Three criteria for judging a source factory for cosmetics: A guide for brand owners to avoid pitfalls when selecting a factory.

The three judgments of the cosmetics source factory The standard brand side factory selection pit avoidance guide The brand side has been looking for a factory for two years, and the opening is "are you the source factory". It seems that there is no value in cooperation without this label. But in the end, whether it counts as the source factory or not, the judgment criteria are actually quite vague. Some people think that even if they have their own factory, some people think that they can develop their own recipes. Talking about my views today may not be comprehensive, but they are all lessons learned from practice. First of all, let's talk about why the concept of the source factory is so obvious that there are too many middlemen. In the process of finding a factory, many brands are actually exposed to traders, agents, and even pure information intermediaries. Each layer of these intermediate links adds a layer of cost, and communication efficiency is still low. Therefore, the brand wants to find the source factory, and the core demand is two: reduce costs and improve efficiency. There's no problem with that logic. Judgment criterion 1: The true source factory of R&D capabilities must have an independent R&D team and laboratory. It is not the kind of small workshop that puts two blenders and dares to call it research and development, but there is a professional formula engineer and a technical team that can do systematic product development. The judgment method is simple: you put forward a product requirement, see if the other party comes up with a ready-made "one-size-fits-all formula" for you to choose, or will help you analyze and customize the solution from the raw material level according to your needs. Most of the former are traders or small filling plants, while the latter are truly R&D factories. Our R&D team has 105 people and invests a lot in formulation development every year.When the brand comes to talk about cooperation, we usually spend half an hour to understand the needs, and then recommend the solution accordingly. The technical background of the factory can be seen in this link. Judgment criterion 2: Ownership of production equipment Some factories are called "own factories". In fact, there is only one filling line, and the raw materials are bought, the formula is copied, and the packaging materials are extracted. At best, calculate a filling workshop. The true source factory, from raw materials to finished products, the core production process is completed by its own equipment. Emulsification pots, filling lines, packaging equipment, quality inspection instruments, these are solid fixed assets investment. Judgment method: Go to the field to see. Look at how many production lines the workshop has, how old and new the equipment is, and the level of automation. Some factories claim to have a daily production capacity of hundreds of thousands. In fact, they only know that there is only one line, and the rest are outsourced. We have four production bases with a daily production capacity of 6 million units, and the production line covers everything from masks to serums to lyophilized powders to second-class medical devices. This kind of volume can't be stacked in a year or two. Judgment criterion 3: The factories that control the raw material supply chain usually have long-term and stable cooperative relationships with major raw material suppliers, and some core raw materials even participate in R&D themselves. In this way, the stability of quality and the controllability of costs can be ensured. Some "factory" raw materials are all taken from traders, the price goes with the market, and the quality fluctuates greatly. Once a raw material is out of supply, the entire production plan must be stopped. Judgment method: Ask the source of several core raw materials in the factory to see if the other party can clarify the supplier information and quality control process.If I can't say clearly, it's probably not the real source. Beyond the three dimensions, we should also pay attention to what qualifications are the most basic threshold. Cosmetics production license, GMPC certification, ISO22716 certification, these are standard in regular factories. Without these licenses, pass directly. There is also environmental compliance. In the past two years, environmental protection has been strictly checked. Some factories have been suspended for rectification because they do not meet environmental protection standards, which directly affects the delivery date. When choosing a factory, ask whether the environmental protection procedures are complete. And the last one, which is easy to ignore: look at the brand cases that factories have worked with. If a factory has served many well-known brands, it means that its quality and service have withstood the market test. Of course, the premise is that these cases are real, not fabricated. We have served more than 1,000 brands on our side, from emerging to mature brands, and cooperation cases can be seen at any time. In the end, judging whether it is the source factory or not, you can't just listen to the other party, you have to go to the field to see, ask, and verify. Seeing is believing, it takes a day to go to the factory, it works better than listening to the sales talk ten times. Welcome to the factory visit exchange