Every brand owner and cosmetics manufacturer needs new product development capabilities to cope with market competition. Daao Research Institute possesses numerous mature formulas with many practical applications, demonstrating safety and stable effects. Moreover, as a professional cosmetics OEM manufacturer, we don't just rely on existing formulas but continuously develop ourselves and excel in product research and development.
So, how do cosmetics OEM manufacturers conduct new product development? Do you know the process?
1. Pre-Product Development – Analysis
Besides consumer and market research conducted by the marketing department, the opinions of R&D personnel based on forward-looking technological research are also crucial for product ideas. R&D personnel need to have a keen industry sense and grasp new product trends in the market.
2. Formula Development
The first step in formula development is selecting the formulation framework and determining the raw materials based on skin feel. The framework and raw materials determine the overall structure of the product, and selection should comprehensively consider the product's dosage form, appearance, and characteristics. Taking serums as an example, the type of thickener should be determined first. If carbomer is chosen as the thickener, a carbomer with relatively long rheological properties and low viscosity should be selected. When the product's efficacy requirements are high and a large number of active ingredients need to be added, the ionic resistance of the selected carbomer type should also be considered. Skin feel determines the raw materials, mainly including oils, waxes, and skin feel modifiers. Appropriate selection and combination should be made according to the product's skin feel requirements.
3. Extraction
After determining the product framework and skin feel-determining raw materials, the next step is to ｓｅｌｅｃｔ conceptual and efficacy-related raw materials. Conceptual raw materials are added to facilitate later product marketing claims; the amount added is very small, neither contributing to efficacy nor skin feel, only ensuring safety and stability in the formula. Raw materials that truly provide efficacy often have a certain amount added. Chuangmei Research Institute specializes in the research and development of natural plants; the efficacy components are generally extracted from natural plants. Therefore, when selecting them, not only their mechanism of action should be considered, but also their compatibility with the system.
Developing a formula also requires clarifying the stability range of the core ingredients. At this stage, one cannot rely solely on information provided by suppliers; a comprehensive judgment should be made based on basic experiments and the specific formula framework. A common approach is to add the active ingredient to an existing, similar framework formula and observe its stability in preliminary test products to determine the pH stability range and incompatibilities of the core active ingredient.
4. Formula Testing and Improvement
In the final formula, physicochemical analysis of the active ingredient content is necessary to ensure that the content of the core active ingredient is not less than 90% of the actual amount added during the product's shelf life. Efficacy evaluation (in-vivo human testing and in-vitro in vitro testing) is also indispensable. Companies with the capability can conduct internal testing; companies lacking the relevant technology and equipment can collaborate with third-party testing institutions. The purpose of efficacy testing is not only to determine the minimum effective amount and the maximum safe amount of the active ingredient, but also to help formulation engineers find a balance between product efficacy and stability.
5. Quality Tracking Service
After the above steps are completed, the formulation engineer begins to fine-tune the skin feel according to the development requirements. This stage mainly involves communication with the marketing department. After several rounds of sampling, feedback, and adjustments, the marketing department accepts the decision and provides relevant quality tracking services to ensure that all products have a unique traceability code, thus protecting the rights and interests of customers.