Is skincare your passion? Dreaming of having your own skincare brand? The problem is, you don’t know how to start a private label skin business. The process may be daunting but exciting nonetheless. Read on to find out how.
Determine what type of skincare line you want to be
Before you even think about how to start a private label skin business, think of your brand first. There are hundreds of skincare lines with thousands of products available online. It’s impossible to compete with ALL of them. The least you can do is pick a niche so you can focus on a limited number of labels to compete with.
If you’re confused about the fact that there are niche options within the skincare industry, try to look closely at other brands and notice similarities and differences between the types of people they cater to. Choosing what skincare line you want to embody will largely depend on the demographics of your potential customers.
Are you all organic and all-natural skincare? Do you want to go all plant-based? Will you mostly cater to teens or older adults? How about being one of the few sustainable brands that are cruelty-free and eco-friendly?
The type of label you want to be should be consistent throughout each product that you put out. It should also reflect on your marketing. Think as brand advocacy—something that your company believes in and wants to propagate through its products.
Design your brand
Your brand name is a good place to start, but it does not end there. In fact, you probably have a long way to go in terms of brand design. When designing a label, here are the following things you need to cover:
- Your brand logo
- Brand color or colors
- Font or fonts
- Signature scents
- Brand philosophy
These things should show in all the finer details of your label. You need to make these considerations when manufacturing the products, the package, and marketing materials. Your graphic designers will produce the design for labeling and packaging, but the primary input on how a product “feels” should come from you.
Getting all the finer details down means having a face for your brand. Private labels skincare business manufacturers can design and produce everything for you, but they won’t provide you with a brand concept. You need to determine that on your own.
Map out your business and take care of the technicalities
No matter how glamorous a skincare business may sound like, the technical side is not usually as pretty. This includes legalities like registrations, tax, and the likes.
The requirements that encompass how to start a private label skin business are similar to any other small business. The only difference is that skincare labels need regulation from the FDA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. This added regulation makes sure that your products are safe for use or consumption.
By all means, you can manufacture cosmetics in your home if it is a home business, but someone from the FDA will still regularly check up on you. This ensures that your manufacturing practices are up to standard in terms of safety.
The FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practice Guidelines/Inspection Checklist is a good resource for reference. It includes everything that you have to observe, avoid, and incorporate into your skincare product manufacturing process.
Put up your (online) store
You want your customers to have a place where they can buy from you. Putting up an actual storefront or stall in a mall is one of the most obvious ways. However, not everyone can afford to rent or buy a place for their business. This is especially true for small startup businesses.
A more affordable, and possibly better alternative is to put up an online store. Setting up a website where you can display products and conduct business transactions can be just as good as an actual retail store. You can do this through affordable blog service providers like WordPress.
Here are two tutorials to show you how to set up your store:
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Instagram like crazy
If you are a small business owner who wants to know how to start a private label skin business successfully in this day and age, you should also know how to market to the modern consumer. A lot of skincare giants like Olay and Neutrogena make use of Instagram to market their brand.
Don’t feel intimidated by the presence of the skincare titans, though. Because, according to research done by Facebook, 70% of consumers turn to Instagram for brand discovery.
That’s right. People are out there not just looking for the big names but also finding diamonds in the rough. That diamond they find might just be you.
Due to the highly visual nature of Instagram, you can really show off your label’s make. You can experiment with several types of content from styled product images, skincare infographics, and before/after shots from your user-generated content.
The great thing about Instagram (and platforms like Facebook) is that they are not only show-and-tell marketing platforms but are fully functional business tools. You have the option to sell directly from your social media.
Reach out to stockists
When you think of Nordstrom, Ulta, and Sephora, you might feel a mixture of threat, discouragement, and overwhelming pressure. Your label brushing the aisles of those stores might have been just a dream for you when you’re just starting out.
However, the truth is that these big stores are usually always on the lookout for fresh new labels to put out. After all, these stores often pride themselves on having the widest selection of skincare needs out there. The only way they can maintain this promise is to keep an open mind to new brands.
That said, it would never hurt to reach out to stockists like these stores and let them know that you exist. It doesn’t matter if they do not cater to your brand in the beginning. What’s important is that you fall under their radar so that you have the chance to be considered.
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