Vervy Lin Cosmetics

Who we work with

Six kinds of client, six different problems. The common thread is that the product has to be right the first time, because none of them can afford a second launch.

Founder-led DTC brands

Usually one to five SKUs, a clear point of view and a price point between £28 and £95. They need a formula that justifies the price, a pack that photographs well, and a compliance route that does not consume the launch budget.

Typical route: assessment, then ODM, with packaging coordinated.

Retailers and pharmacy own-label

A commercial brief and a target retail price, working backwards to a cost the margin carries. Technical documentation has to satisfy the retailer’s own audit, not just the regulator.

Typical route: OBM incubation or OEM against a specified formula.

Salon, spa and professional

Products that perform in treatment and retail on the shelf. Back-bar sizes, professional-only formats, and packaging that survives a wet environment.

Typical route: ODM, with a small professional SKU alongside retail.

Brands entering the UK

Established in the Gulf, the EU or the US and needing GB compliance, a Responsible Person and a formulation review against annexes that have now diverged from the EU’s.

Typical route: compliance coordination plus manufacturing oversight.

Adjacent categories moving into beauty

Wellness brands adding a topical, fragrance houses adding skincare, fashion labels adding body care. The brand exists; the technical capability does not.

Typical route: consultancy first, to test whether the extension is credible.

Brands fixing a launch that went wrong

A product on sale without a complete file, a label that does not match the safety report, a factory that has stopped responding. Remediation work, usually urgent.

Typical route: diagnostic, then corrective action.

In the room

Person to person, whoever the client is.

A pharmacy buyer, a salon owner and a founder entering the UK market are different briefs, but the same accountable person sits across the table.

Fit

We are probably not the right partner if…

You need the cheapest unit cost

There are brokers who will find you a lower price. We optimise for a product that sells through and a file that holds, which is a different objective.

You want a catalogue with a logo

White-label has its place, and we will say when it is the sensible answer. Presenting it as bespoke development is where we part company.

You need a launch in six weeks

Unless the formula and pack already exist, the calendar does not allow it. We would rather decline than be the partner who promised.

The route, not the label

What actually changes between these briefs.

The client type does not decide the service; the ownership of the formula, the pack and the technical file does.

The six briefs above differ less in category than in who owns what. A founder-led brand usually needs the formula developed and licensed, a retailer usually arrives with a specification, and an overseas brand often has both but needs them re-read against GB rules. That is the difference between ODM development, OEM manufacturing and OBM incubation — and this comparison sets out who carries the development risk in each.

Whatever the route, the sequence is the same: a written assessment, a costed specification, evidence, then production. Our process shows the gates, and the launch guide walks through a first UK launch from positioning to shelf. If you are unsure which of the six describes you, a feasibility review answers that question before anyone quotes a development fee.

Questions we are asked

Do you work with pre-revenue founders?

Yes, where the brief is specific enough to cost. We ask for a category, a price point, a pack format, an indicative volume and a launch window; a full business plan is not required for a first conversation.

Can you work with a supplier we already have?

Often. A good deal of our work is oversight of an existing relationship — qualifying the site, tightening a specification or preparing documentation for a retail technical audit.

What if the product should not be launched at our price point?

You will hear that in writing, during the assessment, before development is authorised. Declining a brief early is cheaper for both sides than discovering it at the first production quote.

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