Quick answers to the most common questions.
We do not disclose our customer names. You will find many of our client's retail and spa products in national and regional stores, including Ulta, Sephora, Amazon, Target, Whole Foods, New Seasons, TJ Maxx, Made in Oregon, Market of Choice, and Nordstrom's. Customers regularly appear on HSN and QVC, and have competed on Shark Tank. Retail stores, spas and boutiques all over the US, Canada, Europe and Asia sell our customers' products. We also have many clients who sell at festivals and open-air markets.
Yes! All of our wholesale products are available for you to white label. You can find a wide variety of products from lotions and creams to masks, serums, sprays, shampoos and balms and more. If you have any specific questions, please contact us at contactus@essentiallabs.com
Check out this blog to learn why!
We are a small batch manufacturer, to ensure freshness... so it really depends on the product! On average, for bulk delivery (drum sizes) production lead times are 8-12 weeks. For smaller orders and best-seller items in stock, we can ship out items next day, and then it is up to our shipping provider, meaning 1-2 weeks depending on the demand and location. If you have any questions about lead times, please reach out to our customer service team.
On average, production lead times are about 12-14 weeks on private label if we are filling your bottles. Some formulations may take longer. Production will begin when we have all of the components (bottles, tops, boxes, labels, seals, contract, etc.) required for your project on site in our facility and the deposit is paid. Apologies, this service is currently unavailable at this time.
Unfortunately, no. Ingredient sourcing is a critical component of our commitment to sustainability, quality and safety. Occasionally a customer will want an ingredient we do not want to source, and we will ask a customer to provide it along with an Safety Data Sheet, Technical Specs and Certificate of Analysis for each ingredient.
Yes! Essential does not provide packaging or brand components. The options are almost infinite, and you should be free to select what best suits your brand. We are happy to help you find a provider for your containers, bottles, and labels, or recommend which packaging works best for the product. Please reach out to our customer service to see if you apply for our filling capabilities.
We will need benchmark of the product along with the ingredient deck. It will not necessarily be a true reverse formulation, meaning we cannot guarantee exact ingredient concentration, but we can do a method of figuring out the formula based on the sample and ingredient list. The fee will vary based on the actual formulation required. Apologies, this service is currently unavailable at this time.
Yes! Our cosmetic formulators will work with you to create a custom formula just for your brand. Fees will vary based on the product you need created. A complete and true custom formulation can take six to nine months to finalize and often requires challenge stability testing. Apologies, this service is currently unavailable at this time.
The formula will remain under Essential Lab’s ownership. For those interested in purchasing the formula we create for them, the cost of the formula is set when the product is approved, and the formula confirmed. The price will depend upon the complexity of the formula.
No. Once we complete the research and development of a custom formula, we will only manufacture the formula for the customer who commissioned and/or owns the formula.
Absolutely. Every client's products and product ideas are kept confidential. Without explicit consent from our clients, any information given to us is treated as confidential and is not shared. We do not share lists with companies or disclose any information related to your business with us to anyone.
You’ll first complete an intake form so that we understand your complete needs. Then we’ll ask to see a benchmark and your formula. Our formulators will then talk with you and address any issues you or our formulators see and give you an estimate. From there you can choose to go into our lab for us to create prototypes and get your approval. Apologies, this service is currently unavailable at this time.
All formulas are a little different; however, we typically can provide samples in six to eight weeks from payment if it is a semi-custom formulation or a formula that you have already created, tested and tried. If we need to order a special ingredient for your prototype, it could take more time. If the formulation is completely custom, meaning neither Essential Labs nor you have ever tried this before, the samples may require six to nine months of intense development and challenge testing. You'll want to discuss this with your Account Manager to get more specific details. Apologies, this service is currently unavailable at this time.
R&D fees vary based on the project and begin at:
- $2100 for custom formulation or for scaling and stabilizing customer-provided formulas for commercialization (up to five rounds of prototypes for your approval)
- $495 for semi-customizing our stock formulas (up to three rounds of prototypes for your approval)
- $199 Scenting our stock products (Three samples – light, medium and heavy)
Apologies, this service is currently unavailable at this time.
No, the minimum is per variant. Feel free to reach out to our customer service team for further questions, we will try our best to assist you in figuring out what will work for you.
Sometimes. We can provide an estimate on stock bases that are being filled into your packaging or some semi-custom formulas. When it comes to custom formulas, we cannot always provide estimates before we create the formula, although we will work with you to determine your price point requirements prior to developing your formula. You will receive a firm price for your approval once packaging and product has been approved. Apologies, this service is currently unavailable at this time.
For Private Label & Custom orders, we do not accept returns unless Essential Labs did not deliver previously agreed upon items. Please refer to our Returns & Shipping page for more information.
We ship internationally to certain countries, but request that you do your due diligence into the country for their dossier, custom and commerce requirements. This is your responsibility as the importer.
Please refer to our Returns & Shipping page to view which countries we currently ship to.
While you can come and visit our administration offices, for both safety and customer confidentiality reasons we do not give tours of our manufacturing facility.
Please read this full blog for the answer.
We are partnered with Joan Morais Cosmetics School. Check out their courses here:
https://joanmorais.com/product-category/classes/certification-courses/
Otherwise, check out our YouTube channel for formulation tips, recipes, and more!
Need help? Check out our YouTube channel.
Measuring pH is an important part of cosmetic formulation as products are most effective if they are at the proper pH.
Check out this video to learn more.
Do you want to start a cosmetic business but not sure how? Browse through these 2 blogs to learn more.
Think it’s easy to win sales following beauty trends and social media posts? Think again!
You'll need to conduct your own research. Here are some tools to get you started:
Cosmetic brands in the EU must comply with a specific set of regulations, and the products must also be registered on the Cosmetic Product Notification Portal (CPNP). You will also need to appoint a Responsible Person, ensure your labels contain specific information, and each product must have their own Product Information File.
Read this blog post to find out!
Follow the directions under "Cold" on this blog post.
Follow the directions under "Hot" on this blog post.
Check out this blog post.