AICIS-Ready · TGA-Aware · NZ-Based
A Boutique Cosmetic Formulation Partner Across the Tasman.
The short version. You do not need a cosmetic chemist in your city, or even in your country. Australian brands work with us the same way Auckland brands do: a brief, a video call, samples couriered over in two to three business days, and documentation formatted for AICIS.
The INCI Lab is an award-winning cosmetic formulation studio in Auckland, led by Merve Samur, President of the New Zealand Society of Cosmetic Chemists. We develop skincare, hair, body and pet-care formulations for indie brands across Australia — at minimum order quantities well below conventional contract manufacturers.
Under the Australia–New Zealand Closer Economic Relations agreement, goods meeting the agreement's rules-of-origin requirements move between the two countries without tariffs. Australian GST still applies to imported goods, and how it is collected depends on the value of the consignment and how you are registered.
Proximity Is the Wrong Filter
Why Australian Indie Brands Work With an Auckland Studio.
"Cosmetic chemist near me" is the search most founders start with, and it is the wrong filter. Formulation is not a service that requires proximity. What determines whether a product reaches shelf is the quality of the brief, the rigour of the stability programme, and whether the documentation holds up when a regulator or a retailer asks for it. None of that improves because the lab is a 40-minute drive away.
What proximity does affect is sample turnaround, and the Tasman handles that well. Samples reach most Australian metros in two to three business days. Review happens on video, with the formula in your hands and the chemist who made it on the screen.
Why Australian Indie Brands Choose The INCI Lab
Genuinely small minimums. 100 units for Ready-to-Go, 500 for custom.
A clear IP position. Full transfer on The Visionary; you own the SKU profile on The Accelerator.
AICIS-ready from day one. Documentation prepared alongside formulation.
Chemist-led. Every project led personally by Merve Samur.
Award-winning work. C&T Allē and Clean + Conscious winners across body, scalp and acne.
Regulatory Compliance for Australia
AICIS, NICNAS and What Your Brand Actually Needs.
The Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) replaced NICNAS in July 2020. If you are importing or introducing cosmetic ingredients into Australia, AICIS governs it — registration is annual, and introductions are categorised by risk.
Founders often assume AICIS is an approval queue that will hold up a launch. For the overwhelming majority of cosmetic products, it is not. It is a documentation and categorisation obligation, and that work happens alongside formulation rather than after it.
Where genuine delay appears is when a product drifts into therapeutic territory. Sunscreens, anti-acne actives above certain thresholds, and anything making a therapeutic claim fall under the Therapeutic Goods Administration rather than ordinary cosmetic rules — a materially different pathway. We flag it early if your brief is heading that way, and we will tell you plainly when a claim you want is a TGA claim rather than a cosmetic one.
We supply AICIS-ready documentation, ingredient breakdowns, INCI listings, a Certificate of Analysis on every production batch, and raw material COAs and SDS.
Capability and Proof
What We Formulate, and What It Has Won.
"Cosmetic formulation" is not one skill. A lab strong in emulsions may have no surfactant capability at all. We work across emulsions, surfactant systems and haircare, anhydrous products such as balms and scrubs, fragrance-free formulations, actives-led treatment products, and pet care.
C&T Allē Awards 2026 — double winner. The Mānuka Ritual Blemish Kit, formulated for Rejencia, won Finished Indie Formula for acne and compromised skin. A scalp oil won Prototype Product for hair care and scalp treatments.
Clean + Conscious Awards 2026 — Gold and Editor's Choice for the Sugar & Salt Body Scrub formulated for Corbin Rd, and Silver for their Firming Body Butter.
Clean + Conscious Awards 2026 — finalists for RāKiwi REFRESH, a mānuka brightening serum, and RāKiwi AURORA, a mānuka retinal elixir.
C&T Allē Awards 2025 — double winner, Best Indie Biotech/Natural and Best Indie Body Care. Pure Beauty Global Awards 2023 — Gold, Best New Serum.
Standards and Certification
Natural, Organic and Certified Formulation.
We formulate to the requirements of the recognised natural and organic standards — COSMOS, ECOCERT and BioGro — so that a product can go forward for certification. To be clear about what that means: the certification itself belongs to your brand and is issued by the certifying body, not by us. We build the formula so it qualifies; you hold the certificate.
Natural formulation is genuinely harder, and it is worth knowing why before you commit. Natural preservative systems have narrower effective pH ranges than synthetic ones. Plant-derived emulsifiers are more sensitive to temperature and electrolyte load. Both mean a natural formula typically needs more iterations to pass stability and preservative efficacy testing than a conventional equivalent. That is a timeline consideration, not a reason to avoid it.
Vegan, cruelty-free, fragrance-free and pet-safe formulations are all standard work here.
Intellectual Property
Do You Own the Formula?
This depends on the pathway, and any studio that gives you a single blanket answer is glossing over something. Ask the question directly and get the answer in writing — wherever you go.
The Visionary — full IP transfer. A fully custom formula developed from scratch for your brand. Full intellectual property transfers to you before manufacturing begins. The formula is yours to take anywhere.
The Accelerator — you own the SKU profile. This pathway is faster and cheaper because it starts from our stability-verified bases rather than a blank page. You own the finished SKU profile: your specific combination of base, actives, fragrance and concentrations, together with the specification needed to have it made. The underlying base architecture stays ours and is licensed to you.
That trade is exactly what keeps the Accelerator fast and affordable. If owning the formula outright matters more than speed, take the Visionary route.
Investment and Timelines
Pathways, Pricing and Realistic Timelines
| Pathway | What it is | Indicative cost (NZD) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery Kit | Up to two stock formula samples, shipped worldwide. Credit may apply to a later Accelerator project. | $89 | Shipping only |
| Ask The Chemist | A 30-minute paid consult on a specific formulation or regulatory problem. | $150 | Booked directly |
| Ready-to-Go | An existing stability-verified stock formula, filled into your packaging under your brand. | From stock pricing | 4–6 weeks |
| Formula Supplied | You bring a formula; we review, adjust where needed, and manufacture it. | From $1,750 | Varies |
| The Accelerator | Semi-custom. Your actives and direction on our verified bases. | $2,000–5,000 | 3–4 months |
| The Visionary | Fully custom R&D from a blank page. Full IP transfer. | $4,000–10,000 | 9–12 months |
These figures cover development. They exclude packaging, label and carton design, market registration fees, and the production run itself. Packaging is normally supplied by you; if we source it, a 5% handling fee plus shipping applies.
Testing sits alongside development and is quoted per project. Accelerated stability testing includes packaging compatibility in your actual pack, so the formula is proven in the pack it will ship in. Micro testing runs on every production batch.
Honest Timelines
What Speeds Up or Slows Down an Australian Launch.
Five things move a launch date, and only two of them are within a studio's control.
Formula complexity. A body oil is not a stabilised vitamin C serum. Actives that are pH-sensitive, oxidation-prone or awkward to solubilise take more iterations, and no amount of urgency changes that.
Stability and preservative efficacy testing. Eight to twelve weeks depending on the product, and it is calendar time, not labour time. It cannot be bought forward. Any studio offering to skip it is offering you a recall.
Brief clarity. The single biggest variable, and the one entirely in your hands. A brief that knows its category, target texture, hero actives, price point and market adds weeks of margin. A brief that changes direction at sample three costs a month.
Packaging lead times. Frequently the real bottleneck. Production is counted from the arrival of your packaging, not from formula sign-off. Order early, and order about 3% over to cover rejects and damage.
Order volume. Larger runs need longer scheduling windows. Production itself runs 3 to 4 weeks from packaging arrival, and the same for repeat orders.
A Buyer's Checklist
How to Choose a Formulation Partner.
This applies to any studio you are assessing, not just this one. Ask for all five in writing before you commit.
1. Transparent minimum order quantities, stated in units per SKU, before you are deep in conversation.
2. A clear IP position per pathway — including what you do not own, and what you would be able to take elsewhere.
3. Real testing: stability, microbial and preservative efficacy, with the protocol named and the duration stated.
4. Compliance documentation for your actual target markets, not a general assurance. Retro-fitting compliance after a formula is locked is the most expensive mistake we see founders make.
5. Timelines and pricing you can hold someone to, including what is excluded.
How We Work: The Pathfinder Framework
1. Discovery call. Fifteen minutes, free. Your product, market and timeline; our honest read on whether we are the right studio.
2. Route selection. We recommend a pathway and give you an indicative investment range before any commitment.
3. R&D and stability. Bench work in Auckland, samples to your address in Australia, iteration, then the 8–12 week testing programme.
4. IP and compliance. Documentation assembled for your target markets, INCI finalised, AICIS records prepared in parallel.
5. Small-scale manufacturing. From 100 or 500 units, with a COA on every batch, shipped to you or direct to your fulfilment partner anywhere in Australia.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, and many do. Samples reach most Australian metros in two to three business days, reviews happen on video, and documentation is prepared for AICIS. The difference is a short flight, not a barrier.
No. The studio is in Mount Wellington, Auckland, and works with Australian brands across the Tasman.
Merve Samur, founder of The INCI Lab in Auckland and President of the New Zealand Society of Cosmetic Chemists (NZSCC), is one of the most credentialled cosmetic chemists serving the Australian market.
Yes — ingredient breakdowns, INCI listings, batch Certificates of Analysis, and raw material COAs and SDS.
100 units for a Ready-to-Go stock formula and 500 units for a custom formula, against the 1,000 to 5,000 units many contract manufacturers require.
On The Visionary, yes — full IP transfer before manufacturing begins. On The Accelerator you own the finished SKU profile — your 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.
We formulate to the requirements of COSMOS, ECOCERT and BioGro so your product can go forward for certification. The certificate itself is issued to your brand by the certifying body.
Ready-to-Go is 4 to 6 weeks. The Accelerator is 3 to 4 months. The Visionary is 9 to 12 months. A stability programme of 8 to 12 weeks sits inside those windows and cannot be compressed.
Rarely. For most cosmetic products it is a documentation obligation handled alongside formulation. Products making therapeutic claims fall under the TGA instead, which is a different and longer pathway.
The Accelerator Discovery Kit at NZ$89 — up to two stability-verified stock formulas in your hands. Credit may apply toward a later Accelerator project.
For Australian Brands
Building a beauty brand in Australia?
Tell us what you're building. The team will reply with an AICIS-aware pathway recommendation tailored to your launch, plus an indicative investment range.
Open the full project form →For Australian Brands
Start Your Australian Launch.
Tell us what you are building. Four questions is all we need, and a discovery call costs nothing.