by Michael Lorence (https://linktr.ee/melorence1) and Emerson Bossi (bossiwriter.com/)
The process of finalizing and documenting a product formula is essential. It encapsulates many aspects of production, like marketing strategy, product sourcing, primary ingredients, pricing, and more. In addition, a comprehensive formula is helpful when manufacturing cosmetic products at larger scales.
However, multiple challenges must be overcome when scaling production, like dealing with product configuration and documentation necessary to customize your product.
What Is a Product Formula
A cosmetic formula contains all the information necessary for a product’s reproduction, including testing results, materials, percentages, and desired texture. To create a formula, we must go through a complex formulating process balancing all ingredients in a new chemically harmonious physical product. Without proper chemical balance, formulations become mixtures instead.
How Formula and Documentation Affects Your Business
Finalizing, detailing, and documenting your formula is incredibly challenging if you don’t have first-hand experience. It can lead to mishaps during production at scale, producing faulty cosmetics that may reach customers, leading to negative feedback.
Entrepreneurs, DIY enthusiasts, and small business owners who have tried to scale their production have faced several formulating and production issues. Detailed documentation is necessary to scale production and avoid such problems.
How Flex Cosmetics Can Help
At Flex Cosmetics, we define the formulation process as the following:
“Documentation is the process used to deliver a complete formula informational profile to our customers, guaranteeing full ownership and reproducibility. The profile is recorded in several Product Information Files (PIFs) that represent an optimized and market-ready formula, including all the tests to guarantee it. Additionally, we provide any required marketing tools and engineering process details to ensure seamless production.”
What Is a PIF
We use a series of Product Information Files to define every aspect of your optimized cosmetic formula. You can find more information on these files on our services page. Here is a short breakdown of what you can find on each file.
PIF 1
The first file has your formula sheet, INCIs (International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredients), trade names, and percentages of each material used. This file also comes with instructions to help manufacture a pilot batch.
PIF 2
The second file details all formula costs and ingredients used. We can also include product marketing claims and a complete composition breakdown on request.
PIF 3
The last file includes microbiological tests, a compatibility list, stability reports, and the final details to complete your product profile.
The Importance of PIFs for Your Business
We believe that a well-documented and comprehensible formula is essential for success, so we ensure you have all the details you need when working with us.
The documentation guarantees you have full ownership of your formula, allowing it to be shared with a 3rd-party of your choice to aid with large-scale manufacturing, enhanced marketing, or streamlined logistics, making scaling an easier task.
Just make sure to set up a legal arrangement before handing your formula to a 3rd-party to avoid any copyright issues during the manufacturing process.
Overcoming Scaling Challenges
Finalizing and documenting a product formula is difficult due to the many variables applied to a formula blend, especially when production is scaled up. Additionally, putting together the documentation yourself is costly and can lead to manufacturing mistakes. To make this process easier, contact us at Flex Cosmetics. We can build a complete formula and convert it into PIF files, allowing you to easily share them with a 3rd-party to help with your product needs.