Selling Your Products

We are often asked about how to sell the products you have made. The following information is aimed to give you a brief overview of what is involved as we understand it.  It is not intended to replace professional advice from a Safety Assessor. 

In the United Kingdom, if you wish to sell your products you must comply with the Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 2008.

The following document from the DTI gives guidance on how the regulations must be implented. It is quite straightforward and readable.

*Guidance on the Implementation of the Cosmetic Products Regulations 2008

Some of the important points to remember are that you will need to consider are:

• A Safety Assessment for your products.
• Creating and maintaining your PIF (Product Information File)
• Labelling your products correctly.
• Good Manufacturing Practice.

The main task to be completed is the Safety Assessment of your recipes and consequently your manufactured products. It is *not* adequate to assume that the supplier has carried out any assessment on the raw materials. This needs to be carried out by a suitably qualified person who will expect you to provide some or all of the following information. The manufacturer of the final product is responsible for having a Safety Assessment carried out.

• The main recipe (s) you will be using. Include the ingredients, percentages used, supplier information, etc.
• Fragrances: a statement is usually required from the supplier confirming they conform to IFRA guidelines.
• You may be asked about GMP (good manufacturing practice), and how you will make your products, in what environment and whether you understand the importance of the PIF and traceability.
• What is the Product Information File (PIF) This is record of how the end products are manufactured by you. It will include the date of manufacture, the raw materials used, the batch numbers used, the process involved. It is a collection of information detailing how your end product was made. As the manufacturer it is your responsibility to maintain this information and remember that it is much better to have too much information than not enough. Should there ever be a query with your product you will then be able to show how it was made, with which ingredients, where the ingredients were sourced from etc.
• Labelling - all end products must be labelled correctly - see regulation 7 from the above link.

  Once you have your Safety Assessment you can then sell your products remembering to label them correctly and maintain your PIF.

• It is very straightforward to get an assessment and it makes sense to go direct to the Safety Assessor where you can be assured of support, advice, and getting exactly the assessment you need. 

•  If you are requiring information how setting up and running a business then we would recommend talking to your local Business Link office. They will be able to offer advice on insurance issues, starting up and more.