Private Label Skincare Manufacturer. A Chemist's Library, Not a Catalog.
Chicago-made private label skincare for indie brands that need to ship now. A curated library of chemist-vetted formulas, your brand on the packaging, MOQ 500.
Chemist-vetted, Chicago-made.
Most of what passes for private label skincare manufacturing is a catalog of generic formulas re-bottled by a fulfillment shop with no chemist on the premises. Formula 117 is a private label skincare manufacturer built differently. The library is curated by a degreed cosmetic chemist with 10+ years across major retail and indie beauty brands, every formula is one we'd put our own name on, and the manufacturing happens here in Chicago — not drop-shipped from a warehouse you've never seen.
The path is the fastest of our four service lines. You browse the library, pick the SKUs that fit your brand, customize packaging and (where the formula allows) optional fragrance or color, sign off on a sample, and we go to production. Library pick to first production runs in 4–6 weeks at MOQ 500 per SKU.
Private label is a launch lane, not a destination. Brands often start here to ship a credible line, then graduate selected SKUs to custom development or BYOF as scale and brand identity demand it. We design the on-ramp accordingly — the work you do learning the customer with private label feeds directly into the brief for whatever you build next. The library lives in our chemist-founded lab, and graduating a SKU into custom or BYOF means staying with the same chemist, not starting over.
Library to launch in four stages.
Walk the chemist-vetted library by category — cleansers, serums, moisturizers, oils, treatments. INCI lists, sensorial notes, claim support, MOQ, and per-unit cost are visible up front. We help shortlist against your brand brief.
Brand-customizable packaging selection — tube, jar, airless, bottle. Where the formula allows, optional fragrance or color customization. A pre-production sample ships for sign-off before any commercial run.
Final SKU configuration, label artwork upload, regulatory and claims review, packaging components confirmed and ordered. Production calendar locked.
Filling, labeling, and packout at our Chicago facility. First commercial run at MOQ 500 per SKU, scaling through small-to-mid volume. Ongoing production scheduled against your reorder cadence.
What the library covers.
Common questions.
How fast can I launch a private label skincare line with Formula 117?+
4–6 weeks from library pick to first production run at MOQ 500 per SKU. The fastest of our four service lines because the formulation work is already done. Brand-side delays — packaging artwork, regulatory review on your end, sample sign-off cycles — are the typical schedule risk, not the manufacturing.
How is your private label different from generic catalog manufacturers?+
Two ways. First, every formula in the library is vetted by a degreed cosmetic chemist — we don't carry recipes we wouldn't put our own name on. Second, the manufacturing happens at our Chicago facility, not drop-shipped from a warehouse. You can visit, see the line, talk to the chemist who signed off on the formula. Most generic catalog houses cannot offer either.
What is the MOQ and per-unit cost for private label skincare?+
500 units per SKU minimum. Per-unit pricing is set against the specific formula and packaging configuration; volume discounts begin at 2,500 units and per-unit settles at $2–$3+ at the 2,500–5,000 range, similar to our custom and BYOF lines. Library SKUs are priced upfront — no project-quote step.
Can I customize a library formula or do I have to take it as-is?+
Packaging is fully customizable. Formula customization is more limited than custom development by design — that is the speed/IP trade-off you opted into when picking private label. Optional fragrance, color, and minor sensorial adjustments are available on most library SKUs. If you find yourself wanting deeper changes, that's a signal to graduate the SKU to BYOF or custom development.
Do I own the formula?+
No — that is the core difference between private label and our other three lines. Library formulas are licensed for your manufacturing use, and the same formulas are available to other brands in the library. If a SKU becomes a meaningful part of your brand and you want to lock it as your IP, the path is to commission a reformulation as a custom development project.
Ready to start production?
Send your project details. You'll hear back within 48–72 hours with next steps.
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