Startup brands have many of the same business needs that established brands have; though initially, entrepreneur-led beauty startups tend to require more comprehensive (or turn-key) solutions, low minimum order volumes, and time to build a trusting, collaborative business partnership.
These realities come at an upfront cost to suppliers. But more and more are making the investments needed to partner with indie brands.
“Indie beauty is shaping the future of the industry.”
DSM has been paying close attention to the needs and innovations of indie brands for years now. In summer 2017, Parand Salmassinia, then VP of DSM personal care in North America, spoke with Cosmetics Design about the range of services that company offers, including ingredients, market intelligence, R&D, formulations support, concept creation, and more.
Read more here on CosmeticsDesign.com: DSM eager to partner with indie beauty brands.
“My role is to provide clients with anything they need to be successful.”
Fragrance houses are interested in partnering with personal care and cosmetics startup too. The team from MANE was at this year’s BeautyX Capital Summit in New York City, connecting with founders and indie brand leaders and introducing them to the company’s olfactive capabilities. “Invite your customer to connect with you through scent,” advises Miranda Gordon, VP of marketing in the fine fragrance division at MANE.
“Gattefosssé is really well-positioned to work with these brands.”
Gattefossé launched a program of indie initiatives this year, including webinars, in-person seminars, and online resources. To kick it all off, the company chose to exhibit at the inaugural Uplink Live supply and services tradeshow in New York City this past August.
Lubrizol’s first Brand Accelerator Program is focused on indie beauty.
Lubrizol is another specialty chemical company exploring ways to work with indie brands. The company created a brand accelerator program in 2017, invested in the skin care startup One Ocean Beauty in 2018, and spent time at both BeautyX and Uplink Live this year in New York City to speak with brand founders about their needs and expectations.
Learn more about the Lubrizol approach to indie beauty in this CosmeticsDesign.com video interview.
in-cosmetics new Indie Trail feature helps brands meet suppliers.
Both the in-cosmetics global event in Paris this past April and last month’s in-cosmetics North America tradeshows featured an Indie Trail, a map of suppliers ready to work with independent beauty brands. It’s a good opportunity for brand leaders to comparison shop for ingredients, services, and business relationships—because like indie beauty brands, no two ingredient suppliers are the same.
See a selection of ingredient suppliers along the indie trail in this video from CosmeticsDesign.com.
---
Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.