You’re making your own natural beauty products… you’ve even developed a few incredible new formulations. Now what? Buying bulk beauty products is a great way to fill out your beauty line while giving you valuable time to focus on your handmade products that make your beauty brand unique and new.
Read on to determine if you’re ready to work with a manufacturer to source bulk beauty products, plus the essentials of any successful skin or hair care line.
Is it time to start buying bulk beauty products?
If you’re in the process of expanding your formulation knowledge, you may be wondering what comes next, and when to take your burgeoning beauty brand to the next level. Here’s some questions to ask yourself before jumping in:
Do I have a high quality, unique product?
It’s vital to have a stand-out product that fills a specific need in the beauty market. Do your research—determine how you can make products that set you apart, solve a problem, or supply an underserved market. Having a few unique products that approach a problem in a new, creative way is a surefire method to carve yourself out a place in the beauty market. Other winning products could be formulations using trending ingredients, or natural alternatives to synthetic products. The options are endless—just be sure to stand out from your competition however you can!
Regarding quality—it is vital that you have tested your products with a third party lab to ensure that your formulation is safe, stable, and sanitary. Even if you have an incredible product, your brand will not hold up if you have consistent quality issues, especially when you’re just getting started. Take your time, test your products, and make sure you are giving your customers the highest quality products possible.
Do I have a clear brand vision?
What markets will you cater to? Who is your target audience? What will your packaging look like? Does your brand hold specific values? These questions and more are essential for building a successful beauty brand. Value based brands are doing especially well in the beauty industry right now. More than ever, customers care where their products come from, and the impact they have on workers and the environment.
Getting your brand values, voice, and aesthetic together before launch is crucial to your success. Having these elements nailed down makes you recognizable to your customers. And the more memorable you are, the more likely your customers are to come to you when they need to restock their beauty collection.
Plus, a quick note on branding—starting with one brand vision doesn’t mean your branding won’t evolve as your company grows. Companies rebrand all the time, and that’s okay! While starting with a specific vision is important, it doesn’t mean you can’t shift along the way.
Do you have funding?
There’s no getting around the cost of business. Whether you have savings to kickstart your brand or investors who believe in your vision, it’s essential that you have funding to cover your startup costs. If you don’t currently have the capital you need, there are plenty of options out there, including small business loans, crowdfunding through websites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter, or seeking out daring investors to provide you with venture capital for your startup.
If you can honestly answer “yes” to these questions—you’re ready for the next step! So now what? We highly recommend filling out your line with stock products. Here’s why this could be a game changer for you and your brand.
Why buy bulk beauty instead of making everything myself?
There is only so much time you get in a day to maneuver all the moving parts of building your own brand. While many beginning brands see an understandable allure in keeping their line entirely handmade, creating successful products takes a great deal of time, especially if your team is small. Plus, devoting too many hours to creating your products can take valuable time away from other essential tasks, like building your marketing strategy, partnering with brand ambassadors, managing your finances, and more.
Successful brands know how to delegate time to focus on what’s most important—your innovative star products! This is where stock products come in. No matter how fantastic your formulations are, very few beauty brands can be built on a few great products alone. You need a complete routine or several to give your brand a holistic, complete feel. Plus, offering items for every step of your customers’ skin or hair care routine means they don’t have to look at other brands when shopping for beauty essentials, keeping them in your shop/on your website and earning you more revenue.
Buying stock products to fill out your line saves your business time and money. First of all, instead of sinking all your energy into formulation, research and development, testing, etc., you can have the quick (and fun) experience of browsing a manufacturer website to hand pick the right items for your line. Second, buying tried and tested formulas saves you the expense of ingredients, potential formula failures, lab fees, and more.
What bulk beauty products do I need to stock for a successful line?
Every beauty line is different, but we have some general recommendations on what you need to start a basic line. Most brands will have multiple lines tailored to different skin and hair types, and we encourage you to do the same to reach more customers.
If you don’t have the bandwidth yet to have multiple lines for multiple concerns, consider starting with a line that works for all skin or hair types. Always keep in mind though, every brand is unique: if your brand’s thing is providing solutions for blemish-prone skin, stick with it and start with that market! Go with your gut—only you truly know what’s right for your brand. With that said, here’s what we recommend:
Skincare
- Cleanser (Oil cleanser, gel cleanser, micellar water, etc.)
- Mask (Don’t skip this one! It might seem frivolous, but customers expect this pampering step, plus you can get some additional social media publicity through your customers’ self-care selfies.)
- Serum
- Moisturizer (Oil, gel, lotion, cream, etc.)
Hair care
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Post-wash moisturizer (This can be an oil, styling cream, detangler, anything! Just be sure to have some added moisture step for your customers to use post-wash and on non-washing days.)
Performance
- Muscle soothing moisturizer (This could include a heating and cooling lotion, gel, balm, or anything else you can dream up!)
- Deodorant
- Recovery soak
Expansion Pack!
Skincare
Hair care
- Scalp exfoliant
- Scalp serum
- Hair mask
- Dry shampoo
- Pre-wash moisturizer
Performance
- Combo shampoo/conditioner for gym
- Charcoal shampoo and conditioner for chlorine hair
- On the go face cleanser
- Cooling spray
How else can Essential help?
Essential has a variety of stock formulas and ingredients to back you up on your road to success. Even better, we have the capacity to support your business through every stage of growth. Find all the natural, high quality stock products you need to fill out your beauty line.
As you grow, you can begin to think about customizing those stock products in our lab to better suit you brand—add a signature scent, trending actives, and more. Plus, did you know Essential can recreate your formulas for you? As things really start to take off, you can trust us to recreate those star products you built your business on with the same care and attention you gave them when you were just starting out.
Shop our premium bulk beauty products to fill out your beauty line, and check out our custom services to start planning for your future success.
