How to Start a Skincare Business: A Step-by-Step Guide

Consumers are more savvy than ever, and there's a growing demand for effective skincare products with more natural ingredients. You might not have the big money backing of an international brand, but that doesn't mean you can't start a skincare business if you have a great formula or recipe you want to share with the world. 

How to start a skincare business

If you’re ready to start your own skincare business, this guide is for you. Let’s get started.

Market Research and Niche Selection 

Every product fits into a specific niche and has a target market, whether you prefer organic skincare lines from all-natural ingredients, acne, anti-ageing, sunscreen, toners, serums, masks, or exfoliators. Take a look at the market trends; there are always trends, but unlike fashion, skincare trends tend to last longer. Take a look at who you would classify as your main competition, the types of products they sell, and the audience they target. You might also explore what services or products are offered at cosmetic clinics in Sydney, as these businesses often stay ahead of emerging skincare trends and consumer demands.

While it's important to carve out a spot for yourself in a niche market and a corner of the market for yourself, looking at the competition can help you find ways to exploit your unique selling proposition properly.

Production Formulation and Development

There's no business without a product, so product development is key. A unique skincare formula that does precisely what it says on the tin is your goal. What does that look like? You need to source high-quality ingredients. The cosmetic business can be lucrative, so ingredient sourcing is a key part of the process. Remember, there are cosmetic regulations, so be sure your product formulation meets international standards so you don't limit your reach. 

How do you plan to manufacture your product? Is this an in-house operation, or are you going to have to contract manufacturing? While a small business may be tempted to take the in-house route for costs, when you factor in the time it takes, the equipment necessary, the branding expectations, packaging, and keeping up with demand, contracting it out might be the more efficient option.

Branding and Packaging

Often, branding and packaging are how you attract the customer to buy your product. So, you need a strong brand identity you can seamlessly adopt throughout the entirety of your business, from the name and logo to the colour palette and visual appeal of your label and container. 

Your packaging tells a story about your brand and product, so what are you trying to communicate? If you're targeting a younger audience, you need to tick the boxes of the branding that appeals to them. If you're selling a high-end, luxury product, then your branding and packaging have to reflect that. 

Consider how functional the packaging is by testing out different containers, bottles, or receptacles to see what works best with your overall design. 

Legal and Regulatory Requirements

It's important that you understand the regulations your products are bound by, whether you plan to sell your products in Australia, the United States, or globally. The latter will give you more to comply with, but the EU has broad regulations that cover every country in the agreement, so that will help ease the process. 

Whether you're taking the organic route or not, you must ensure you comply with product safety regulations and labelling laws. This is something you should have pinned down in the product development stage because the last thing you want is to identify a main ingredient you can't sell in several target markets. The beauty industry might be fickle, but if you get your business plan right, there's no reason you won't succeed. 

Sales and Marketing Strategy

By now, you should have a good idea of who your target audience is, what problem your product specifically solves for them and how you plan to reach them with your sales proposition. Where do they hang out online? Where do they hang out in real life? What are they reading? What are they watching? How can you put your product in front of them and invite them to complete the purchase? There are plenty of sales channels you can target, but you should utilise e-commerce options and offline sales as well. 

Business Operations

You may want to work with a small business lawyer as you create your business structure because they can advise you on the type of business to set up. Beyond that, are you delivering this product on your own, or will you be employing a team of skincare experts? It's a good idea to know what your business looks like as a whole and down to the finer details. 

Managing inventory and handling shipping can be overwhelming, so you must hammer out the details on precisely how you will handle this part of the business. You can take your entrepreneurship to the next level by enrolling in a course that provides all the details about the organic skincare business, from the history of skincare to the best way to market your product.

Final Thoughts

The first step to starting a skincare business is creating a skincare product that beats everything else on the market, and once you do that, the rest will follow in the same way that starting most businesses does. The difference between the skincare industry and every other industry is that the label and the product are equally important to completing sales and building a loyal customer base. 

Your label might sell your product, but the quality of the product keeps people buying and if you want to start your skincare empire, chase your dreams and start with a course to get the basics down.