Why You Should Invest in the Online Cosmetics Business

Online beauty products have been seeing a huge increase in popularity. In fact, over 64% of monthly online sales have increased. But before the coronavirus, these products were already blowing up.

Today’s consumers love to connect with brands and buy products directly from them, and starting a direct-to-consumer (DTC) beauty brand is the perfect way to do just that.

Here are a few interesting stats about the demand for new cosmetics products around the world.

DTC brands are slowly making their way into the cosmetics industry, but big-name brands like Sephora and Ulta are not going anywhere.

The cosmetic industry is thriving and there is plenty of room for new companies. By focusing on unique products, companies can connect with customers on a deeper level. There is great potential for growth in this sector.

Starting a makeup company online can be a highly profitable venture. The beauty industry is thriving, and there have never been more opportunities for marketing beauty products. The internet also provides many avenues for sales.

In 2019, the US cosmetics industry grew to $93.5 billion.

There are endless opportunities in the cosmetics industry.

In addition to your standard foundation, eye shadow, and lipstick, there are also other untapped markets for makeup and beauty products, such as male-specific or cruelty-free cosmetics.

The global beauty industry is expected to exceed $716 billion by 2025.

There is huge potential for expanding your cosmetics brand into global markets. You can begin in your local country, then expand to international markets.

There are many resources, such as International Fulfillment Services, available that make it easy for you to attract and reach a wide customer base.

DTC cosmetic brands bring 63% in retention revenue.

Because they’re able to focus solely on their target audience, direct-to-consumer (DTC) cosmetic brands can build a loyal following. This gives them an advantage over traditional cosmetics stores.

The direct-to-consumer (DTC) business model allows cosmetics companies to target specific audiences or niches. They don’t have to focus on pricing as much, and can instead focus on building a brand that appeals to a certain demographic.

How to Start Your Makeup Line in 6 Steps

Before beginning a cosmetics business, there are a few important things to be aware of.

Starting an e-commerce store is fairly easy, but you’ll need to compete with other stores, attract new customers, and provide them with an excellent experience.

Here is a quick guide on how to get started.

1. Choose Your Niche

When starting your own cosmetic brand, you need to decide what type of products you want to sell. This can be anything, from natural, organic products to gender-specific, male-oriented make-up. So, make sure you research the market and find a segment that is growing and in demand.

Your cosmetic products’ characteristics will separate you from the pack. Think about the ingredients, who your market is, and what your company stands for. These elements will make your business stand out.

You can start by researching what’s currently popular, or you can start by thinking about why you want to launch a beauty brand. Are you passionate about animal rights?

Many people struggle to find a foundation that matches their skin tones. This is why starting your own cosmetics company can be a good idea. You can develop products to fill a need that the market has.

2. Perform Competitor Analysis

Before launching a makeup line, it is important to do thorough research on your competitors. This will help you to identify your strengths and weaknesses and plan your marketing strategy accordingly.

Researching your competitors’ pricing, offers, social media, reviews, and media coverage will give you an idea of what works and what doesn’t.

Looking at your competitors’ mission, vision, and value statements will help you come up with your own unique positioning statement.

With this knowledge, you can further identify ways to differentiate yourself from your competitors and appeal to your market.

Julie Fredrickson, the founder of cosmetics company Stowaway, was tired of lugging around heavy bags of her beauty products everywhere she went. So she was motivated to create travel-size cosmetics that would be easy to take with her when she was constantly on the go.

3. Find a Cosmetics Supplier

There are two types of makeup manufacturers: private label and white label.

Private-label makeup lines are custom-made by a manufacturer while white-label makeup lines are pre-made products.

If you’re starting a new cosmetics business, you’ll need to decide which type of manufacturer you want to work with.

A private-label manufacturer gives you the ability to customize your products to make them unique to your brand. This includes options for customizing colors, fragrances, and packaging.

A white-label manufacturer produces makeup products that are then rebranded and sold by multiple companies.

While both private and white label products are cost-effective, working with a private-label provider gives you more customization options, allowing you to create a more personalized and unique product.

When making cosmetics, it’s important to be aware of the regulations regarding ingredients, as well as those specific to the customer’s location.

4. Create a Memorable Brand

The stories you tell your customers are what attract them to your brand. The emotional attachment they feel to your products is what sells them.

Beauty enthusiasts who care about quality and brand alignment tend to spend more on high-end cosmetics. The quality, branding, and emotion that goes into these products are worth the price.

Your brand’s messaging and imagery are critical to its success. Your marketing and advertising must be on point, but that’s just the beginning. Every stage of the customer journey matters, from unboxing to product usage. Make sure every touchpoint is positive and memorable.

Creating a strong, unique, and memorable brand identity for your brand is essential. Your branding should be reflected throughout all of your marketing assets and should stand out from your competition.

The more unique and identifiable your brand is, the more it will be remembered.

5. Set Up Your Shop

Creating your cosmetic store can be fun, but getting your products online can be the most tedious part.

Many e-commerce platforms make it easy to launch an online store without needing a web developer. Some of the most popular platforms include Shopify, Squarespace, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Wix.

Before launching your makeup line website, be sure to test the entire purchase experience to ensure everything is working correctly.

Most e-commerce platforms allow you to test-run orders, so you can verify that your checkout process looks correct, your shipping costs are reasonable, and that your follow-up emails are sent.

6. Market Your Brand Organically

Unless you sell solely on Amazon, you need to be creative about how potential customers find you. You can’t rely on the Prime badge to get sales; you need to market your brand. There are many ways to do this, including social media, online ads, and PR.

No matter what method of makeup store promotions you choose, it is important to remember to allocate a marketing budget. While bootstrapping methods may be effective, they likely won’t be as successful as paying for advertising.

Depending on your business, you can test out different marketing channels and advertising methods. Some businesses find success on Facebook or Instagram, while others prefer Google Ads.

There are plenty of ways to get creative and promote your brand without spending a lot of money. DTC cosmetic company Glossier is a great example of this.

The founder of Glossier used her blogging platform (originally known as ‘Into the Gloss’) as a launching pad for her own line of beauty products.

Blogging and creating content is a great way to increase traffic to your online store. By writing engaging and informative blog posts, you can draw in potential customers and convince them to visit your shop.

3 Tips Before You Launch Your Makeup Line

Before launching a cosmetic product, here are three things to keep in mind to avoid unpleasant surprises.

1. Test your products

Before you try to sell your product, you may want to test it on customers. You can also give them free samples and giveaways, and ask them for honest feedback on the product.

The feedback from potential customers will be extremely valuable as it can give you insight into how you can improve your products before you sell them.

1. Get a focus group together and watch how they apply your product.
2. Take note of any feedback they have about the product, packaging, etc.
3. Use this feedback to make improvements to your products before selling them.

Maybe you’ll learn that the product isn’t being packaged properly (for example, the eyeshadow brush is too hard to take off) or that customers aren’t using it correctly.

2. Read About Product Safety and Shipping Regulations

Starting a cosmetics company means understanding shipping regulations. Knowing what can and can’t be shipped to customers will help you avoid issues.

Making sure you know what is in your products can help you avoid allergic reactions, false claims, and regulatory problems. Additionally, it is important to store and transport temperature-sensitive items safely.

3. Find a Logistics Partner

In the beginning, it’s wise to use an in-house team to fulfill orders. However, as you scale, you’ll need to reevaluate your fulfillment process.

If you’re looking to grow your business quickly, consider outsourcing your shipping and order fulfillment to a 3PL. This way, you can focus your energy on developing new products and building strong client relationships, instead of worrying about packaging and shipping.

By outsourcing your fulfillment, you can focus your energies on building your customer base and creating new beauty products that will delight them.

It took less than 3 days to figure out the ShipBob system and configure our products in the dashboard. We connected to Shopify and I crossed my fingers. Without a hitch, ShipBob started sending out orders. I didn’t have to follow up about any issues. The orders were picked up automatically and customers got their packages. It was seamless. Dwight Lee, Co-founder and COO at Hero Cosmetics

What Differentiates Successful Brands from Others?

Makeup foundations, such as concealer, are ubiquitous.

What sets DTC cosmetic lines apart from other drugstore brands is their ability to build trust with customers. This is done through quality products, shared social values, and reliable e-commerce shipping.

By providing these things, DTC companies can create a loyal customer base that keeps coming back.

Better Quality

Consumers often pay higher prices for higher-quality goods. Quality is an important consideration when choosing between your brand’s products and those of a drugstore cosmetic business.

Your products may be more expensive, but they are likely to be of higher quality. This could make them worth the extra cost to some consumers.

Offering products made from high-quality, organic ingredients, whether they’re free of allergens or animal products, will target a different demographic.

Social Following

Kylie Cosmetics and Fenty Beauty are two brands that have leveraged their large social media followers into brand awareness. You don’t need to be a celebrity, such as Kylie Jenner or Rihanna to have a strong social media presence. There are steps you can take to grow your social media audience.

You can attract more customers who align well with your company’s values and mission by creating content around those topics.

For instance, the cosmetics company Milk promotes its use of only high-quality, natural ingredients that are 100% cruelty-free, 100% paraben-free, and 100% vegan. You can also build customer loyalty and retention through referrals and rewards programs.

Fast and Affordable Shipping

What makes your brand different from the competition is the amazing customer service you provide.

Differentiating your brand can be as simple as offering quick and affordable shipping to your customers. By providing free shipping, you’re sure to keep them coming back for more.

If you want to keep customers coming back for more, you might want to consider a shipping strategy that can build customer loyalty.

When you partner with a third-party logistics provider like ShipBob, you can rest assured that your products will be fulfilled and shipped out on time. This gives you a competitive edge against makeup lines sold on Amazon.

“ShipBob offered us the best solution and was tailored towards our needs as an early startup beauty business on its way to growing.” Tamarin Oblowitz, co-founder of Baja Bae

Conclusion

So there you have it! Six steps on how to start a makeup line. We hope this has given you the confidence and inspiration to get started on your makeup journey. Remember, take your time, do your research, and most importantly, have fun