Start Your Own Cosmetics Business
The cosmetic industry is growing at a rapid pace. The global cosmetic market is expected to garner $429.8 billion by 2022. The demand for all types of cosmetic products is ever increasing from varied sections of the population. So, there are plenty of business opportunities in the cosmetic industry. If you are interested in starting your own cosmetics business, below is the list that you’ll need to do to start a cosmetic brand of your own.
Learn how the cosmetics industry works
The most fundamental step to start any business is to understand how it works. So, if you are thinking of starting your own cosmetics brand, you need to study the existing cosmetics brands like Sephora, MAC, and Estee Lauder. Look up and learn everything you can about them like where do their products come from? What does their distribution channel look like? How many employees do they have? You can also study the most popular beauty stores in your area. Get familiar with their marketing, staffing, and product selection.
FDA’s Regulation
You must hold a sound knowledge of the FDA’s regulations about the manufacturing and labelling of cosmetic products and its guidelines concerning the sale, labelling and production. The FDA has specific rules about the types of ingredients you can and cannot use in your cosmetics and requires you to take responsibility for the safety of your products and for knowing the ingredients that go into your products. Therefore, ensure that your products have not become adulterated and that they remain in compliance with federal labelling restrictions.
Find a niche
The beauty industry is more competitive than ever, so it’s important to know what makes your brand special. Target a niche for your cosmetics company. Choose your area of speciality in which you have some experience in manufacturing or selling of cosmetic products. Concentrate on the area of cosmetics that you are familiar with so that you can plan your business well. Do some market research and consider your own preferences.
Budget and funding
No business can be established without sufficient funds and a budget plan in hand. Your budget should be part of your business plan. You should be able to plan out all start-up costs and recurring expenses ahead of time. You can consider taking money from family and friends. Later on, you can attract some wealthy clients in your area. Making your budget is an important tool in your business kit because if you run out of money, you can’t operate your business and will have to shut down.
Testing
Before you start selling your cosmetic products, Formulate and test your cosmetic products on yourself, family, friends and all who are willing. Give some sample products to your friends, neighbour and relatives. If you test on people who are not close to you, consider having them sign a liability waiver, in case someone has an allergic reaction. It is always desirable to have a practical test of the products beforehand about how rest of the people and your target audience will respond.
Marketing and promotion
A business cannot survive without customers. So, it’s important to promote your cosmetics business in order to bring in new and returning customers. Prepare a marketing plan as it gives you a direction about how to move forward in a calculated way at the time of selling your products to the people. You can opt for the traditional, physical ways and newer, targeted digital ways. Both are effective. You can distribute samples to local makeup artists, launch a promotional blog, send press releases to publications that cover beauty products, or open social networking accounts to introduce your company to new people.
