Private label manufacturing is a great solution for anyone who wants to create and sell a line of products but doesn’t have the manufacturing expertise to do so themselves. Team up with a private label manufacturer, like FLPL, and, with your direction, they’ll take control of everything manufacturing-related, saving you both time and stress!
With that said, even if you’re working with a private label manufacturer, it’s still worth being aware of the compliance and regulations that go hand-in-hand with the goods that you’re producing. While a reputable private label manufacturer will be well acquainted with these, not all companies follow the same standards. Fail to adhere to industry regulations and your business could soon find itself in a world of trouble.
So, what do you need to know?
Here are some of the main aspects to be aware of:
Product Safety Regulations
Every industry will have its own quality standards. It goes without saying that your products will need to line up with these if you want to be able to successfully sell them.
At FLPL, we focus on cosmetics and wellness products. A large amount of quality testing occurs during the R&D stage – while we’re creating your product samples but before they are sent off for mass manufacturing. This allows us to catch and rectify any problems at the perfect time.
Some of the testing methods that are used to ensure that the products we create are completely safe are:
- Testing a product’s stability to ensure that it remains safe over time.
- Checking to make sure that products are free of any harmful bacteria and other impurities.
- Compatibility testing. This not only ensures that all of the ingredients used in a product play well together but also checks to make sure that the formulas we’re creating don’t react negatively to the packaging that you’ve chosen.
- Assessing how well a product performs. You don’t want to make false promises to your customers! If your aim is to sell an eye cream that reduces the appearance of dark circles, we need to make sure that the product actually does this.
- The preservatives used in your products need to be tested too.
Compliance in Production
Of course, it’s not just your end products that need to adhere to regulations. Your chosen manufacturing facilities need to do the same. Again, this is something that private label manufacturing makes a little easier. Rather than having to source a compliant factory yourself, your private label manufacturer will already have a network of factories in place that, hopefully, all follow industry regulations.
For starters, the manufacturing equipment that they use needs to be up to scratch. The same applies to any other facilities that are involved in the creation of your products.
Labor laws and workplace regulations need to be taken seriously as well. This is something that often dissuades people from working with overseas manufacturers. At FLPL, however, we team up with factories both in the USA and Asia. They both strictly follow industry regulations, with regular audits being carried out to confirm compliance.
Packaging and Labeling
At FLPL, packaging and labeling is part and parcel of our private label manufacturing services. After all, you wouldn’t be able to sell your products without these, and our mission is to help with everything that’s needed to get your products to market.
However, not all private label manufacturers offer this service. This makes it important to familiarize yourself with packaging and labeling regulations. While this can get a little complicated, here are a few key considerations:
- Labels need to show ingredient declarations. These should be easy for the consumer to find/read. The ingredients need to be listed in order of prominence.
- Any warnings or cautions need to be easily displayed.
- The manufacturer details need to be included on product labels.
- Expiry dates need to be printed on labels too.
- Packaging needs to be tamper-proof in a way that makes it easy to see if a product has already been opened.
Any mistakes in labeling or packaging that misrepresents your products could get your business into serious trouble. The last thing that you want is for your products to be recalled or for your business to be faced with steep penalty charges. This is why it can be very helpful to work alongside a credible private label manfacturer who offers packaging and labeling services. All of these legalities will be taken care of for you, making them one less thing for you to have to worry about.
Importation Regulations
As mentioned earlier, FLPL works with factories both in the USA as well as overseas. While there’s no denying that having a “made in the USA” label splashed across your products comes with a number of advantages, there’s also no ignoring the difference in cost between the two. Even when shipping and logistics are taken into account, manufacturing your products overseas is often the more cost-effective option.
However, this then means that you’ll need to consider the various regulations that come with importing products. For example, certain ingredients are allowed in some countries but not in others. Your products will need to contain ingredients that are legal in the USA if you want to sell them in the USA. Likewise, if you want to sell internationally, your formulas will need to be universally acceptable.
There are also various importation fees that will need to be paid. At FLPL, we handle all of this for our clients, saving them from ending up overwhelmed by the nitty-gritty details. Our clients sell their products all around the world. This means that we have plenty of expertise when it comes to ensuring that the cosmetics we create our legally compliant to international standards.
Ensuring Compliance Throughout the Private Label Manufacturing Process With FLPL
As you can see, regulations need to be considered throughout the private label manufacturing process. Here’s how we do that at FLPL:
Concept and Vision
Helping you to flesh out your concept and vision for your products is the very first step that we take. At this stage, it’s helpful to figure out your goals. For example, if your aim is to sell CBD-infused skincare but the ingredient isn’t legal in certain countries, you’ll need to decide whether to choose a different signature ingredient or to limit yourself to only selling in certain parts of the world.
Research and Development
The R&D stage is where we focus on product safety regulations. From choosing ingredients to putting them together into a cohesive and effective formula, safety needs to be kept in mind at all times.
It’s also a good idea to consider packaging at this stage. As we mentioned earlier, the products that you create will need to be tested with your chosen packaging. There’s no point choosing beautifully sleek glass bottles for your high potency skin serum, only to find out, after having your products mass produced, that the translucent nature of that glass causes the ingredients in your serum to degrade in a matter of weeks.
At FLPL, our team has a huge amount of knowledge on this. We’ll be able to guide you in making the best decisions for your products while avoiding costly mistakes.
Marketing and Branding
While marketing is something that you could oversee yourself, we have an art and marketing team at FLPL who can provide assistance with this. From your logo and branding to your marketing strategy, we will make sure that all of your marketing efforts adhere to industry regulations.
One of the big issues that businesses have is when it comes to the misrepresentation of their products. Making false promises or claims will quickly lead to trouble for your brand, making it important to get this right. Work with FLPL and you’ll have all the expertise and help that you’ll need.
Mass Production
Once your product samples have been approved, we send them for mass production. This is where production compliance comes in, as well as quality control.
While some factories can be pretty slack when it comes to quality control, the factories that we work with adhere to the high standards that we set. Whether your products are aimed at the high end or budget market, quality is of the utmost importance. This not only applies to legalities and regulations but also when it comes to attracting and retaining customers. If you want loyalty from your customer base, quality needs to be prioritized.
Imports and Logistics
As discussed earlier, there are various regulations to keep in mind when importing products. There will also be fees that need to be paid. We take care of all of this for our clients. Once your products have been manufactured, we’ll arrange for them to be delivered to our Los Angeles warehouse. Again, there are more regulations when it comes to storage facilities, which ours adheres to.
Your products can then remain at our warehouse until you’re ready for them, whether this involves collecting them yourself or shipping them on to another destination.
Sales
Now that you have your finished products, it’s time to start selling! If you’re new to sales, there are, once again, even more regulations that you’ll need to abide by!
FLPL can help you on this journey. From setting up an e-commerce store to establishing a traditional, brick-and-mortar store, we have all of the necessary contacts and connections to get your products sold while keeping in line with sales legalities.
Summary
There’s no denying that understanding all of the various regulations and compliances related to manufacturing products can feel overwhelming. However, this is where it really pays to have a reputable private label manufacturer by your side. Mistakes can be costly, as well as fatal for your business, but, with FLPL, you won’t need to worry about any of that. Instead, leave those details to us while you focus on the areas of your business that you excel at so that you can ensure success for your brand.
