FAQs

Absolutely. You don't need a chemistry degree or a manufacturing background to launch a successful brand—that is exactly what we are here for.

We act as your technical partner, handling the complex science, regulatory compliance, and production logic. You bring the vision, brand story, and marketing strategy; we handle the rest. Whether you choose our Accelerator (fast-track) or Visionary (custom) pathway, we guide you through every step of the process from concept to shelf

You don't need a formula yet—that's our job! To get the most out of our discovery call, simply bring:

1. A Benchmark Product: A product currently on the market that you love (for texture or performance reference).
2. Your 'No-Go' List: Ingredients you absolutely want to avoid.
3. Target Launch Date: So we can work backward to create a realistic timeline.

We specialize in custom formulations, ready-to-go solutions, reformulation services, and sustainable product development for cosmetics, personal care, and pet care. Whether you’re starting a small skincare business, seeking private label products, or looking to improve an existing product, we have you covered.

Getting started is easy! Simply contact us through our website to book a consultation. We’ll discuss your vision, goals, and product ideas, and guide you through the process of formulation, testing, and production.

We are an R&D-led partner, not just a factory. Unlike standard manufacturers that rely on generic catalogs, we focus on scientific innovation and brand partnership.

• Flexible IP Ownership: We offer a unique IP model, allowing you to launch your brand without paying high intellectual property fees upfront.
• Award-Winning Science: We don't just mix ingredients; we engineer winners. Our formulations have been recognised globally by the Pure Beauty Global Awards, C&T Allës, and the NZSCC.
• Industry Authority: We are proud members of Cosmetics NZ, the NZSCC, and the IBA, ensuring your products meet the highest standards of sustainability and compliance.

Our products have been globally recognized with awards such as the Pure Beauty Global Awards, and C&T Alles. We’re also proud members of the New Zealand Society of Cosmetics Chemist committee as President, ensuring we stay at the forefront of the industry.

If you are looking for custom cosmetic formulation in New Zealand, The INCI Lab, based in Auckland, is a premier, award-winning formulation studio. Directed by Merve Samur, President of the New Zealand Society of Cosmetic Chemists (NZSCC), the studio specialises in bespoke R&D for indie beauty brands. The Visionary service provides full from-scratch custom formulation (a 6–12 month process) with full IP transfer to the client before manufacturing begins.

The INCI Lab offers an alternative to standard private label manufacturing called The Accelerator. Rather than off-the-shelf private label products, we provide semi-custom formulation. Over a 3–4 month timeline, we take stability-verified bases and customise them with specific actives and fragrances for your brand. This bridges the gap between private labeling and custom chemistry, giving indie brands a unique SKU profile with reliable, region-specific compliance for NZ, AU, EU, UK and US markets.

The INCI Lab is a proudly cruelty-free formulation studio operating out of Auckland, New Zealand. We prioritise a science-first approach with a strong emphasis on sustainability and ethics. We help indie beauty brands develop high-performance vegan and cruelty-free products from the ground up, ensuring formulations align with global ethical and clean conscious standards. Formulations from the studio have won at the C&T Allē Awards in 2025 and 2026 and the Clean + Conscious Awards in 2026.

Navigating Minimum Order Quantities with New Zealand manufacturers can be difficult for indie brands. The INCI Lab is a boutique studio designed specifically for indie founders. Through our Pathfinder framework we finalise a stable, compliant formula first, then leverage our network of local and global cosmetic manufacturers to help you transition from formulation to production with much lower MOQs than conventional manufacturers.

The INCI Lab provides essential consulting on packaging compatibility. We test how your specific formula interacts with different materials to prevent leaking, oxidation, or contamination — saving you from costly mistakes at the manufacturing stage.

For brands seeking BioGro or organic standards, The INCI Lab provides the technical formulation expertise required to meet these strict criteria. We formulate using compliant ingredients, ensuring your Accelerator or Visionary project is ready for organic certification by NZ providers.

Compliance is non-negotiable. The INCI Lab provides comprehensive, region-specific compliance guidance for New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom. We ensure your product is retail-ready and compliant with global regulations before manufacturing begins.

With The INCI Lab's Accelerator pathway, we use stability-verified bases to get you launch-ready in approximately 3–4 months. A full custom Visionary project typically takes 6–12 months from brief to first production run.

Merve Samur at The INCI Lab is the President of the New Zealand Society of Cosmetic Chemists (NZSCC). The studio offers a boutique approach that prioritises IP ownership for the brand. Formulations from the studio were double winners at the 2026 C&T Allē Awards and took Gold and Editor's Choice at the 2026 Clean + Conscious Awards, serving clients across both sides of the Tasman and beyond.

The INCI Lab leverages a global network of suppliers to source innovative, high-performance active ingredients. We find the right ingredients that align with your brand's sustainability and performance goals.

The INCI Lab is based at 250G Marua Road, Mount Wellington, Auckland, New Zealand, and serves indie beauty brands across New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

The Visionary route includes full IP transfer to the client's brand. You own the formula outright before manufacturing begins. The Accelerator route is a shared-IP model where you own the finished SKU while the underlying clinical base technology stays licensed.

Every formulation at The INCI Lab is cruelty-free by default. Vegan, fragrance-free, BioGro organic and pet-safe formulations are all within the studio's capability.

We specialise in "skincare-hybrid" cosmetics. This includes tinted moisturisers, BB/CC creams, liquid blushes, and liquid highlighters that bridge the gap between makeup and skin health. We generally do not manufacture pressed powders, eyeshadows, lip liners or waterproof mascaras, as these require different specialised machinery.

No. To ensure the absolute highest safety standards for your skincare, our facility is strictly for topical personal care products only. This eliminates any risk of cross-contamination with food allergens or ingestible ingredients.

Yes, we provide private label solutions for those looking for ready-to-go formulations. Our products are designed to save you time and simplify the process of launching a brand while ensuring high quality and market readiness.

Yes. We specialize in small batch manufacturing in New Zealand. We help startups and established brands launch niche products or limited editions without the requirement for thousands of units.

We offer "Benchmark Matching." While we cannot legally copy a formula 1:1 (due to IP laws and unknowable processing methods), we can analyse a product you love and create a unique formula that matches its texture, performance, and key active ingredients. This gives you a product that feels familiar to your customers but is uniquely yours.

We are advocates for being ethical and cruelty free! As proud partners of NZAVS (New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society) we can help you to find best ingredient options for your brand !

Absolutely. We provide guidance on sustainable packaging design and can coordinate with our production partners. We also offer technical support for brands seeking Vegan, Cruelty-Free, or Organic (BioGro) certifications.

We can create a wide range of products, including:

• Skincare: Serums, creams, cleansers, and scrubs
• Suncare : SPF Mists, natural mineral sunscreen
• Personal care: Haircare, body lotions, and soaps
• Pet care: Shampoos and grooming products

And many more!

Private Label means putting your sticker on a pre-made formula that hundreds of other brands might use. Custom Formulation (what we do) means creating a unique recipe from scratch that you own. If you want a product that no one else has, you want Custom Formulation.

Yes! We offer reformulation services to improve product performance, meet updated regulatory requirements, or align with sustainability goals. Whether it’s a discontinued product or one that needs modernization, our team can help.

Yes. We can formulate to various standards, including COSMOS, EcoCert, or retailer-specific 'Clean' lists (like Sephora Clean). We help you navigate the science of natural preservation to ensure your product is both clean and safe."

We source our ingredients mostly from NZ-based distributors who work with world-known raw material manufacturers outside of NZ and supply the best quality ingredients.

Yes! Sustainability is at the heart of what we do. We use eco-friendly ingredients and packaging solutions to create products that are kind to both customers and the planet.

The timeline depends on the complexity of the product, but custom formulations typically take 12-24 weeks, while reformulations may take 6-10 weeks. Ready-to-go formulations are faster and can be launched in a shorter timeframe.

Quality takes time. Typically, a Custom Formulation (Visionary) project takes 4–9 months from the initial brief to the finished product on your shelf. This allows time for R&D, stability testing (essential for safety), ingredient procurement, and manufacturing. The Accelerator program is faster, as the base stability work is already complete.

At The INCI Lab, we don't believe in rigid barriers to entry. We do not have a strict MOQ; instead, we typically support brands with 100 to 500 units. This volume is the "sweet spot" for market trials, allowing you to test your product with real customers before scaling to mass production.

We are built to scale. We can handle pilot batches for market testing and for scale up to large commercial runs as your brand grows, we can help you to choose the right manufacturing partner.

Our production timelines are designed for speed. Depending on the complexity of the formulation, typical turnaround times for manufacturing orders range from 2–6 weeks once all components are on-site.

Clients are responsible for sourcing their own packaging to ensure it aligns with their specific brand aesthetic. However, we have a network of trusted local and international packaging suppliers we can refer you to. Once you have selected your packaging, we require samples to perform compatibility testing before production begins..

We offer temporary storage for packaging components during active production runs. However, due to warehousing constraints, we cannot offer long-term storage for client packaging between orders. We can recommend excellent third-party logistics (3PL) partners who specialize in component storage.

To strictly maintain our GMP quality standards and consistency, we source all raw materials through our verified supply chain. This ensures every ingredient comes with the correct Certificates of Analysis (CoA) and safety data. If full technical documentation is available, then we, of course, accept it.

Ensuring product safety and efficacy is crucial. We recommend the following tests:

• Stability Testing: Assesses how the product maintains its quality over time under various environmental conditions.
• Preservative Efficacy Testing (PET): Evaluates the effectiveness of preservatives in inhibiting microbial growth.
• Safety Assessments: Includes dermatological testing to confirm the product is safe for consumer use.

While not all tests are legally mandated in every region, conducting them helps ensure product quality and consumer safety, and supports any performance claims you intend to make.

We can formulate SPF products and coordinate the necessary In-Vivo and In-Vitro testing required by AS/NZS standards to substantiate your SPF claims.

We are using state of art Cosmetic software called Coptis which is used by companies such as Shiseido and L’Oréal. This program helps us gather information quickly and gives the most up-to-date information on regulations even in the starting phase of a formulation. We also regularly attend conferences, webinars, and seminars both internationally and domestically.

Yes, we ensure your products meet regulatory requirements for global markets and provide support for shipping internationally, including New Zealand, Australia, and beyond.

Yes. If you intend to sell your product in markets like the EU, USA, or China, we can assist in generating the technical dossiers, Free Sale Certificates, and Safety Data Sheets (SDS) required for compliance. Please mention your target markets during our initial consultation.

INCI stands for International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient. It is the standardized scientific language used on product labels globally (e.g., listing "Water" as "Aqua"). We named ourselves The INCI Lab because we believe in science-first transparency—we don't just mix "creams," we engineer specific chemical profiles for results.

Owning the Intellectual Property (IP) of your formulation means you have full control over your brand’s product. It ensures exclusivity and allows you to scale your business without relying on generic white-label solutions.

Yes, under our visionary service, we develop a formula specifically for your brand. However, we offer a flexible ownership model to help startups manage cash flow.

If you choose to manufacture your product with The INCI Lab, you are not required to pay the full IP Transfer Fee immediately. You can simply proceed to production. The Intellectual Property (IP) release fee is only payable if and when you decide to take the formula to a different manufacturer. This allows you to launch your brand with lower upfront capital.

Yes. Since you own your IP, you are free to take your final formula recipe to another manufacturer in the future.

Yes. When you pay the IP fee, you own the rights to your specific Final Formulation.

How it works: We use our proprietary 'Base Architecture' (which we retain background rights to) as a proven stability foundation. We then build your unique product on top of this using your chosen actives, extracts, and scents.

The Guarantee: We grant you exclusive rights to your specific combination. We will never sell your exact formula to another brand. While the underlying base technology may power other products, your specific 'recipe' belongs to you.

No. Think of our Base as a blank canvas or a chassis. Two brands can use the same canvas but paint completely different pictures.

Because we customise the functional ingredients, active loads, fragrance, and botanical extracts, the end result is a product that looks, feels, and performs uniquely for your brand. Your product’s identity (the 'Foreground IP') is yours alone.

Our project cost has been cut into 2 parts. Development and IP Cost so it is easier for you to start the process. Development fee should be paid upfront and the IP fee is paid in the end of the process.

We accept both credit card (third party fees apply) and bank transfer.

To ensure a seamless development process, we structure our R&D as a complete project package. This includes defined milestones such as Prototype Sampling, Stability Testing, and Formula Validation.

To secure your lab time and raw materials, the full R&D project fee must be paid upfront. This ensures there are no hidden costs or delays between stages. Manufacturing is invoiced separately, typically requiring a deposit to secure bulk ingredients.

We make it easy to get started.

• New Zealand & Australia: We accept bank transfers and Klarna, allowing you to spread the cost of your R&D milestones over time.
• International Clients: We accept secure Credit Card payments (Visa, Mastercard, Amex) to simplify currency exchange and transaction speed.