Requesting cosmetic formulas: essential information in a product development brief

A product development brief should contain information on:

• company philosophy:
  • what is the company philosophy? 
  • do you need to use scientifically proven ingredients? Should you choose natural, organic or synthetic ingredients; or a combination? This first section helps set the scene for later cosmetic ingredient choices.  
• proposed product name:
  • even if this changes later, the product should carry an identifying name so that you can refer to it specifically throughout the cosmetic formulation process. 
• product profile and objectives:
  • what is the end use of the product? For example, is it supposed to be a shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser etc?
  • why is this product under development? Is it to launch a new product, re-develop an existing product, match a competitors product or extend a line of products already being sold? 
  • this information helps the Cosmetic Chemist understand the form that the product formulation should take as well as where the product may sit within a company’s existing product range. 
• target market:
  • it is important to know who the cosmetic formulation should be developed for. Details could include information on their demographics (e.g. age, gender, educational background and economic status), lifestyle, values and family status.
  • this information helps the Cosmetic Chemist understand what skin or hair type the cosmetic formula should suit, as well as any sensory preferences. 
• marketing message:
  • a short paragraph or couple of sentences should be provided to give you an idea of what the concept developer wants to be able to say about the product. For example, the concept developer may want to make claims about the whitening, or anti-ageing activity of a product; or they may want to make claims about the benefits of certain extracts, or benefits to the skin. 
  • this is crucial information, so that the Cosmetic Chemist can select cosmetic ingredients that will support the intended claims and delivery on the required performance.
  • remember: your marketing claims must suit cosmetics and be backed by appropriate evidence. Watch this video for more information on cosmetic claims and evidence required. 
• promotion and distribution:
  • how will the product be promoted and distributed? Will it be promoted in one store only, or through a large promotional campaign? This could impact the choice of ingredients through prolonging shelf life, formulating to suit different climates, formulating to suit distribution purposes and how unique the ingredient selection needs to be.
• key ingredients:
  • in this section, ingredients that you specifically want in the formula should be listed. 
  • there may be incompatibility or cost issues with the ‘ideal’ list of cosmetic ingredients, but it helps to have them listed here to give the Cosmetic Chemist some idea of the go-to ingredients your target market will be looking for. 
  • the Cosmetic Chemist will choose from this list or may value-add with some other suitable cosmetic ingredient choices where relevant. 
• ingredients to avoid:
  • ingredients that you specifically do not want in your formula should be listed here.
  • avoiding certain ingredients may impact the stability or pricing of a cosmetic formula, but it helps the Cosmetic Chemist understand what ingredients they should not be using to suit your target market. Watch this video to see how avoiding certain ingredients could negatively impact the performance, price or shelf life of your cosmetic product. 
  • remember, you can’t imply cosmetic ingredients are not safe where they are permitted by regulations. Be careful too with free from claims, as they may be misleading and deceptive also. Watch this video for more information on what to be aware of when making free from claims.
• aesthetics of the product:
  • how does the concept developer want this product to look, feel and smell? What do they want the viscosity to be like? How do they want it to feel on the skin during application and after?
  • it is ideal to provide a small sample of a competitors’ product (and preferably ingredient listing) that you like the look/smell/feel of, so the Cosmetic Chemist understands the type of cosmetic formula you may be looking for.
  • what changes do you want made to the competitors’ product to make it unique to your company? 
  • providing a sample can help shortcut the cosmetic formulation process because the Cosmetic Chemist has a tangible product to know how you want it to look, flow and feel. 
• packaging of the product:
  • it is important to find out what sort of packaging will be used to make sure the cosmetic formula will suit the viscosity required by the packaging (for example, jar vs tube vs bottle) and the filling capacity of the manufacturer. 
  • it is also useful to know how the product will be dispensed, and what sort of flow might be required to suit that type of packaging and opening. This can also impact the type of preservatives that may be required to protect the cosmetic formula over its intended shelf life. 
  • it is ideal to have a sample of the packaging that the product will be filled in to check that there will be no issues with filling the product when it is created or when the consumer comes to dispense it. 
• proposed pricing:
  • what price do you want the finished product to be? This proposed price should exclude the cost of packaging, labels, delivery and taxes; but include manufacture and filling costs.
  • the number of units that will be manufactured will greatly impact the pricing of the product due to labour costs. 
  • even if the Cosmetic Chemist you are using is not the manufacturer, they will have some idea of what a cosmetic formula is going to cost to manufacture, and this will impact their cosmetic ingredient choices. 
• budget for development:
  • be realistic - if you want a highly innovative cosmetic formula, then you will need to allow the Cosmetic Chemist more time in research and development. 
  • a unique but basic cosmetic formula may be around $2500AUD for samples, final formula and method; while an innovative active cosmetic formula is more likely to be around $5000AUD for samples, final formula and method. 
  • be sure to agree on development costs early in the development process to prevent issues during and at the end of the development process.
• time frame for the formulation:
  • again, be realistic. The Cosmetic Chemist will need to source unique cosmetic ingredients to prepare your first sample, which could take 3-4 weeks to arrive before they can even go to the lab! 
  • It is normal for unique but basic cosmetic formulas to take at least 8 weeks to research, prepare samples, and reach sign off stage. For more unique cosmetic formulas, it may take multiple rounds of samples, longer cosmetic ingredient delivery times; highly active formulas with more unique materials may take 12-16 weeks from concept to signing off the samples and formula.
  • the time frame for the formula does not normally include any market evaluations or stability testing - these come at additional time and costs. Understand the process of stability testing, watch this video. 
• time frame for the completed product:
  • there may be long lead times on certain raw materials used in the product. If a cosmetic ingredient takes 13 weeks to be shipped to the manufacturer, this is going to mean at least 16 weeks until you have the finished product manufactured and released.
  • remember this time frame needs to allow for all materials and packaging to arrive, be quality checked, get manufactured, filled and quality checked for release. 
• other considerations:
  • is there any other information important to understand the objectives of the project? 
  • other considerations could impact on both the cost of the development and time involved.

You may also be interested in understanding the process more, watch:

• Explore the lab of a cosmetic chemist
• How a cosmetic chemist makes a cosmetic formula

The next section shows you an example of a completed Product Development Brief to show you examples of how full product details should be presented.

Example product development brief

Happy formulating!