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Private Labeling vs. White Labeling: Which Is Better for Your Skincare Line?

skincare packaging designs in a store

Before you begin conceiving formulations and marketing strategies for building a successful skincare business, you need to know all your options.

That means looking up what type of skincare business suits you best before you search for how to start a skincare business.

If you have been oscillating between private and white labeling your skin care brand, this article will make your decision easier. No matter which method you choose, Aventive Studio can develop an unforgettable visual brand for your your business, including your brand strategy, skincare packaging design, colors, logo design, and more.

What is a Private Label?

Private labeling is a flexible business model that lets you choose your own products and brand. It involves creating a custom, branded product line that’s completely unique to your business.

When you private label a skincare business, you are free to use your own skincare packaging, formulations, and ingredients. Then, you can either sell your products directly to customers through a D2C model or to retailers who will then sell them on to customers.

Whether you sell direct to consumers or through retail stores, our expert branding team can help you make more skincare product sales. Learn about our skincare branding & packaging design services here.

woman using skin care product on face

In retailing, private labeling has become increasingly popular as a way to differentiate from competitors. This can be done through several different strategies, including:

  • In-House Production – You purchase your own raw materials and manufacture them in-house.
    • This can be expensive to set up but quite profitable as it allows you to make better products and sell them on your own agency. Private labeling gives you full control over the quality of the finished product and its packaging.
  • Product Customization – You can customize the product based on the feedback you receive, which will help you differentiate your product from others on the market.
    • For example, if you are selling organic skincare products, you could create unique formulations for each individual as per your customers’ preferences to have an exclusive line of products that no other brand could offer.
rose petals in a bowl

  • Brand Licensing – You can license your brand name to another company in order to create a new line of products under your own name.
    • For example, if Victoria’s Secret decides they want to start creating their own skincare line, they could license their brand name to someone who already has the resources and ideas to start the production and you can quickly start earning profits from it.

Private labeling can be an effective way to increase sales, but it does require some upfront costs. (More on that later.) But the major advantage of private labeling is that you get to keep all of the profit instead of sharing it with the manufacturer.

This can be an attractive proposition for many businesses because you can use this money for product development or marketing campaigns without being answerable to another party.

View our client case studies here to see how Aventive Studio’s skincare designs have helped our customers attract their target customers and generate more high-quality leads.

two women learning how to start a skincare business

Pros of Private Labeling


More Control Over Production and Pricing

Private labeling allows you to decide on how high or low your production quality and standards will be. You have more control over the production process than white labelers and can choose which ingredients to use, how much to charge for them, and which brand values you want to promote through your products.

Since you are making a considerable upfront investment, you also get to price your products without worrying about the competition. So, you can customize your pricing model to fit your brand’s aesthetic and brand positioning.

In addition, you can also choose which retailers to sell through. For example, you could decide to make your brand available at Sephora exclusively.

Not only does this give you more control over where your products are sold but if your product popularity increases, you could also leverage your exclusivity to strike a better deal with your retail partner.

skincare packaging design examples on a shelf

Opportunity to Retain Your Uniqueness

Many consumers prefer private labels because they offer unique products that aren’t available elsewhere (ex. Tatcha’s moisturizer). This is why so many small businesses choose to go with a private label solution rather than building their own brand from scratch. They don’t have the resources to spend on marketing their products.

Instead, they spend their capital accessing higher quality ingredients, which gives them the freedom to create new products with innovative packaging and formulations that set their brand apart from other brands on the market.

That being said, there’s no alternative to marketing. No matter how big or small your brand is, branding and marketing are two of the most crucial pillars of a successful skincare business.


Ability to Innovate

By creating private label skincare products, you are able to innovate with packaging and formulations – all because you aren’t relying on a third party to create them for you. Again, this allows you to produce and sell the kind of products that you want, not the ones that are already available in the market under different brand names.

Cons of Private Labeling


Expensive and High Risk

Private labeling means setting up your own team of research and development, in-house production, and marketing plan. These costs can quickly add up and the biggest problem is that you have to pay all of this upfront before you even know whether or not your products will work in the market.

You are taking a leap of faith and delving into the market with or without validating your concept. The chances of you failing and succeeding are 50/50, making private labeling extremely high risk. 


Barriers to Innovation

Although you can innovate with your skincare packaging design and formulations, it is easier said than done.

Conducting in-house research, brainstorming ideas, and doing enough trials and errors to perfect the product are all time-consuming activities. So, you will need a lot of time before you put out new products if you choose to private label over white labeling.


Challenging to Maintain Brand Reputation (if not done properly)

The uniqueness that accompanies private labeling is also one of its biggest disadvantages. Since nobody has sold this particular set of products, you don’t know exactly what would and wouldn’t work for you.

As a private labeler, you will be responsible for brand strategizing and experimenting with campaigns to main a good reputation. And if you don’t have a good PR strategy in place, you are bound to lose more than just sales.

person getting a massage on a  blue table

What is a White Label?

In a white-labeled skincare line, you won’t be responsible for creating your products from scratch. You can skip the initial steps of choosing and sourcing ingredients from a specific place and creating formulations. Instead, you can directly start focusing on your skin care packaging design and selling it to your desired target audience.

All you have to worry about is positioning your business as unique in the market and heavily investing in branding and marketing activities to generate sales.

Pros of White Labeling


Low Production Cost

Most of the products used for white labeling are already manufactured and packaged in large quantities. This means that you can start selling immediately at very low production costs.

Besides, you are not paying for overhead costs like rent or utilities. This means you can produce more products and sell them at a lower price point, which increases your profit margin.


Easy Market Entry

Being able to buy products in bulk means that you don’t have to invest in any manufacturing equipment or inventory. Once you have developed enough demand for the product, you can then order more stock from the manufacturer and start selling. No more slow manufacturing or production process weighing you down.


Affordable Products

White label products are sold at a much lower price than their counterparts because they do not include all of the extra costs associated with manufacturing them themselves (such as research and development). This allows you to undercut private label brands on price without compromising quality or delivery times.

skincare line liquid on white background

Cons of White Labeling


Less Control Over Production

White labeling a skincare business is usually a shortcut to getting your product on the market, but it comes with many disadvantages. When you choose to white label, your brand will not have any control over the manufacturing process. This means that the finished product may not be what you expect or want.

If you don’t know much about cosmetics and skin care, then it is easy to make mistakes when creating your product line. You could end up with an unappealing formula or one that isn’t effective for its intended use.


Inconsistency in Quality

Because you have less or no control over the manufacturing process, you don’t get to determine the standards for the production. Your manufacturer does. One slip-up can cost you your entire brand reputation.


Besides, white label products usually share a manufacturing unit. If someone else has access to your products and formulas, then it is possible for them to modify them without your knowledge or permission. This could lead to contamination or even fraudulent usage of your product.


Higher Chance of Incurring Liability

When you choose to sell your products using a third-party producer instead of directly formulating your own, there is an increased risk of potential liability. You are responsible for taking the blame for poor product experience and quality issues, over which you have low to no control.

woman holding skin care packaging in a mirror

Private Label Skincare Line vs. White Label Skincare Line: Research

Private label skincare businesses are responsible for carrying out their own research. From marketing analysis to consumer expectations, you have to be involved in every stage of the production process. It is an extremely tightly run ship and there is very less room for loose ends. 


Contrary to the common misconception, you don’t have to set up an in-house team of researchers. You could outsource it to a lab and stay in the loop of all developments.


In a white label, on the other hand, the manufacturer you are partnering with is responsible for the research part of the production process. So, your involvement is low to nothing at all.

Private Label Skincare Line vs. White Label Skincare Line: Development

As a private label brand, you will have to brainstorm an ingredient list and come up with the formulations on your own. You could enlist help from professionals but you have to approve or reject combinations if they don’t align with your standards or expectations.


White label brands enjoy pre-developed formulas. This allows you to start selling your products immediately after you have decided on your marketing and packaging for skin care products.


Private Label Skincare Line vs. White Label Skincare Line: Packaging

As mentioned throughout the article, private label brands have to do everything from scratch. This includes coming up with their own skincare packaging design and other visual identities like label design and marketing collateral.


Because white label brands sell bulk-manufactured goods, they are also responsible for creating their own visual identities to set themselves apart in the market. In either case, you need a professional skincare packaging design agency to help you find a unique angle for your brand’s visual identity.

two skincare products on a brown table with orange peels and yarn

Private Label Skincare Line vs. White Label Skincare Line: Branding and Marketing

Both private and white label skincare brands have to decide how they want to brand the business and market it in order to build a loyal customer base. Since this is such a crucial part of building a successful skincare business, it is important to get it right from the get-go to avoid launch fails.


As always, we don’t recommend doing it yourself if you have no experience. Branding your business, especially if it is a startup, can be daunting because it is such a huge responsibility. Working with a professional branding agency is the way forward!

man using red skin care mask

Private Label Skincare Line vs. White Label Skincare Line: Selling

Like branding and marketing, both private and white label skincare brands have the liberty to decide where they want to make their products available. The only difference is that if you are a private label, you have the opportunity to approach bigger retailers because of your uniqueness.


This means that in addition to selling on Amazon, you could also sell your products at Sephora. But if you are a white label, you may not have the same ease of entry because your products aren’t distinguished enough.


Every wellness brand deserves a solid marketing and branding strategy to get a fair chance for competing in the market. At Aventive Studio, we equip you with the right resources and strategies to help your skincare brand stand out and make more sales – regardless of how crowded the industry is. Reach out to us to start your branding journey today.

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