Behind The Scenes: The Unsung Heroes Of Beauty - The Triumphs And Challenges Of Contract Manufacturing In The Cosmetics Industry

Beata Lawson, Sr. Director of Global Manufacturing, Quality & Regulatory Compliance, Performance Beauty Group

Contract 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 familyowned 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.

"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 oldfashioned values continue to be very important"

• 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, 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 because they seek more sophisticated clients and because of introducing products into international markets where proven, established standards are required.

• They build their system department by department and establish procedures to ensure the products they create are innovative, unique, 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 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 continue to be very important.

• The number one key to success is a great team.

• Most contract manufacturers have fantastic staff with outstanding initiative and pride to make it happen and find solutions to nearly any problem, making the impossible always possible. This incredible team works like a well-oiled machine, and because of the experience and expertise of working together, they overcome challenges that arise throughout the process.

• Growing from within provides more opportunity for growth, as well as 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 was fortunate to get involved in every part of manufacturing.

• Customer relations allowed me 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 is a 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. They all helped me to become a multitasker outside of the bubble of R&D.

• Creating unique formulas in an R&D setting is easy… this statement may sound very profound from a formulator. Still, 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 those formulas needed to be unique, innovative, exciting, and 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 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 production areas as much as possible, especially during the scale-up of their formulas. This ensures an understanding of reality and helps develop a unique ability to solve problems on the spot, which is essential in manufacturing. It makes anyone so much more valuable as a formulator.

• I firmly believe in cross-training and experiencing challenges on my skin throughout all manufacturing steps. 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 arise.

• This also allowed me to discover hidden gems and unique talents within the organization and helped me build the best team possible.

• I genuinely believe the success of contract manufacturing depends on the team; therefore, putting the best team in place is essential.ingredients, filling procedures, testing, and packaging.

• 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. Usually, the success rate is 100% with a very low risk.

• I mastered moving existing manpower around with successful training as needed in the constantly changing manufacturing environment.

• I believe the most incredible 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.