From skincare products to makeup, the whole cosmetics market has become more and more competitive over the past decade. Whether you’re planning on launching your cosmetics brand or planning on going international, there’s a few things you need to consider so to give yourself an edge over other brands.

At Fillcon, we are one of the UK’s leading cosmetic fillers, we’ve put together a guide of top tips and tricks that can help you reach a wider audience with your cosmetics brand including everything from product manufacturing to marketing.

Product Sourcing and Cosmetic Sampling

The first and most important consideration for selling cosmetics internationally is making sure you have amazing products that your customers will want to buy.

Here at Fillcon, we provide expert solutions for the filling of your cosmetic sachets, tubes, spouted pouches and bottles.

Our cosmetic liquid filling machines allow us to fill a variety of cosmetic products, not limited to:

  • Cosmetic Cream
  • Cosmetic Oil
  • Face and Body Moisturisers
  • Shampoos and Conditioners
  • Bath and Shower Products
  • Sun Cream

Cosmetic samples are an extremely effective promotional tool for any cosmetics business because the best way to attract new customers is to let them try a product before they buy it. Cosmetic samples are also an important part of an international strategy and creating brand resonance.

Ensure your packaging is hardwearing

Choosing the right packaging is important, packages shipped internationally will need to be able to withstand bumps and bangs as they move from one location to another.

Glass is heavy, fragile, and expensive, choosing this for your samples can mean the shipping costs will be more expensive and it is the most likely to break in transit. Opting for stronger or flexible materials will be more effective in the long run.

Choosing plastic is a better option than glass, it is versatile and can mould into limitless shapes. Plastic is also stronger than glass meaning it is more likely to withstand drops and bangs.

Another brilliant alternative is sachets. This lightweight, recyclable and durable packaging is brilliant for sending samples internationally. Sachets are flexible meaning they won’t be damaged with the movement of shipping. Once manufactured, sachets can be transported in much smaller containers than glass or plastic counterparts; this will help to reduce the shipping costs as well as reducing the environmental impact and Carbon Footprint.

At Fillcon we can aid in the manufacturing and filling of cosmetic sachets customised to your branded with the support of our partners. We offer a range of sachet solutions to meet your needs:

  • Fill doses from 0.5ml – 50 ml
  • Single sachets, to duo options; ideal for shampoo & conditioner
  • Pet/Alu/Pe & Mono Material PP available
  • Minimum order quantities from 10,000

See how Fillcon can help you >

International Regulations

International considerations can be expensive to implement and will increase the cost of production, therefore it is important to do your market research carefully as doing it wrong can be costly and lead to wasted packaging. There are a number of international considerations business should explore before shipping internationally, these include but are not limited to:

Testing and Standards

Different countries will have different quality and testing standards for cosmetics. It is important to research the market you are planning on selling to and ensuring your products comply with these regulations. Research the local regulatory bodies and ensure your products meet their standards.

A good place to start is the ICCR – the International Co-operation on Cosmetic Regulations.

Translations

While English is spoken widely around the world, you need to consider international translations on your packaging, from the list of ingredients to the directions of use to make sure your products are accessible to everyone.

You will also need to consider changing the dose measurement depending on where you are shipping. Most international locations work in metric measurements ‘ml/ltr’ however, some countries like the US, still work with imperial measurements meaning the measurements will have to be changed to ‘oz’.

Import Quotas and Taxes

An often-overlooked rule in international shipping is import taxes and quotas. These increase the price consumers pay for the products when they are imported. The average import tax for luxury products like cosmetics is 20%. This could discourage users from buying.

Working with an experience logistics expert or freight forwarder can help navigate these costs.

Working with a Trusted Sampling Partner

Partnering with the right cosmetic filling partner is important to ensure the highest quality products. There are numerous benefits of working with a trusted sampling supplier like Fillcon.

  • Shorter Lead Times
  • Better Quality Control
  • Excellent Communication

You can also rely on us to ensure your cosmetic samples adhere to sustainable practises. Here are some of the environmental benefits of using Fillcon and our materials:

  • Lower environmental impact than many other options
  • Can be recycled and reused (PP or PE material)
  • PCR (post-consumer recycled) & PIR (post-industrial recycled) material for tubes
  • COSMOS Organic and Natural Certified
  • Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
  • ISO9001-2015 compliant

Read more about the benefits of working with a British cosmetic supplier >

Digital Marketing and E-commerce

Once you have a great product and are happy with the product design, the next stage will be to develop a strategy for your digital marketing.

In order to reach to reach your international target market, you’ll need an attractive and user-friendly e-commerce website. Think about how you want your website to look and consider using the help of a web designer if this is within your budget. There are a lot of platforms that allow you build websites and manage them yourself.

You should also think about how you’ll want to bring in new customers. You can either pay for traffic to your website through digital advertisements or optimise your website for search engine traffic through SEO. You can also make use of affiliate marketing schemes and other tactics like email marketing that will draw in traffic to your website.

Cosmetics brands usually adopt very specific approaches to social media marketing. A common theme is self-empowerment and the pursuit of perfection, but some also heavily focus on key features of their products.

If your product has a Unique Selling Point (USP) then you should take the opportunity to make it a central theme and communicate the value for your products as much as possible

How to reach more customers with your Cosmetics Business

There are a lot of different promotional techniques that can really help elevate your cosmetic brand. Whether it’s cosmetic samples to social media tactics, every aspect of your Marketing strategy needs to be integrated in order to provide an effective and unified approach to the goal or developing an international audience.

Fillcon offer a wealth of experience within the Cosmetic/health & beauty filing sector. Our customer service is the best you’ll find… ask any one of our clients! We ask for regular feedback to ensure we’re supporting their sampling and cosmetics business the best way we can. Get in touch today to find out how we can help you perfect your cosmetic samples.

 

Read Next -> The Top 7 Benefits of Using a British Cosmetic Supplier