Are you ready to launch your own beauty brand or line of skin care products?
Starting a new skin care business is an exciting step. With the right planning, plenty of research, and expert guidance, you can create a profitable beauty brand and make a name for yourself in the skin care market.
An important part of starting a skin care line is securing enough funding. Creating an appropriate budget—and sticking to it—will help set your launch up for success. And, of course, the first step is to consider how much it will cost to start your skin care business.
What is the average startup cost for skin care brands? What factors affect the cost? Is private label skin care the right choice for your business? Let’s take a closer look.
The Average Cost of Starting a Skin Care Line
Just like any other business, a successful skin care business requires enough money to finance startup costs as well as a plan to yield enough income to ensure financial stability.
How much do you need to have in hand? You can expect to spend anywhere from $2,000 to $30,000 to start a skin care business from scratch.
The range is so wide because costs depend on a variety of elements, including the products you select or formulate, the company you choose to work with, the manufacturing process, the ingredients you choose, what type of packaging and labeling is involved, and your initial order numbers. Additionally, you should include general business costs as well as branding, marketing, and advertising expenses. Depending on your choices in these (and other) areas, how much it costs to start up a skin care line will vary.
8 Factors That Affect the Cost of Starting a Skin Care Line
The cost of building a skin care line hinges on several different factors. Consider these factors as you choose products for your skin care line and build a budget for your new business venture.
1. Manufacturing Method
Formulating and manufacturing products for your skin care line is a significant expense, and each method has its own advantages and drawbacks. You can either formulate products at home on your own, rent manufacturing space, work directly with a skin care laboratory to create custom products, or partner with a white label or private label skin care company.
The white label skin care process involves choosing from pre-formulated skin care products developed by a third-party manufacturer and applying your own brand to the packaging and labels. It’s a fast and easy option for beauty brands looking to sell skin care products with their name. However, you won’t be able to adjust the formula beyond some (limited) customizations.
Private label skin care is the ideal manufacturing option for skin care businesses on a budget. This process is similar to white label skin care, but unlike white label products, private label skin care products allow for much more customization. These products are developed in partnership with a laboratory, and you can choose from stock formulas, make additional changes, and have more control over the product’s formula as well as the branding.
2. Manufacturing Company
The manufacturing company you decide to work with will also impact the cost of starting your skin care line. Costs and services vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so it’s important to carefully compare companies and ensure you work with a manufacturer that provides the services you need at a high quality and within your budget.
All private label companies have their own pricing structure, product selection, packaging options, ingredients, and customization options. Some companies offer custom formulations and graphic design assistance, while others have specialties like natural or vegan skin care. Ask plenty of questions and review your budget before choosing a private label skin company to manufacture your skin care line.
3. Product Selection & Design
What products do you want to include in your skin care line? What ingredients do you want to highlight? The complexity of the formulation, design of the product, and the quality of ingredients and raw materials you want to include in your products, the more the production costs rise.
For example, botanical extracts and essential oils are popular ingredients in many skin care products, but they can be difficult to find, which drives up their production cost. Luxury ingredients or certified ingredients are more expensive as well.
More complex, specialized product formulas will cost more than other skin care products—at the same time, you can charge more for skin care with higher quality ingredients, which can offset the additional cost.
4. Customization Level
Many private label skin care companies offer various customization levels to help brands stand out in a saturated beauty market. Adding some customizations to private label skin care products, such as specialized ingredients or fragrances, is one way to separate your products from the crowd, but another option is to create a custom formulation.
A custom formulation is a more time-consuming and expensive option than pre-formulated skin care products. It requires separate research and development, testing, and production processes. But the result is a unique skin care product—and you will have full creative control and ownership of the formula.
5. Specifications & Claims
If you want to brand your skin care line to meet a niche need of your market, it may drive the price up.
Specifications, like luxury products, come with extra costs, such as upscale packaging, more expensive formulations, and increased production expenses.
Claims—mercury-free, sulfate-free, organic, vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, etc.—may use ingredients that cost more or require certifications or additional testing, all of which can increase production costs.
6. Order Quantity
How many products you order will also impact startup expenses.
Ordering in bulk is the least expensive option. If you have the finances to order, store, and process large quantities of skin care products, you can cut down on shipping costs as well as the cost per unit. However, if bulk purchasing is not in your budget, you should consider if the manufacturer has a minimum order requirement.
Most private label skin care companies have minimum order requirements. If you partner with a manufacturer with a higher minimum order requirement, you will have to pay more upfront.
Before moving forward with a private label skin care manufacturer, it’s important to ask about minimum order quantities and determine if labels and containers are included in that cost.
7. Packaging & Labeling Requirements
Packaging and labeling all your new skin care products can quickly add up, especially if you use upscale materials or hire a professional designer to create a custom label. The type of packaging you want—lids, caps, spouts, bottles, jars, containers—and the materials you prefer (glass vs. plastic) will impact overall production, packaging, and shipping costs.
Custom labeling, unique materials, or irregular molds can significantly increase expenses as well.
8. Branding, Marketing, & Design
Expenses related to branding, marketing, and design are also important to consider before starting your skin care line. From designing a custom logo and hiring professional photographers to building a website and crafting promotional campaigns, many elements go into a successful beauty brand.
If you want your skin care product labels to display your brand name, logo, colors, typeface, and website, you first have to invest in making a memorable brand.
The Benefits of Private Label Skin Care: An Affordable, High-Quality Option
Fortunately, if you choose to work with an experienced private label skin care company, you will be better prepared to take the skin care market by storm—all at an affordable price.
By partnering with a private label skin care company, you can benefit from reduced upfront costs, faster production timelines, and higher profit margins. You will sell skin care products that have already been formulated by the manufacturer, add your own customizations (or not), and let the private label focus on creating the products so you can spend time on branding, selling, and connecting with customers.
Look for a private label skin care company that offers a variety of customizations, a range of packaging and design options, and extensive experience in your niche to set your skin care brand up for success.
Trilogy Laboratories Takes a New Approach to Private Label Skin Care
Trilogy Laboratories is proud to offer affordable, high-quality private label skin care products with technologically advanced ingredients and organic botanical extracts. We were founded on the idea of fusing the power of science with the beauty of nature, and we’re dedicated to helping our clients start their own skin care lines.
Concerned about minimum order quantities? Unlike other manufacturers that require substantial orders, our minimum order requirements for our private label products are extremely low—only 12 pieces per item. If you want to design your own custom products, minimums are only 100–500 pieces per item.
What about packaging? We offer a wide range of packaging options so you can create a look that fits your brand, or we can custom fill your own packaging. When it’s time to label the packages, you can use your logo and choose a name for each product, and we’ll include your design on the page. Alternatively, if you need graphic design assistance, we can connect you with a freelance artist who can work with you to create a custom design.
We’re here to help you build your skin care business every step of the way.
Build Your Private Label Skin Care Line at Trilogy Laboratories
Are you ready to build your skin care brand or expand your line of beauty products? Skip the messy at-home chemistry and let us formulate, manufacture, and label your skin care products in our one-stop-shop.
At Trilogy Laboratories, our experienced project consultants are ready to guide you through the process of branding high-quality products that align with your company’s vision. We offer a beautiful selection of packaging, low minimum order quantities, and customizable formulas made with natural and scientifically advanced ingredients—all so you can wow your users, develop a loyal customer base, and grow your beauty brand.
Private label skincare doesn’t get any better than this.
Contact us today or call 239.939.5454 to get started with your private label skin care line.
Posted in Professional Skin Care
