How to Choose the Right Lipstick Manufacturer for Your Business

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Developing and producing your own lipstick brand is time-consuming and expensive. There are too many steps involved which include having an R&D team, setting up your plant, branding, and more.

This has stalled many businesses and is the reason why it’s advisable to find a good lipstick manufacturer. A cosmetics manufacturer will save you the hustle of buying, maintaining, and repairing production equipment.

You also won’t need to hire skilled labor and pay salaries with benefits to a bunch of people. You can use that money on other areas like branding, marketing, and the supply chain.

This post will help you learn:

• What to look for in a lipstick manufacturer
• How to search for a manufacturer
• Difference between contract manufacturers and private label lipstick manufacturers.
• What to consider before choosing a manufacturer for your lipstick products

Reasons Why You Should Get a Lipstick Manufacturer

There are several reasons why contracting a private label lipstick manufacturer is great. Among them are;

Lower Production Costs

Producing lipstick and other makeup products comes with various direct and indirect costs. These include the cost of labor, setting up, and maintaining plant equipment day.

Labor factors include workers’ motivation, physical health, and attitude, among others. Machine breakdown can also delay production especially when parts are not easy to source making it an expensive affair.

This is why contracting a lipstick manufacturer is easier and more cost-effective. Such manufacturers usually provide a fixed cost per unit produced which greatly helps when budgeting for production.

Scalability

As your cosmetics brand grows, you’ll need to scale up production. The larger the production the more raw materials your business will require. Buying them in bulk helps to lower production costs, however, what if you needed to scale down?

Lipstick manufacturers negotiate competitive prices for the supply of bulk raw materials. Therefore, as a start-up, you can still get a minimum order for lipstick products at lower costs. You can also upscale production whenever you need without any unnecessary headaches.

High-Quality Products

Most lipstick manufacturers stick to ISO 9001:2015 production standards. Your company should be sure that it will get a constant supply of high-quality lip products. This will result in increased customer satisfaction, fewer returns, and more lipstick purchases.

Whether you’re producing matte lipstick or liquid lipstick, go for a manufacturer that provides zero defect guarantees. This helps to eliminate costs that come with product returns while increasing efficiency.

What To Look For in a Lipstick Manufacturer

There are several lipstick manufacturers out there and it’s, therefore, best to know what to look for in one. Here are a few points to consider.

Cost Friendliness

Pricing tops the list of things to look for in a manufacturer. What’s the cost of production for a minimum order compared to other manufacturers? Does the cost auger well with your projections? You must be careful not to incur high production costs to avoid losses.

Reliability & Communication

The private-label lipstick producer must be trusted to keep a steady supply of your lipstick brand. You also want a lipstick manufacturer that keeps a professional relationship that works for both them and your cosmetic company. Establish realistic expectations with the manufacturer and have a proper way of communicating.

Track Record

A portfolio is a great way of knowing if the manufacturer has the capacity to handle your orders. Always ensure that your company contracts a private-label lipstick manufacturer with a portfolio of similar projects. You can ask to meet some of the producer’s clients to be sure of your investment.

Flexible

Businesses go through phases. It’s good to find out if the manufacturer can accommodate your expansion needs. Can the manufacturer accommodate other cosmetics like the matte finish and paraben-free lipsticks? Aim for cruelty-free products with iron oxides which make them more gentle on your client’s lips. Scan the contract to find your window for making changes under the terms. It may not be the right manufacturer if there’s no room for changes in the contract.

Financial Stability

Since looking for a lipstick manufacturer can be time-consuming, it’s important to know if their financials are in great shape. An unstable manufacturer can cause problems in your supply chain. You will not be able to fulfill customers’ orders leading to a loss of business and credibility. To avert such a situation, ask to know the manufacturer’s credit status before contracting them.

How To Find A Good Lipsticks Manufacturer

To have a successful cosmetics venture, you must find the right manufacturer for your business. This requires thorough research through various platforms. Read on to learn.

The Internet

The internet is a goldmine that you can use to find both contract and private label manufacturers. Here are two ways you can find them.

Alibaba

This is a common marketplace for manufacturers and suppliers, especially from China. You can find an existing supplier of cosmetic products and establish contact with them. To find them, you simply need to type the product you’re looking to make. The website will generate a list of manufacturers. From this list, you can vet various manufacturers and check their prices. A good manufacturer on Alibaba should be a gold supplier, verified, and provides trade assurances. You can also filter them by their certifications to know if they align with your business expectations.

Google

Google is a search engine ranked first among all others on the internet. You will, therefore, get lots of details on the various manufacturers available for your cosmetic products. To get information on possible manufacturers, open a tab on Google and type the search term. The search engine will provide a list of companies that you can work with based on their ranking on the search engine. Thereafter, you can establish contact with them to know if they are a good fit for your production needs.

Referrals

Referrals constitute some of the best leads when looking for a credible manufacturer for your lipstick products. You’ll need to request your professional network for recommendations to manufacturers you can work with. You can start with social media networks like Facebook groups and LinkedIn. Such networks prove useful since they have experience working with manufacturers.

Trade Shows

There are several cosmetics trade shows throughout the world that you can attend. Among them include the following.

• Vivaness – Nuremberg
• COSMETICA – Algeria
• PCHI Personal Care & Home Ingredients – Guangzhou
• Pak Pharma & Healthcare Expo
• LA Spring Cash and Carry Gift Show

Trade shows are an opportunity to meet manufacturers and suppliers of beauty products. You get the chance to see new developments in the industry and also what your competition is doing. From here, you can create long-term relationships with manufacturers and suppliers.

Criteria for Selecting a Credible Lipstick Manufacturer

Before choosing a manufacturer for your lipstick products, here are a few minimum requirements to work on.

Minimum Orders

If you’re a starter, it’s essential to understand the manufacturer’s minimum order quantity. Most of the time, businesses can negotiate with the manufacturer to allow them to plan their finances better.

License and Certification Standards

You can either decide to design your lipstick products and then license the manufacturer to produce and handle their sale and distribution. Or, you can buy pre-existing makeup products from private-label lipstick manufacturers and then brand and package them your own way. Ensure to also check for the kind of certifications and standards the manufacturer has. Do they have ISO certification and are they cruelty-free?

Trade Assurance

This is some kind of insurance that your lipstick products will be created to your specifications and the supply will always be on time. Such a warrant helps your lipstick company to avoid potential losses in business.

Ask to Talk To Existing Clients in Your Line of Business

To be sure of what you’re doing, request the manufacturer to show you some of his existing clients. Arrange to talk to them to know the producer’s reliability and potential weaknesses.

Defect Policy

Who absorbs the costs of defective items in the contract? such costs include production, shipping, and payable duties. A manufacturer who can’t settle for such issues may not be the best fit for your cosmetics company.

Can They Build and Test a Prototype?

If you use a contract manufacturer, you’ll need to confirm that it can produce your products according to your specifications. It may require you to ask for a prototype of the products before allowing production.

Things To Do Before Choosing the Right Manufacturer

As you look for the best manufacturer for your lipstick products, make sure that these three things are in check.

Financials

That your financials are in shape as the venture can be capital-intensive. You must have enough money to ensure production, marketing, and other related activities run smoothly. It is also important to have access to credit facilities whenever needed as the business grows.

Protect Your Intellectual Property

When contracting a manufacturer, you need to be sure that your product information is safe in their hands. Therefore, ensure that the contract contains clauses showing that the intellectual rights belong to you. You can also use patents or trademarks to protect them.

Put Legalities in Check

Creating something from inception to reality through an intermediary requires that you have all legal requirements worked on. Look for an expert lawyer with experience in such businesses. You may need to abide by different regulations especially if production is in a different country.

Local Manufacturing vs Overseas Manufacturing

Manufacturing locally in some regions is expensive which is why many opt to contract production overseas. Also, doing it locally comes with its advantages and disadvantages. Below are a few reasons why or why not to produce locally or overseas.

Benefits of Local manufacturing

• Better communication
• Easier verification process
• Payment security
• Better market appeal

Local manufacturing drawbacks

• Higher production costs
• Limited choice of products

Benefits of manufacturing overseas

• Lower production expenses
• Specialized manufacturers
• Exposure to international markets
• Transfer of risk

Drawbacks of overseas manufacturing

• Language barrier
• Lower protection of intellectual property

To mitigate risks, many companies choose to hire a manager to oversee all details concerning their orders and other production-related matters.

Private Label vs Contract Manufacturing

Private labels design and manufacture products that are thereafter branded and packaged differently by third parties. It means that the owner of the brand is not the actual producer of the product.

Contract manufacturing happens when a company hires a manufacturer to produce goods on its behalf. Contrary to private labels, your company maintains all the rights to the products produced.

Benefits of private label manufacturers

• They’re cost-effective
• Ease of production control
• Low minimum orders
• Adaptable

Advantages of contract manufacturers

• Ease of market entry
• Cost-effective
• Quality control

How Private Label Lipstick Manufacturing Works

While there are several private-label manufacturers, the process of starting to work with them is fairly simple. Read on to find out.

Negotiations and consultations

This is the first thing to do. Negotiate for minimum orders, timelines, and shipping. You may need to consult experts in certain fields to ensure the production process goes smoothly. It seems like hard work but it is a necessary part of the process.

Product appraisal

Private label manufacturers research, design, and manufacture cosmetic items. You will, therefore, be buying the products from them, and, thereafter, brand and package them to your liking. So, it will be prudent to find out if the matte lipstick, lip balms, lip foundation, and any other products meet your requirements.

Are the products paraben free or do they contain ethylhexyl palmitate? How many types of shades can the manufacturer produce? You must be sure of the product you’re buying to avoid any losses.

Choice of packaging

How would you like the products to be packaged by the manufacturer? This is an integral part of branding and marketing as there are other companies buying products from the same manufacturer. You need to ensure that the packaging contains your brand logo, color, and any other important data.

Labeling

Product labeling helps to ensure that your brand’s information is well displayed on the packaging material. The details printed help the customer to make a better buying decision. These include the ingredients used to make the products, if they’re vegan or not, and the company logo.

Types of Private Label Lipstick Products

There are several lipstick products made by private label manufacturers. They come in different shades and textures and are made using different ingredients. Here’s a list of cosmetic products you can buy from private-label producers.

• Matte lipstick
• Liquid lipstick
• Lip balms
• Creams
• Lip foundation

Ingredients used to produce lipstick products can include mica powder, silica, ci, wax, and more. Ensure to order from a manufacturer that makes paraben-free cosmetic products. The products can include both bold and nude shades and have different color schemes as they are worn for different occasions.

Are Private Label Lipstick Manufacturers Worth It?

Yes. Setting up a production facility is a daunting task for many companies. It will involve procuring the required labor skills, having a research and development team, and putting up and managing the production facility.

The cost is significantly lower when you use a private-label lipstick manufacturer because you don’t need to have a production facility. You don’t have to source the raw materials or have an R&D team. That money can be used on other important activities like branding and marketing the products.

Conclusion

As you can see, several factors have to be addressed before choosing a lipstick manufacturer. While there are different ways of contracting production, a private-label manufacturer makes it worthwhile for many starting businesses. Ensure that you research extensively to ensure long-term profitability for your cosmetics venture.