Make it your own More and more training academies are looking to create their own brand of beauty products to use in training and also to distribute to other therapists.
T
he process of sourcing products, creating a brand and ticking all the boxes along the way is quite an expensive and time consuming project and with over 20 years of brand development (our own brands and also those we have created for customers) we feel it is important to know the ins and outs before starting on such an important project. DIY Beauty You often see therapists on the forums asking for recipes or how to make products at home. With so many brands and products on the market that have been specifically developed for that particular use it is a surprising to hear that some therapists still want to spend the time and money in mixing and creating products at home which tends to work out more expensive AND it is against the insurance. Unless you are classed as manufacturer with all the licenses that are required we would strongly advise against this. You can spend a lot of time trying to create a product which can cost you dearly if it goes wrong. Even if it goes to plan you would still be liable to comply with the various regulations and to undertake the stringent cosmetic tests etc which is just not feasible if you are just doing it to save a penny or two. Likewise, using a product, re-bottling or relabelling falls under the same category as manufacturing so unless you are set up for this and can comply with ALL the necessary requirements our advice is ...Don't do it!
36 Business
Suppliers A much better option is to find a supplier who can help with your venture. First of all you need to source the product itself. This means either producing from scratch through a lab or factory which generally involves huge volume OR you need to find a supplier who offers white or private label products. You can then decide whether you want to take over the responsibility and cost of labelling and registration of the product or whether the supplier offers a ready made solution for you which involves all aspects of private label so that you can fully concentrate on marketing and selling rather than getting involved in all the nitty-gritty of creating a product. Quality If you put your name to it, you want to make sure the quality is 100% right so unless you have a trusted brand or supplier who offers this option it means lots and lots of testing. You need to purchase samples, try the products and make sure they fully align with your brand strategy. A process like this can take a lot of time and money before you find THE right product. If you find a product in the EU there is a chance that the product will be safe to use here but if you look further afield then there is a likelihood that the product might contain ingredients which may not be allowed in this country or that it might have to be tweaked to be suitable.
Labelling Believe it or not, there are even laws regarding the labels and you have to know what to include on a label, how to show it and which details must be present. We have seen products on the market that were literally made illegal as the salon owner thought it would be ok to just stick a label with a logo or name on the product. Again, mistakes like this can cost you a lot more than just a label! Compliance Each country and region has its own rules and regulations and the UK and EU have one of the toughest. No matter whether you are “producing” or “just” importing you are still the “responsible person” (this is a term from the Cosmetics EU regulations) and it means that you are liable for all the quality, challenge and cosmetics safety testing and all the risks and costs associated with this. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you can just buy something in the internet and import it in order to use or sell it to clients. This is illegal and can land you in severe trouble and the authorities have got the power to fine you and even close your business for this. Buying abroad is risky as other countries have different regulations (if any) and the ingredients used might also not be approved in this country. Added to this often comes a language barrier and the documents you will need to successfully undertake the required tests and registrations don't exist or are not in a format that is acceptable here.
