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Private Label Cosmetics: Ultimate Guide [+Prices]

What are Private Label Cosmetics?

Private label cosmetics refers to beauty products that are developed and manufac­tured by one company but sold under the name of another brand. If they are already pre-produced, it is also referred to as &#;white label cosmetics&#;.

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More and more brands are opting for private label cosmetics due to their low minimum order quantities and short delivery times.

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White Label Cosmetics vs. Private Label Cosmetics

Both types are pre-formu­lated cosmetic products. The actual diffe­rence lies in whether the cosmetic products are already pre-produced or not. If so, you can only put your logo on the products. If not, you can choose and design the packaging as you wish and sometimes even make minor adjus­t­ments to the formu­lation.

But be cautious, as the terms private label and white label are used differ­ently depending on the region and manufac­turer. Check with the respective manufac­turer to find out which type of product they are offering.

Two Types of Private Label Cosmetics and Their MOQ&#;s

The minimum order quantity (MOQ) for private label cosmetics can vary widely depending on several factors, from the type of product to the level of custo­mization required. 

To simplify, we&#;ve broken it down into two main categories that highlight the primary diffe­rences.

1. Pre-made Products (White Label Cosmetics): Starting from 0 Units

For pre-made, on stock, private label cosmetic products, some manufac­turers allow businesses to start with just a few pieces or even with no MOQ at all by offering dropshipping. This means they are shipped directly from the manufac­turer.

You can brand these ready-to-go products with your logo.

This type of private label cosmetics is also known as white label cosmetics.

• Low MOQ
• Short lead times
• Sometimes dropshipping

• Small product range
• High unit prices
• Low custo­mization options

2. Products made for you: Starting from Units

Some manufac­turers take a different approach: they&#;ve got some formulas developed and packaging selected, but they don&#;t keep a stock of products ready to ship.

This means you won&#;t get your goods as quickly as with off-the-shelf products, but the upside is you get to choose the packaging and sometimes even adjust the formula to make it your own.

They usually need to start with at least pieces per product. 

• Wide product range
• Low unit prices
• Many custo­mization options

• MOQ > pcs
• Lead times > 2 months
• No dropshipping

3 Advan­tages of Private Label Cosmetics

Let&#;s take a look at the three main advan­tages of private label cosmetics. Then we&#;ll discuss the downsides so you can make an informed decision about whether it&#;s the right choice for you.

1. Quick Market Entry with Private Label Cosmetics

A major advantage of private label cosmetics is the oppor­tunity to enter the complex cosmetics market easily and quickly.

No matter which private label option you choose, the fact that you don&#;t have to work on an individual formu­lation saves you about 3&#;6 months for develo­pment.

Either the products are already manufac­tured and stored on the shelf, or at least ready to be produced. They are immediately available and only need to be custo­mized with your brand.

This can lead to a time to market of 4&#;12 weeks.

2. Lower Investment thanks to small Minimum Order Quantities

The worst thing that can happen to you as a founder is that you are stuck with the goods.

With private label cosmetics you can start with small minimum order quantities, so you don&#;t have to invest a lot of money in the production of large quantities at the beginning.

What is considered a small order quantity is of course relative. But even units are compa­ra­tively small in the cosmetics industry. Its not unusual to have minimum order quantities of 10,000 untis or more.

This can be a great advantage for those who want to start a cosmetics line little by little.

3. Customize your Packaging

In an industry that&#;s all about looks and beauty, you shouldn&#;t undere­stimate the power of packaging.

Most of our customers think first and foremost of the actual product, i.e. the bulk. And that&#;s a good thing because the product ultim­ately decides whether your customers are satisfied and buy again or not.

However, the packaging and therefore how your product looks and feels plays an even greater role in the initial purchase. Typically, customers cannot test a cosmetic product before the purchase.

The packaging can make a very positive but also a negative impression right away. Your product is perceived as high or low quality within seconds, regardless of what&#;s inside. 

At least with those private label products, that are not pre-manufac­tured, you can choose and customize the packaging.

3 Disad­van­tages of Low MOQ Private Label Cosmetics

Now we would like to have a closer look at some of the disad­van­tages of private label cosmetics with a low MOQ.

These disad­van­tages do not apply to private label cosmetics, which are not pre-produced and come with higher MOQs.

1. You have no Control over Formu­lation

When choosing low MOQ private label cosmetic products, you have no control over the products&#; formu­lation.

Which means if you don&#;t like the scent or the texture for example, there&#;s nothing you can do about it. Combined with the small product selection of many private label suppliers, it can be difficult to find a suitable product.

You really have to like the product and all its features exactly as it is. 

2. Lacking Packaging Custo­mization Options

Apart from the fact that you have no influence on the formu­lation, the packaging of low MOQ private label cosmetics cannot be changed either.

For more information, please visit Colorfeel.

Custo­mization is also very limited. You can only put your logo on the packaging. Sometimes printed, sometimes labelled.

Without unique packaging, it is even more difficult to stand out from other brands on the market.

We have also found that the packaging is most often of moderate quality. This makes it difficult to sell the product for a higher price.

With higher MOQ private label products, you can usually choose the packaging yourself &#; as long as it is compa­tible with the formu­lation. You also have many more decoration options, e.g. colouring the packaging or working with special printing techniques such as 3D or metal­lization effects.

3. Higher Prices per Unit

While because of the low MOQ your overall investment is lower, the high price per unit is a major drawback.

As a rule of thumb, the lower the order quantity, the higher the price per unit.

With very small order quantities, it might not be possible to sell the products with a reasonable profit margin after taking all other costs into account.

Especially since the products do not have the quality to sell for a high price.

How Much Does Private Label Cosmetics Costs?

The price depends on many factors, like the formu­lation, packaging and purchase quantity.

However, you&#;ll see the biggest jump when you switch from pre-manufac­tured products to products that are made for you.

Here&#;s an example of the top 10 best-selling private label cosmetic products and their prices for 0 and MOQ respec­tively.

Private Label Cosmetics Prices (Top 10 Products)

Product0 MOQ MOQ 1Lipstick$7.00 &#; $10.00$2.00 &#; $3.50 2Nail Polish$6.00 &#; $8.00$1.50 &#; $3.00 3Mascara$8.00 &#; $10.00$2.50 &#; $4.00 4Moistu­rizer$18.00 &#; $25.00$5.50 &#; $8.00 5Powder$9.00 &#; $12.00$3.00 &#; $4.50 6Face Brushes$10.00 &#; $12.00$1.50 &#; $3.00 7Eyeliner / Lipliner$5.00 &#; $7.50$1.50 &#; $2.50 8Foundation$10.00 &#; $12.00$4.00 &#; $5.50 9Lipgloss$6.00 &#; $8.00$2.00 &#; $3.50 10Shampoo$15.00 &#; $18.00$5.00 &#; $7.00

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: The prices for 0 units MOQ are based on some of the best known private label cosmetics manufac­turers. The prices for units MOQ are a rough range for our own offer.

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• Units MOQ
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Private Label Cosmetics: Step by Step Guid

If the advan­tages outweigh the disad­van­tages for you, and you&#;d to work with a private label manufac­turer, we put together a useful step-by-step guide, that will help you on your journey.

1. Choose the right Private Label Cosmetics Manufac­turer

We have written a guide on how to choose the right cosmetics manufac­turer and compiled a list of 17 cosmetics manufac­turers. 

This is not much different from choosing a private label manufac­turer, as this is ultim­ately just a type of cosmetics manufac­turer. If you need help with this, please read this article. 

But here is a brief overview of the most important decision factors:

QualityUnit PriceLead time (time between the initiation and completion of a production process)Delivery timeMinimum order quantities (MOQ)Commu­ni­cationRelia­bilityCerti­fi­ca­tions (ISO, GMP, Ecocert etc.)Shipping terms (EXW, FOB, door-to-door etc.)Additional services like design services

You should take all of these factors into conside­ration when choosing a private label cosmetics manufac­turer and weigh them up according to your individual needs.

2. Choose your Private Label Cosmetic Products

If you are not quite sure yet which products you&#;d like to sell, ask the private label manufac­turer for advise.

It makes more sense to not just start with one product, such as lipsticks in one color, but to start with a small cosmetic line.

For example, lipsticks, lip liner and lip gloss all in different colors.

Cosmetic products of the same category that can be used together can increase sales and revenue per order signi­fi­cantly.

One great example of this is Kylie Jenner with her cosmetic line, who gained massive attention by launching her lip kits first.

3. Design your Private Label Cosmetic Products

Depending on the manufac­turer and products, you have different custo­mization options when it comes to the design of your cosmetic packaging.

Also, the custo­mization options are based largely on whether the products are already produced and in stock, or they are made for you.

As explained above, the on stock products allow you to add a label with your logo, while the other type can be printed directly. You also have not only the label to customize, but basically the whole packaging as printing area.

Avoid taking on the product design by yourself if you&#;re not an expert. However, it&#;s definitely valuable to contribute your own ideas about its appearance. Hire a profes­sional product designer. This small investment is guaranteed to pay off!

4. Order and Sell your Private Label Cosmetic Products

Before you can start selling your products, you should select at least one suitable sales channel. This could be e&#;commerce (we recommend using Shopify or WooCom­merce), retail or wholesale.

Then you should think about your distri­bution countries and their cosmetics regula­tions. 

After you decided on your sales channels and distri­bution countries, you should start to think about marketing channels. 

We&#;d recommand trying TikTok, since you have a shot at going viral even if you have no followers or budget.

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