Vervy Lin Cosmetics

How we work: process, timings and what you supply

A first production run for a custom cosmetic takes twelve to twenty-four weeks. Not because the work is slow, but because stability testing, packaging lead times and safety assessment each take a fixed amount of calendar time that cannot be compressed by working harder. What can be compressed is everything else — and that is what good project management buys you.

Assessment1–2 weeks

Positioning and price architecture, category feasibility, claim route, target cost and a landed cost model at three volumes. Output: a written assessment with a recommended route, not a sales proposal.

Concept and formulation4–8 weeks

Two or three bench directions, sensory review, selection, one or two revision rounds, then stability and preservative testing begin. Output: a selected formula, a specification and a testing plan.

Packaging and artwork6–10 weeks, overlapping

Component selection and sampling, fill trial, decoration approval, artwork built against the safety data. Output: approved components and print-ready artwork.

Compliance2–6 weeks, overlapping

CPSR, Product Information File assembly, Responsible Person appointment, SCPN notification, label and claims sign-off. Output: a product that is legal to sell.

Production and launch4–8 weeks

Pilot approval, commercial run, in-line quality checks, batch release, export documentation and delivery. Output: stock, with the file to support it.

Critical path

Two places where a launch loses a month.

One

Artwork before the safety report

A label designed before the CPSR exists will be redesigned. Warnings, ingredient order and the Responsible Person block all come from the file. We build artwork after the safety inputs are fixed, which feels slower for two weeks and is faster overall.

Two

Packaging ordered before the fill trial

Components ordered without a trial can arrive incompatible with the formula — wrong liner, reactive coating, a pump that cannot handle the viscosity. A fill trial costs a few hundred pounds and a fortnight; the alternative costs a container.

What runs in parallel

Stability testing, packaging sampling, artwork and safety assessment can and should overlap. A project sequenced one stage at a time takes nine months. The same project with the overlaps managed takes five.

Responsibilities

Who does what.

Workstream	You	Us
Brand and positioning	Own it	Challenge it against the UK price ladder
Formula	Approve the direction and the sensory profile	Develop, test, document
Packaging	Approve the look and the budget	Source, trial, manage decoration and tooling
Compliance	Appoint and contract the Responsible Person	Prepare the file, commission the CPSR, submit SCPN
Manufacturing	Approve the purchase order	Qualify the site, oversee the run, hold the documentation
Logistics	Decide Incoterms and destination	Coordinate freight, documents and delivery schedule
Marketing claims	Own the campaign	Sign off every claim against the evidence file

What we need from you

Five inputs that keep the timeline intact.

Decisions, dated

Sample approvals, artwork sign-off and purchase orders. A week of indecision at the wrong moment costs three at the other end.

One decision-maker

Projects with four approvers take twice as long. Nominate one person who can say yes.

Honest volumes

A volume you can sell, not a volume that flatters the unit price. Reordering is cheaper than discounting stock.

Target retail price

Work backwards from what the customer pays. It determines the formula, the pack and the claim more than any brief document.

Any existing artwork or assets

Logos, fonts, brand guidelines. If none exist, say so early — design coordination is a separate workstream.

Your regulator questions

Ask them in week one. A compliance question answered at artwork stage is free; the same question answered after print is not.

Questions

On timings.

Can you accelerate a launch?

Sometimes, by paying for expedited stability protocols, air freight and priority lab slots. It typically adds 15–30% to development cost and buys four to six weeks. We will tell you what is genuinely compressible and what is not.

What is the fastest possible route to market?

A stock formulation with your own label, in a stock pack, with a CPSR already in place for that base. Six to ten weeks is realistic. It is not a differentiated product, and it should be priced accordingly.

What happens if we miss the launch date?

We replan against the constraint that actually moved, rather than pretending the original date still holds. Retail commitments, seasonal windows and funding milestones each imply a different trade-off between speed, cost and scope.

Next step

Wherever you are based, start with a conversation — not a purchase order.

Tell us what you are building, where it needs to land and which suppliers you already have. We will come back with an honest view of feasibility, timings, indicative costs and the compliance route — usually within two working days.

Start a project See the five disciplines