FAB Berlin. The future of manufacturing.

A content curated by Elnura Ashimova and Nhi Pham.

I’m very excited to share the key takeaways from our latest FAB Germany Webinar that I co-hosted with Nhi Pham on October 28th 2021. Thank you, Nhi for summarizing the most important key messages from the meetup in this 4-min read article.

We were happy to welcome Arianna Andrews (Head of Sales & Marketing at Goldn), Mareike Peters (Founder of NKM), Alissa Arzner (Co-founder of Covalo) and Maikel Kletsel (Co-founder 100Cherries) to talk about the future of beauty manufacturing.

Our very first speaker Alissa Arzner, Co-founder of Covalo talked about different challenges that brands face in the initial phase or that affect many smaller brands when sourcing ingredients. One of the challenges is the understanding of the raw material. Brands should work closely with suppliers and if possible visit their production sites to gain an understanding of the raw materials from growing, harvesting, processing, treatment, and shipment. Smaller brands could also opt to source locally for better control and insights into the supply chain.

A big trend Alissa sees in the beauty space is around sustainability claims like natural, plant-based, vegan, botanical, cruelty-free, biodegradable, plant-based, and upcycled. But this also presents an important challenge with the complex criteria and definitions behind claims and certifications. It is important to work with a regulatory expert from the very beginning to understand different requirements.

In regards to ingedient trends Alissa also pointed out that that Covalo currently tracks what people are searching for and visualizes some of this in the form of a trends dashboard for brands to get inspired. So for example, recently bakuchiol rapidly grew to be one of the most popular ingredients on the platform and stayed there for many months, reflecting the trend for people looking for more natural ingredients that still produce results. Other popular searches in this regard that we’ve seen have been for aloe vera, different types of mushrooms, CBD, tea tree oil, and pre or postbiotic complexes that support skin microbiome claims.

“ The challenge is for small brands to truly understand the complex criteria and definitions behind claims and certifications -- both what it takes for a finished cosmetic product to be able to use these claims, but also the claims your ingredient suppliers are using on their products.” -  Alissa Arzner, Covalo

When it comes to manufacturing, the cost factor plays a great role, especially for a young brand. We asked Arianna Andrews, Head of Sales & Marketing at Goldn, how the platform helps to avoid unnecessary costs and streamline the product development process. Arianna pointed out that from the ideation process to getting the product to the market, Goldn is helping the creator economy to connect with the right partners (regulatory, testing, packaging suppliers) in a timely way and in one place and therefore get to market faster. Better control, transparency, and visibility into the process help to save time which is crucial for brands and is directly tied to costs.

Arianna also added to the discussion of claims and dived deeper into tests and testing of beauty products. Depending on the product and the target market, the test requirements are different. Especially international brands would need to be careful with national regulations. Tests related to the safety of a product are oftentimes mandatory and required for instance stability testing or micro testing. On the other hand, marketing claims do not necessarily require testing. If a brand claims SPF, that would surely need to be tested. But if the claim is based on the properties of an ingredient, brands often use scientific literature to back up the claims.

“Depending on the product that a brand wants to admit onto the market and where they want to launch that product, the tests, and the test requirements are going to change.” - Arianna Andrews, Goldn

Taking a look at the challenges from the brand point of view, Mareike Peters, founder of NKM shared the challenges and misconceptions of formulating organic beauty products. There is often the misconception that organic beauty brands and products do not have any guidelines and borders when it comes to formulation. Consumers would also often question the effect of organic products. She describes that consumers tend to buy expensive beauty products from big brands without questioning but that has now changed and consumers are more curious and conscious. This will be a big opportunity and advantage for natural, organic, or sustainable brands if they focus on educating and taking the time to explain product information, ingredients, and claims.

It was very inspiring to hear the Mareike’s journey into natural cosmetic manufacturing, the way she questioned the conventional manufacturing processes as she was already formulating a lot of products on her own and which also explains the unique approach of the brand towards beauty product development and education around it. NKM as one of the first companies in Germany just launched a returnable/refillable packaging system which will contribute to a more sustainable & conscious packaging in beauty.

“What we do differently is we have built a substaintial communication around claim support.  We take a lot of time to  explain to the consumer how a certain ingredient  works and what it does to your skin using results from clinical trials and studies.  That's the biggest challenge but also the biggest opportunity on the market.” - Mareike Peters, NKM

Stepping more into the consumer side of things, Maikel Kletsel, Co-founder of 100Cherries talked about product development and production with content creators and influencers. Working with contract manufacturers, it is important to carefully select suppliers with credible documents and knowledge on ingredients. Including non-bias and experienced consultants facilitates the process of choosing manufacturers.

One great advantage of co-creating with influencers is the insight into the needs and wants of the influencer’s audience and followers. The quick access to valuable qualitative and quantitative data and opinions of focus groups allows a more tailored approach to production.

“We take the time to actually have a product, where we can be sure it's what the followers of the influencer need, like, have tested in some way and just deliver a very good product.” - Maikel Kletsel, 100 Cherries

It has been a very insightful and inspiring webinar! We loved your passion and energy, thank you so much for being with us and sharing your learnings with the FAB Community.

Alissa Arzner: Co-Founder & CMO of Covalo — one of the largest beauty ingredient and formulation search platforms used by thousands of brands, contract manufacturers, suppliers, and other industry players around the globe.

Mareike Peters: Founder of NKM. NKM stands for sustainable, plant-based, and highly effective Skincare to buy ready-made or to make yourself. Through an established network of local farmers, NKMs products use plant-based ingredients from Germany and nearby.

Maikel Kletsel: COO & Co-Founder of 100CHERRIES, a brand builder for influencer brands. It takes care of everything from product sourcing, branding, shop development, marketing strategies, logistics, and customer service.

Arianna Andrews: Head Of Sales & Marketing at Goldn. Goldn is the first online, easy-to-use cosmetic product development tool that will help Beauty Brands & Cosmetic Product Developers of any level of experience work simply and securely to get products to market faster.

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We look forward to seeing you at our next webinars.

Elnura Ashimova & Nhi Pham