How long does it take to create a beauty brand and develop product?

As a general guide, timings are as follows:

Brand strategy – 3 months

Brand design and copy – 3 months

Product development – 6-12 months

Formulation testing – 3 months

Manufacturing – 1-3 months

Website design and build – 3 months

Pre-launch preparation (PR, asset creation, digital marketing strategy etc) – 3 months

Although some of these phases can run concurrently, many will rely on key milestones to move forward – for example, pack copy cannot be finalised until testing is complete to ensure no changes need to be made to the formula.

Unfortunately, many of the stages are out of a brand’s control, and the current issues surrounding ingredient and packaging supplies and logistics delays caused by COVID-19 and Brexit, have impacted timelines further.

However, there are a few ways to create a beauty brand more smoothly and efficiently. One way is to define your brand’s Symbolic Brand Value as clearly as possible. This means your unique selling point and positioning. You should then communicate this to all parties involved in the process. Doing so will help speed up decision making along the way. For example, if you have clear rules over your ingredient philosophy, developed during the strategy stage, you can make quicker decisions over including or excluding ingredients during formulation development. You may also wish to consider white labelling your products, where you select off-the-shelf formulations that have already been developed and tested.

Cashflow is another key attribute which can hinder progress if correct and sufficient investment is not ready when required.

Finally, constantly reviewing your critical path will alleviate problems and could save months of delays if planned and followed correctly.