Key Takeaways:
The recent back-and-forth around tariffs should have shaken every beauty brand. The uncertainty of it all alone could make any business owner sweat.
After all, tariffs don’t just live on balance sheets, but quickly travel down the chain until they hit the shelf and, as a result, the customers. Data from Yale’s Budget Lab shows that 61%-80% of new tariffs in 2025 are already being passed directly into retail prices. And as we know, in beauty, even the smallest price increase can be enough to make a customer walk away.
We already see consumers responding with their wallets, with eight in ten shoppers shifting their shopping behavior. Nearly a quarter are putting off nonessential purchases, while almost half are spending more time looking for discounts. This translates to every purchase now being a more deliberate decision rather than an impulse buy.
Tariffs cut deeper than profit, changing the way consumers buy products and eroding the loyalty that might have taken years to earn. A fragile supply chain can break down under the weight of a single unexpected policy change.
If the tariffs feel like déjà vu, that’s because the industry has lived through similarly disruptive stories before, many times over. COVID lockdowns led brands to scramble to digitize their presence if they hadn’t done so before. Raw material shortages forced manufacturers to find new suppliers or pause launches. Even the Suez Canal blockage brought global shipping to a standstill, causing delays to entire product lines.
Each crisis, to some extent, paralyzed global trade and exposed how vulnerable the industry is when it relies on single points of failure. Tariffs are simply the newest iteration of the same old problem: If your entire supply line depends on one region, one factory, or one transport lane, you’re gambling and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
The Risk of One-Factory Thinking
The reason many beauty brands stick with the first manufacturer they sign is very human. It feels safe and familiar.
That is, until it isn’t. A single-supplier strategy multiplies the effects of every external change. When working with a single partner, price increases are unavoidable, and lead times stretch so far that it can feel like starting your own lab would be a faster option.
And when shortages hit, they don’t hurt everyone equally. Large companies that have several suppliers always get priority access when resources are limited. Smaller and mid-sized brands, working with one or two factories, are the ones left waiting. Pumps, droppers, ingredients, and more are given to the biggest customers first, leaving independents trying to figure out how to keep products on shelves.
The answer isn’t complicated: diversification. Multiple suppliers create the kind of resilience that cannot be replicated. You can shorten transit times by picking partners that have global fulfillment and protect your company against risks on your own timeline, way before anything happens.
Yet the industry resists. The excuses are always the same: Minimums are too high. Finding a new factory takes too long. Vetting is complex. Consistency might slip.
However, these objections stem from an outdated beauty industry playbook. Supply chains and technology have evolved, and much of the private-label beauty industry has adapted to these changes.
The Digital Supply Chain Revolution
What has fundamentally shifted is how sourcing happens, thanks to digital-first platforms that are rewriting the rules. For companies that are following the new rules, there are no more endless calls, scattered email chains, and three-month vetting processes. Now, a brand founder can browse formulations, order samples, customize packaging, and launch to market, all from a laptop.
Digital private label platforms like Selfnamed that offer customizable beauty products with no minimum order quantities are turning supply chain complexity into something relatively simple.
And it’s not just about the digital tools necessary to run a supply chain smoothly. Having worked with thousands of skincare brands, Selfnamed knows that the adage “location, location, location” is still as valid as ever.
With fulfillment centers in the US and Europe, two of the world’s biggest beauty markets, brands consistently tell Selfnamed how much they value being able to manufacture closer to their customers. It means faster transit, fewer surprises at customs, and less exposure to tariffs. In short, location is what makes speed possible—and in beauty, speed is everything.
With Selfnamed, brands can test faster, launch cheaper, and scale easier than ever before. Essentially, the same logic that powers e-commerce for consumers is being applied to the B2B beauty world.
And from Selfnamed’s perspective, the shift couldn’t come faster. This kind of technology means that outdated supply structures are no longer the bottleneck, allowing even new brands or those with limited means to expand and test their ideas. Supply chain has become a strategic advantage, not just a fixed expense.
The Old Model Is Broken
Diversification starts with piloting. Add a second supplier for one SKU. Audit your logistics network for choke points. Utilize digital platforms to explore your options without traveling across continents. Brands need to move away from the “let’s just see what happens” response.
The legacy beauty supply chain was built for an era where predictability outweighed the ability to move quickly. That era is over. Tariffs, pandemics, and environmental disruptions aren’t anomalies; they’re a constant part of running a business. Beauty brands that cling to one- or even two-factory plans will bleed margins and lose consumer trust the next time something disrupts the system.
The future belongs to brands that diversify, digitalize, and adapt. Not tomorrow, not after the next crisis, but now. Because the beauty business has never been just about packaging and storytelling. It’s about resilience.
