The advantages of being a manufacturer

What sets us apart from other cosmetic brands ?

Our main difference from other cosmetic brands lies in the fact that we are the formulator and manufacturer of all our products. In other words, we develop our own cosmetic formulas thanks to our in-house R&D team (6 people) and we produce and package our products ourselves in our production laboratory (15 people).

Contrary to what one might think, this is not the case for most cosmetic brands. In fact, they generally use external subcontracting laboratories for the formulation, production, and packaging of their products.

What are our commitments as a formulator ?

From the outset, we chose to develop these skills in-house in order to better control the quality of our products.Indeed, it is our teams who select the raw materials with which our products will be manufactured. The selection is made according to a strict set of specifications because our products must be certified Cosmébio COSMOS ORGANIC¹, labeled Slow Cosmetics² and be rated " Excellent " on Yuka³. Nevertheless, they must be pleasant to use and, above all, effective !

Before our products are launched on the market, they are tested by a panel of local volunteer testers for 21 days. At the end of this period, they complete a questionnaire allowing us to collect their feedback on the tested product. If the rating of this product is below 8/10, we rework the formula until it achieves this minimum score.

We have blacklisted certain ingredients such as allergenic preservatives or those potentially identified as endocrine disruptors, alcohols, petrochemical derivatives, synthetic fragrances… in order to guarantee 100% natural origin products that are suitable for vegans since they do not contain any animal-derived ingredients (only plant or mineral origin). Like all cosmetic products sold in Europe, they are not tested on animals (nor are the raw materials used in them), although we do not claim this on our  packaging  (explanations here).

All our products undergo a series of tests before being marketed : +40°C, 4°C, darkness, natural light, challenge test, microbiological analyses, toxicological validation, patch test (if specific claims are made such as "sensitive skin ")... in order to guarantee the quality of the product over time and your safety as a user.

What does it mean to be a manufacturer ?

As a manufacturer, we produce the finished product from A to Z.

• Weighing and mixing of raw materials to obtain the " bulk "
• Packing (into jars or bottles) of the " bulk " on our packaging lines
• Labeling or boxing

Throughout these steps, our Quality team carries out inspections to ensure the safety of our operators, compliance, and proper traceability of the manufactured products. Our operators follow quality processes and are also made aware of these inspections.

Our production laboratory is equipped with production machines for mixing, as well as packaging lines for jar filling.We must adapt our techniques according to the textures of the different products : some products are more complex than others and need to be packaged “ by hand ”, while others can be processed on lines where 2 to 3 operators take turns at different stations. Solid products such as shampoos and dermatological bars are poured into molds and unmolded one by one after cooling before being placed in boxes.

The main challenge lies in the proper reproducibility of the product, as there are many factors that can have an impact: mixing speed, product temperature, room temperature and humidity… Not to mention the raw materials themselves, which can slightly vary from one batch to another (color, odor, texture…).As a manufacturer, we must master all these factors so that the final product is always identical and compliant with the product validated after the R&D work.

What are the advantages of being a manufacturer ?

You may have understood, being a manufacturer means being able to control the quality of our products from their formulation to their labeling and even their shipping since we also have our own internal logistics. This way, we ensure that our products are always compliant and we can react and adapt very quickly in case of a problem.

Of course, in return, we assume all the risks and potential product losses related to machine bugs or human errors, as we remain above all a team of humans.But keeping all these skills in-house allows us to develop expertise that some laboratories do not possess…

This also allows us to be competitive on the prices of our products since we have no intermediaries. Thus, we can make “ organic beauty ” accessible without compromising the quality of our products !

_____

¹ Logo indicating that the cosmetic is organic according to the current COSMOS standard: On the total product, limitation of petrochemical origin (list of authorized ingredients with maximum dosage), which ultimately results in  about 95% minimum ingredients of natural origin. 95% minimum organic ingredients of all ingredients that can be organic (such as plants, beeswax, milk...) and 20% minimum organic ingredients of the total product (10% for rinse-off and mineral products - water and minerals are considered non-organic as they are not cultivated)

² The Slow Cosmétique Label guarantees you a natural product, without synthetic materials, but also without controversial compounds for health or the environment. This is at the very heart of the Association's mission: advocating for total transparency and more sensible consumption of beauty products. The Slow Cosmétique Label goes even further as it also guarantees you a product with an honest quality-price ratio, and a brand that does not resort to marketing abuses for its advertising.

³ The cosmetics rating system is based on theanalysis of all the ingredients used in the composition of a product. Based on the current state of science, each ingredient is assigned a risk level according to its potential effects on health or the environment: endocrine disruptor, carcinogen, allergen, irritant, or pollutant. The potential risks associated with each ingredient are displayed in the application, along with the related scientific sources.