Beauty ODM, OEM and OBM services

ODM development: our formula, your brand

ODM stands for original design manufacturer: we design and develop the product, you put your name on it. Done properly it is not a catalogue with your logo on the carton — it is a formulation built around a position you intend to own, with testing that supports the words on the front.

What you receive

A formula, a file and a route to production.

Development begins with a written brief: the consumer, the price point, the claim, the format, the pack, the market and the volume. From that we propose two or three formulation directions at bench scale, with a clear view of what each one can and cannot claim.

You are not choosing between fragrances here. You are choosing between cost structures and regulatory positions: a ceramide-and-ectoin barrier cream at £6.40 landed can carry a different story, and a different margin, than a peptide serum at £3.10.

Every direction comes with an indicative cost at target volume, a stability risk assessment and the tests it will need before a safety assessor will sign it.

Scope

What ODM development includes.

Technical work

Three bench directions against the brief
Two rounds of revision after sensory review
Preservative strategy and challenge testing for water-based systems
Stability and packaging compatibility protocols
Pilot batch and fill trial before the commercial run
Specification sheets for every raw material

Commercial and regulatory work

Indicative landed cost at three volume tiers
CPSR coordination with a qualified safety assessor
Product Information File assembled in English
INCI list, warnings and artwork copy prepared for the pack
Claims reviewed for substantiation before design is signed off
First-run quality plan and retain samples

Ownership

Who owns what, in plain English.

This is the part of an ODM agreement most brands read too late.

Your side

The brand and the market

Brand name, positioning, artwork, customer data and the commercial relationship with retailers. Yours without qualification.

Our side

The base formulation

We retain the underlying formula and development record. You hold an exclusive licence to manufacture and sell it in your territory for the term of the agreement.

By agreement

Assignment

Where you need outright ownership — for investment, for a sale process, or for a retailer’s exclusivity clause — the formula can be assigned. It is priced at the outset, not negotiated under pressure.

Why this matters

A manufacturer that will not tell you who owns the formula has told you something. Ask for the ownership clause before the first sample, and read the exclusivity definition: “exclusive” to one factory is not the same as exclusive to your brand.

2026 briefs

Where UK demand is actually going.

Four directions we are developing repeatedly for premium British brands this year, and the practical implication for a formula.

Direction	What the customer expects	What it means in the lab
Barrier and skin longevity	Fewer actives, better tolerated, evidence of barrier function	Ceramides with cholesterol and fatty acids in physiological ratio; ectoin; reduced surfactant load; fragrance-free as a serious option, not a compromise
Perimenopause and 40+	Specificity, not euphemism	Lower irritation potential, no drying alcohol, retinoid alternatives, clinically defensible hydration data, packaging copy that names the mechanism
Next-generation retinoids	Retinal results without the downtime	Retinaldehyde or HPR encapsulated; buffer systems; stability under accelerated conditions is the real constraint
Biotech and fermented actives	Provenance and purity, not novelty	Lab-grown squalane, fermentation-derived actives; supplier documentation for the safety assessor, and a claim you can evidence

Timeline

Fourteen to twenty-two weeks, realistically.

Anyone quoting six weeks is either using a stock base or excluding testing from the plan.

Brief and feasibility1–2 weeks

Category economics, claim route and target cost agreed in writing before a bench sample exists.

Bench development3–5 weeks

Two or three directions, sensory review, selection and first revision.

Stability and compatibility4–8 weeks

Accelerated stability, pack compatibility and preservative efficacy, run in parallel with packaging selection.

Safety assessment and artwork2–4 weeks

CPSR, PIF assembly, INCI and warnings, artwork checked against the file.

Pilot and first production4–6 weeks

Pilot batch, fill trial, quality approval, commercial run and batch release.

On the bench

Developed by hand, not pulled from a catalogue.

Questions

ODM, practically.

Can we start from an existing formulation and modify it?

Often, yes — and it is usually cheaper. If a base we already hold is close to the brief, we will say so and quote a modification rather than a full development. You still get a documented, tested product and a licence.

How many samples will we see before production?

Typically three directions at bench scale, then two revision rounds on the selected direction, then a pilot batch in the final pack. Brands that skip the pilot usually discover the fill or compatibility problem on the commercial run.

Do you test the claims?

We specify and coordinate the testing — instrumental hydration and barrier studies, consumer panels, or efficacy trials through accredited labs — and write the claim to match the evidence. We do not invent data, and we will tell you when a claim is not supportable.

What about fragrance and colour?

Both are available and both add regulatory work: allergen declaration, IFRA conformity for fragrance, and colourant restrictions that differ between GB and the EU. We price that in rather than discovering it at artwork stage.

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.

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