in-house expertise and external regulatory experts, arrange EU and UK Responsible Person and SCPN notification through partners and, if you wish, store your stock and ship it for you through our logistics and storage service. Meetings take place by video call.
You don’t need a degree to own a cosmetic brand. You do need a Responsible Person established in the EU (or in the UK for Great Britain) who ensures the product complies, with a PIF, a safety assessment signed by a qualified assessor and the CPNP or SCPN notification.
There is no legal minimum. Many brands start with 2–4 complementary products and expand the line after the first sales.
Yes, that is private label. You choose an existing formula, personalise it where possible and sell it under your brand, with shorter timings than a custom formula.
It depends on the manufacturer. Our minimum is 500 units per SKU, and we can produce up to 40,000 units a day as your brand grows.
The Responsible Person named on the label, usually the brand owner. The manufacturer produces according to GMP and, as we do, can prepare the documentation and submit the CPNP notification.
Yes, but it needs an EU Responsible Person with an address in the EU on the label. We can provide one through our partners, and a UK Responsible Person for Great Britain.
Tell us about your idea, even if it is at an early stage: we reply within one hour.
Free checklist
Choices, mandatory documents, realistic timelines and mistakes to avoid, in a 4-page PDF. What's inside
