Ask Melody: I want to start my own skin care line, what do I do?
I got this great question that I receive almost everyday from a reader, Amy.
She asked:
Help, I want to start my own line but I don’t know where to start.
Do I just call labs? What about labeling it? Can I make changes to the formula? So many questions but not sure where to begin. – Help, Amy!
My answer:
How exciting! Starting your own line is an exciting time! There are a lot of things to consider as we start creating our own line including:
- Type of products
- Method of creating a product – private label or customize?
- Where are you going to sell the product?
I would suggest that before you call the manufacturers and start sampling products that you decide on the following:
Type of products
It sounds obvious but deciding on the type of product that you want to start with can be a challenge. It’s hard to know the exact right product, especially in skincare. Most people want to start with a complete line including a cleanser, toner, moisturizer, treatment and mask. And while it sounds great the process of creating a 5 SKU line can be expensive and time consuming.
A new or easier approach is to start with your core products 1-3 SKU’s and then add on the extras. This will help your budget and managing the process of product development. Once you get the hang of it, feel free to expand your line.
Creating the actual product – What is the best method for you?
There are three ways to get a product created: private label, custom or making your products at home. There are pros and cons to each method. Most clients do a hybrid when creating products. They may customize their hero product and add private label for the others.
There is no one correct way to create a product and as you can guess I am a fan of private label but every brand creates a product in their own unique way. Make sure that no matter how you create the product the product lives up to your brand standards. If you establish your company as a clean brand, then every product that you develop needs to meet that standard.
The next thing to consider before you create is where will you sell the product?
There are so many opportunities in this world for a brand to be successful, and with choices comes decisions. Where are you going to sell? Online? Amazon? Social Media? Your own salon? Events?
Spend some time working on a marketing and sales plan BEFORE you create a product so that you can move from product development into sales and marketing pretty seamlessly.
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