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When we talk about beauty products, makeup, and cosmetics, almost everyone thinks only about the brand and the famous name on the packaging. It is rare that behind the scenes, the journey of how the finished product came alive is mentioned. Manufacturing and contract manufacturing is sort of a mystery, and usually, it is not discussed or even mentioned anywhere even though they are the courter back players of the industry navigating innovation, formula integrity, compliance, brand relations, various timelines, manufacturing challenges, including 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, full assembly, and turnkey services. The 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 very close launch dates. To manage this process, true knowledge and expertise are needed, and most leaders become multitaskers. The best ones are very hands-on, bringing multifunctional experience and deep understanding, being able to provide quick solutions to any problem or challenge. What makes a contract manufacturer successful and how contract manufacturers successfully overcome challenges to ensure the end product is what the brand imagined: innovative, appealing, compliant and safe. • Contract manufacturers are often established as small family-owned facilities, and they usually have a quick growth pattern within a couple of 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 true hard work, handling everything on their own. They build and train their loyal team on the ground, assuring dedication from beginning to end. • Good contract manufacturers usually specialize in a specific product type, and they have very well-versed expertise in that area. This is because the beauty category involves a wide variety of products with very different formulation types, ingredients, filling procedures, testing, and packaging. • Cosmetic manufacturers had very limited guidelines and formal, regulated requirements until recently when MoCRA was approved, and it is expected to fill this gap very soon. Despite the lack of guidelines, most small contract manufacturing facilities thrive to improve and get better, especially as they grow. This is partially because they seek more sophisticated clients and because of entering products into international markets where proven, established standards are required. • They build their system department by department and establish procedures to make sure the products they create are not only innovative and unique but safe and tested. • Often, they will do it all under impossible circumstances, dealing with tight timelines, supply chain issues, and formulation challenges…. I’m sure this sounds familiar to anyone coming from a contract manufacturing background. • Continuity and dedication to every level of service will set a contract manufacturer apart from the growing competition. Believe it or not, word of mouth is still what drives many new clients to a specific contract manufacturer. Therefore, these old-fashioned values are continuing to be very important. The number one key to success is a great team. Most contract manufacturers have an amazing staff in place with outstanding initiative and pride to make it happen and find solutions to nearly any problem, making the impossible always possible. This great team works like a well-oiled machine, and because of the experience and expertise of working together, they overcome challenges arising throughout the process. "Contract manufacturers are equal partners with brands with a wide variety of expertise, often offering full service, from innovative formulations and onsite R&D services to premarket compliance and testing, sourcing, filling, full assembly, and turnkey services." Growing from within… providing an opportunity for growth … positive and rewarding for the individual and beneficial for the company. (less training, less turnover, easy transition, positive atmosphere) Contract manufacturing changed my life and made me a better professional… I spent a good chunk of my professional career as a formulator at a family-owned contract manufacturing facility, and I was fortunate to be able to get involved in every part of manufacturing. Customer relations gave me the possibility to see the early stages of product development, and then in R&D, the formula was born in my beaker, often shaping the ingredient story with functionality. To this day, it gives me great joy to see the products I helped create on retail shelves. I had the pleasure of working with so many talents on the brand side and in manufacturing, and they all helped me become a multitasker outside of the bubble of R&D. Creating amazing formulas in an R&D setting is easy… this statement may sound very profound from a formulator, but as an R&D chemist, I was in a bubble with access to free amazing ingredients and, no risk limitless experiments. I often forgot about reality and had no connection with manufacturing. I did not think that those formulas not only needed to be unique, innovative, and exciting, but scalable for mass manufacturing without stressing production at any stage, affordable, stable on the shelf, fillable and dispensable. Creating new products is exciting, but after all, manufacturing is a business, and it must make financial sense. My best experience came from seeing my formulas flow through the manufacturing steps and getting involved in problem-solving and troubleshooting when it was needed. This really made me understand the relationship between theoretics, science, and the realization of scale-up and mass production. I gained massive knowledge by working with amazing compounders, mechanics, and fillers who mostly had many years of hands-on experience and not formal education. After experiencing what a great resource they provide, I encouraged anyone in R&D to hang out in compounding or any other areas of production as much as they could, especially during the scale-up of their own formulas. It truly assures a deep understanding of reality and helps develop a unique ability to solve problems on the spot, which is essential in manufacturing, and it makes anyone so much more valuable as a formulator. I’m a firm believer in cross-training and experiencing challenges on my own skin throughout all steps of manufacturing. As I was able to get involved in various areas, I developed skills and an understanding of many functions, including how to manage daily challenges and overcome difficulties when they arose. This also gave me the opportunity to discover hidden gems and unique talents within the organization and helped me to build the best team possible. I truly believe the success of contract manufacturing depends on the team; therefore, putting the best team in place is essential. I love offering growth opportunities to individuals with initiative and drive. I love seeing anyone excelling and being happy while learning new skills. This is probably what I find the most rewarding when working with people and managing them. In addition to creating a healthy and happy environment with proven increased productivity, Cross training and elevating existing staff saves time and money, and usually, the success rate is 100% with a very low risk. I became a master of moving existing manpower around with successful training as it was needed in the constantly changing manufacturing environment. I believe the greatest team is built when opportunities are given and effort is noticed and appreciated. This costs nothing for the organization, but the positive outcome is priceless.