Why Beauty Product Launches Get Delayed (Hint: It's Not the Formula)

Hear me out: your formula is usually not what's delaying your product launch. We launch beauty products every day; it's quite literally all we do. Every week in our production meeting, there's a list of projects in "waiting" status. Here's what's usually on it.

1. Packaging

Almost every time, it's packaging. We have customers whose formulas are done, testing is done, and raw materials are in house, sometimes for six months, and we're still waiting on their packaging. Even worse, sometimes the packaging arrives broken or printed wrong. We once had everything ready to go for a client, and their glass packaging showed up completely shattered. None of it was usable.

2. Raw materials

Raw materials have been taking about 12 weeks to arrive lately. At least it's consistent, so we build it into our timelines now.

3. Everything in between

There are so many steps in manufacturing: packaging, testing, QC, hot stamping, ordering raws, ordering cartons, ordering or printing labels. Something is bound to go wrong somewhere. For example, decorated components can come back from the stamper and fail our QC inspection.

4. Founders who can't decide (the most surprising one)

The most shocking cause of delay? Founders who don't reply, or can't make a decision. Sometimes they can't pick between two versions of a formula, or can't choose a component. We can't start testing until those decisions are final, so the whole project sits.

How to keep your launch on track

• Order packaging early, and order extra to cover breakage and QC rejects.
• Build about 12 weeks for raw materials into your timeline.
• Make decisions quickly, and answer your project manager promptly.
• Consider stock packaging or private label if your timeline is tight.
• For custom formulation, plan for 12 to 18 months from start to finish.

Planning a launch? Book a free consultation, and we'll help you build a realistic timeline.