OCTOBER 2024BUSINESSMANAGEMENTREVIEW.COM8BEHIND THE SCENES: THE UNSUNG HEROES OF BEAUTY ­ THE TRIUMPHS AND CHALLENGES OF CONTRACT MANUFACTURING IN THE COSMETICS INDUSTRYBy Beata Lawson, Sr. Director of Global Manufacturing, Quality & Regulatory Compliance, Performance Beauty GroupCONTRACT MANUFACTURING--WHERE THE IDEA BECOMES A REALITY.·When discussing beauty products, makeup, and cosmetics, almost everyone thinks only about the brand and the famous name on the packaging. The journey of how the finished product came alive is rarely mentioned. Manufacturing and contract manufacturing are a mystery and are usually not discussed or mentioned anywhere even though they are the courter back players of the industry navigating innovation, formula integrity, compliance, brand relations, various timelines, as well as manufacturing challenges like supply chain, automation, skilled expertise and general labor, certifications, and quality audits. · Contract manufacturers are equal partners with brands with a wide variety of expertise, often offering full service, from innovative formulations and on-site R&D services to premarket compliance and testing, sourcing, filling, whole assembly, and turnkey services. `CHALLENGE' IS THE MIDDLE NAME OF CONTRACT MANUFACTURING.· They manage expectations, keeping them realistic and streamlined, often using a "magic wand" under impossible circumstances.· They make ideas become reality step by step, often jumping through hoops to meet those extreme launch dates. To manage this process, actual knowledge and expertise are needed, and most leaders become multitaskers. The best ones are hands-on, bringing multifunctional experience and deep understanding, quickly solving any problem or challenge. WHAT MAKES A CONTRACT MANUFACTURER SUCCESSFUL, AND HOW DO CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS OVERCOME CHALLENGES TO ENSURE THE PRODUCT IS WHAT THE BRAND IMAGINED: INNOVATIVE, APPEALING, COMPLIANT, AND SAFE?· Contract manufacturers are often established as small family-owned facilities and usually have a quick growth pattern within a few years. · They are also one-stop shops providing a very easy experience for any brand to bring products to the market. · They are self-starters and entrepreneurs with outstanding intellectuals and initiative drives. They build the business with sweat and actual hard work, handling everything independently. They grow and train their loyal team on the ground, assuring dedication from beginning to end. · Good contract manufacturers with very well-versed expertise usually specialize in a specific product type. This is because the beauty category involves many products with very different formulation types, ingredients, filling procedures, testing, and packaging. · Cosmetic manufacturers had minimal guidelines and formal, regulated requirements until recently when MoCRA was approved, Beata Lawson
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