The Common Missed Step In NPD Has The Most Dire Consequences: Let's Talk, Shelf Life

Launching a skincare brand isn't easy. There are multiple moving parts, often all at once. You've filled in your brief, got the formulation sorted, the packaging is ready then comes the testing. At this point, a lot of founders become eager to begin to cut corners. But this critical error can have brand ruining consequences.

What Is Shelf Life Testing?

Shelf life testing places your formulation under duress to ensure the product does not shift from it's original form, fragrance, function or appearance. It also incorporates Preservative Efficacy Testing (PET). This is conducted by introducing contaminants to the formulation to see how the preservation system holds up against microbial contamination. Think about a jar of body butter, stored in the bathroom, fingers dipping into the product daily. A literal breeding ground for microbes!

Why Do Founders Skip It

Frankly, It's not a gamble I would take, but some common reasons I see founders get tempted? Finances drying up, timelines pushing out, trend shift in the marketplace they want to jump on. The scary thing here is being a self regulated space means brands can actually go to market without conducting any testing, yikes!

How Shelf Life Testing Pays off

There is two pronged answer to this question. First, knowing how long you product is stable for gives you confidence to scale and benefit from larger batch manufacturing. Reducing unit costs and improving profit margins. Secondly, you're going to market with confidence. Not relying on consumer feedback for anything unsavoury happening to your product. Most of the time, the consumer will just shop elsewhere. That is brand damage no one can afford.

Real World Scenarios

Major recalls have been scattered over the last decade and not small brands either. Drunk Elephant, Neutrogena and the many brands caught up in the Australian Sunscreen debacle is proof that complacency in validating your product can be make or break.

So Who Is Responsible?

When developing a product there are a few parties involved depending on your pathway. Some include, formulator, manufacturer, regulatory consultants and raw material suppliers. The responsibility of ensuring your product is safe to the consumer however, always falls on the brand.

So, if you're a brand founder or aspiring founder and you want strategic advise on the who, what, when, where and why of validating your product, Let's chat. Having a plan and a realistic timeline can be the difference in success and an avoidable disaster!

-The Clinics Formulator.