Choosing a cosmetic formulation partner comes down to five things: whether you own the finished formula, what the minimum order quantity really is, which markets they can make you compliant for, whether they actually formulate in your product category, and whether the timeline you are given is honest. For indie founders in New Zealand and Australia, that usually points to a specialist formulation studio rather than a large contract manufacturer.
What a formulation studio does that a contract manufacturer does not
A cosmetic chemist takes your idea and turns it into something stable, compliant and manufacturable. That means selecting raw materials, benchmarking against the products that inspired you, designing the emulsion or surfactant system, building a preservative system that holds, running stability and compatibility testing, and preparing the technical documentation you need to sell legally. Then producing your first batch.
The distinction worth understanding early is this. A contract manufacturer typically sells you a lightly tweaked stock base and produces it in volume. A formulation studio designs a formula around your brief and, in the better cases, hands you the intellectual property. If you want a product a competitor cannot buy off the same shelf, you want the second kind.
The INCI Lab is an award-winning, cruelty-free formulation studio in Auckland, led by Merve Samur, President of the New Zealand Society of Cosmetic Chemists. We work with indie founders across New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Asia.
Your product category changes the entire brief
This is the question founders skip most often, and it matters more than location. "Cosmetic formulation" is not one skill. A lab strong in emulsions may have no surfactant capability at all. Asking a prospective chemist which categories they have actually taken to market — and asking for evidence — tells you more than any credentials page.
Skincare emulsions. Creams, lotions and serums live or die on emulsion stability and on whether your actives stay effective at the pH the formula needs. Most actives have a narrow window; several of them fight each other. This is the most common brief and the most crowded field.
Haircare and scalp. Shampoos and cleansers are surfactant systems, which is fundamentally different chemistry from an emulsion — different rheology, different preservation challenges, different failure modes. Conditioners and scalp treatments add their own. A lab that only does skincare often cannot do this at all. Our Scalp Oil won a C&T Allē Award in hair care and scalp treatments.
Body care, scrubs and balms. A body butter behaves differently from a face cream at scale. A scrub is a suspension problem — keeping particles evenly distributed without the product separating in the jar. Anhydrous balms contain no water, so they need no conventional preservative, but they bring rancidity and crystallisation issues instead. We formulated the Sugar & Salt Body Scrub and Firming Body Butter for Corbin Rd; both won at the Clean + Conscious Awards.
Fragrance-free and sensitive skin. Genuinely fragrance-free is harder than leaving the fragrance out, because raw materials have their own smell and you no longer have anything to mask it. It constrains ingredient selection throughout.
Pet care. A different regulatory pathway and a different safety profile. Ingredients that are routine in human cosmetics — a number of essential oils in particular — are toxic to cats. pH tolerances differ from human skin.
Actives-led and clinical. Vitamin C, retinal and acne systems are the hardest briefs in skincare because the active is unstable, irritating, or both. Our work here includes the RāKiwi Vitamin C serum and retinal elixir, and the Mānuka Ritual Blemish Kit formulated for Rejencia, an Allē Award winner in acne and compromised skin care.
Do you own the formula at the end?
Only if the agreement says so, and it is not the industry default. With standard private label, and with some semi-custom arrangements, the manufacturer keeps the formula — which means you can never move production elsewhere. Ask the question directly and get the answer in writing.
At The INCI Lab it depends on the pathway, and we are explicit about it. On the bespoke Visionary route, full intellectual property transfers to you before manufacturing begins; the formula is yours to take anywhere. On the semi-custom Accelerator route you own the finished SKU profile — your specific combination of base, actives, fragrance and concentrations, with the specification needed to have it made — while the underlying base architecture stays ours and is licensed to you. That trade is what keeps the Accelerator fast and affordable. If owning the formula outright matters, take the Visionary route.
What is the real minimum order quantity?
This is where specialist studios separate from volume manufacturers. Many contract manufacturers will not take an order under 1,000–5,000 units per SKU, which can mean tens of thousands of dollars of stock before your first sale. Industrial fillers start higher again.
We run small-batch production at roughly 100–500 units per SKU, so you can launch a considered range, see which product moves, and scale that one. Ask any studio for the MOQ per SKU in writing — it is the single number that decides whether a launch is realistic for you.
Which markets can they make you compliant for?
Compliance should be built in from the first bench trial, not retrofitted. We prepare documentation for New Zealand, Australia (AICIS — the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme), the United States (FDA), the United Kingdom and the European Union. That covers ingredient and INCI labelling, stability and preservative-efficacy data, and the safety information retailers and marketplaces ask for.
Tell your chemist every market you might sell into at the brief stage, even the speculative ones. Your target markets change which ingredients and which claims are available to you. Retro-fitting compliance after a formula is finalised is the most expensive mistake we see founders make.
For Australian founders specifically: New Zealand and Australia share close regulatory alignment, a single freight corridor and overlapping ingredient supply chains, so working across the Tasman adds very little friction. Calls happen over video, samples ship by courier, and you get the same AICIS-ready documentation an Australian studio would provide. The difference is a short flight, not a barrier — and for some brands a "formulated in New Zealand" provenance is worth something with clean-beauty buyers.
Can they formulate to your ethos?
Vegan, cruelty-free, fragrance-free and certified-organic formulation are not universal capabilities, so treat them as questions rather than assumptions. We are a cruelty-free studio and formulate vegan, fragrance-free and BioGro-organic-capable products.
Raise this at the briefing stage. Certification pathways and raw material selection have to be set at the start; discovering a constraint after the formula is settled means reformulating.
Are the timelines you are being given honest?
The Accelerator Discovery Kit puts stability-tested formulas in your hands within days, so you can settle on a direction before the development clock starts. From there, a semi-custom Accelerator project runs about three to four months. A fully bespoke Visionary formulation runs nine to twelve months, because from-scratch development includes ingredient selection, iterative bench trials, the mandatory 12-week stability programme and compliance work.
Beyond the pathway, timelines move with ingredient sourcing, packaging lead times, testing cycles and how settled your brief is on day one. Anyone promising a finished, shelf-ready custom product in a few weeks is skipping steps you will pay for later — usually at the point where a batch separates or a market rejects your labelling.
It is also worth asking what happens when stability fails, because occasionally it does. That is what testing is for. We diagnose the cause, reformulate around it, and re-test; minor reformulation sits inside the project.
What does it cost?
Cost scales with how much is built from scratch, and it starts smaller than most founders expect.
The Accelerator Discovery Kit is NZ$89 and ships worldwide. You choose up to two stability-tested stock formulas and trial them yourself. For most founders this is the sensible first step — you find out how the textures actually feel before spending thousands, and you get a read on the quality of the work.
Ask The Chemist is a NZ$150 30-minute consult for troubleshooting an existing formula or pressure-testing an idea. Formula Supplied starts at NZ$1,750 if you already have a formula and need a stability-tested prototype batch. The Accelerator runs NZ$2,000–$5,000 over three to four months. The Visionary runs NZ$4,000–$10,000 across nine to twelve months with full IP transfer.
What sits outside those figures: your packaging, label design, regulatory registration fees and the production run itself. When comparing studios, ask each for a "starting from" number and exactly what it includes — R&D, stability testing, compliance documentation and IP. The cheapest quote is rarely the best value once ownership and paperwork are counted. Being open about your own budget on the first call also lets a chemist point you at the right pathway instead of the most expensive one.
How to start
Begin with a Discovery Kit or a discovery call — not a production order. A good chemist helps you choose the route before you spend anything on manufacturing, matching budget, timeline and volume to something realistic.
From there we run five stages: discovery call, route selection, R&D and stability, IP and compliance, then small-scale manufacturing. Discovery calls are free and carry no obligation. If we are not the right fit for your project — wrong category, wrong scale, wrong stage — we will say so, and where we can we will point you to someone who is. We would rather decline a project than start one we cannot do well.
You can start that conversation on our contact page.
Frequently asked questions
Do you only formulate skincare?
No. Skincare is the largest part of the work, but we formulate haircare and scalp treatments, body care, scrubs and balms, fragrance-free ranges for sensitive skin, actives-led clinical products, and pet grooming. Our award-winning work spans body care, scalp treatments and acne, with further finalist work in vitamin C and retinal. If you are planning a range rather than one SKU, say so early so the pathway suits it.
What is the cheapest way to test whether we are the right studio?
The Accelerator Discovery Kit at NZ$89, shipped worldwide. Pick up to two stability-tested stock formulas and trial them yourself before committing to anything.
Is a cosmetic chemist the same as a contract manufacturer?
Not quite. A chemist develops and formulates the product; a contract manufacturer produces it at volume. We do both for indie brands, so you deal with one partner from idea to shelf.
Do I own the formula?
On the Visionary pathway, yes — full IP transfers to you before manufacturing. On the Accelerator you own the finished SKU profile while the underlying base stays ours and is licensed to you. Always confirm ownership in writing, wherever you go.
What is the minimum order quantity?
Roughly 100–500 units per SKU, against the 1,000–5,000 many contract manufacturers require.
Can an Australian brand work with a New Zealand studio?
Yes, and it is common. Aligned regulations, shared freight and supply chains, and AICIS-ready documentation prepared as part of the project.
Which markets can you make my product compliant for?
New Zealand, Australia (AICIS), the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Tell us your targets at the brief stage — it changes which ingredients and claims are available.
Can you make vegan, cruelty-free or fragrance-free products?
Yes. We are cruelty-free, with vegan, fragrance-free and BioGro-organic-capable formulation. Not every lab can do all of these, so confirm it wherever you go.
How long until I can launch?
A Discovery Kit arrives within days so you can trial formulas straight away. From there, three to four months for an Accelerator project, nine to twelve for a fully bespoke Visionary formula including the 12-week stability programme.
