Between the prominent influence of e-commerce and social media, smaller brands have a higher chance of being recognized in their own niche markets. But even still, creating a skincare brand is a much more involved process than other markets. The time it takes to research things like chemistry or label laws, finding manufacturers, or having to invest a large amount of money can be difficult, but with budgeting, passion, and creativity, there are successful ways to start your skincare line.
Preparing for some of your biggest challenges ahead of time can help you face them a little easier when the time comes and set you up for success. Here we have pointed out some of these hurdles to allow you to be prepared for said challenges in starting your skincare brand.
Distinguishing Your Brand
There is still room in the skincare industry, despite it feeling crowded. Traditional skincare brands seem to remain stagnant while independent brands have seen the most growth, with independent and clean beauty brands seeing the most growth while older established brands began to overtake others to keep their balance in the market.
To distinguish your brand and stand out from the rest, there are a few ways you can connect to niche audiences that may be too small of a market from bigger brands, but come as a large success to a smaller label.
- Who is your ideal customer and what do they care about? Consider the demographics that your products will reach. The age, income, background, experiences, and values are all things you want to think about and how it can be reflected by your skincare products. Convenience, luxury, technology, sustainability, and ingredient awareness are all things to look at when reaching out to your target market.
- Share your brand’s story. With a personal struggle or connection to your brand, you are able to convey a much more authentic story and reason for your products. Many enjoy the background scenes to your development and how your brand started. If you have struggled personally with any skincare troubles, you can involve this in your personal attachment to your brand or any specific products.
- Label design can offer communication. After you’ve established what values and characteristics appeal to your target demographic, your design will be able to support that identity. With different prototypes given to those in your target market, you are able to see what your product packaging is conveying and how your audience receives it. Labels also mean being transparent about the ingredients in your products, including the science behind your ingredients and why they are necessary in your formula.
Quality Product Development
If you are not already involved in the formulation of your products, you should be! Maybe you don’t have a chemistry background but you can find plenty of research online. There is plenty of free information available and with so many everchanging fads it’s important to keep up with trending ingredients to create a sustainable plan for the future.
There are a few things you should be looking at when developing your skincare product:
- Product shelf life
- Quality ingredients
- Labeling laws
- Product stability and safety
If you are attempting to combine new ingredients, make sure your lab has enough time to test your products thoroughly before distributing. Long-term success will come from the amount of research and development that has gone into creating your products and staying innovative will help you avoid the pitfalls of always chasing new trends. Independent brands are able to find a niche audience and tackle specific issues rather than the wide net bigger brands cast, allowing them to focus on consistent problems regardless of trends.
When choosing manufacturers, you want to find the ones that have experience with the kind of skincare line you have and want to develop. This means they also have high-quality standards that you do, will welcome you to their facility, and want to share their expertise with market trends and ingredients.
Building Your Audience
Marketing is often a huge hurdle for many new skincare lines. The market is always evolving and competitive, which makes skincare an industry that requires constant attention. Consumers now look for ways to connect with brands, making it especially important to invest time in defining an audience and understanding their needs aside from just creating a great product.
Traditional media has allowed magazines, websites, and tv shows to use celebrities to get product names out there, but with influencers in social media, marketing has taken a new turn. Now we have seen how having authentic connections with influencers that harmonize with your brand can lead to a loyal following with lasting sales over time. The more involvement these influencers have with their followers is much more important than the number of followers they have, and having them interact with your products offers a more meaningful outlook to your brand.
Top Quality Aloe Vera Products
With the many different options on the market and such an array of ingredients that consumers aren’t familiar with, it has driven them to search online and be aware of online reviews before they buy. This being said, finding top quality ingredients for your line is a huge part of creating your products. Finding a manufacturer can be easy to find online, however you should look for great reviews, find references, and ask for samples of products.
At Aloe Laboratories, we maintain our own aloe vera farm and production site, allowing us to craft the best products possible while keeping bulk and wholesale prices low. We produce aloe vera gel, juice, and powder specific to every client’s needs and to create quality skincare products.
If you’re interested in our aloe vera for hair or skin products, contact us for more information and let us help you grow your business using quality organic aloe.