In a world where beauty brands, particularly burgeoning independent brands, encounter new roadblocks or regulatory requirements almost daily, it’s hard (and often expensive) for founders to ensure they produce safe yet effective products that comply with the ever-changing regulatory landscape.

From tariffs and new legislation to safety standards, FP Labs—a Minnesota-based contract manufacturer of beauty and personal care products—prioritizes creating innovative products and ensuring its brand clients are strong enough to weather any storm.

FP Labs Is Proactive, so Brands Don’t Have to Be Reactive.

Going beyond the traditional contract manufacturer, FP Labs focus on helping brands grow.  The company’s team of experts does this by educating its clients about everything from formulation, raw materials, testing, and MoCRA to being Sephora- and Target-compliant.

“We understand there's a good amount of education in not just the chemistry and formulation, but also the regulations and compliance,” said Jeffrey Martin, Director of Marketing for FP Labs.  “It's tricky out there, but we want to be on that front edge so we can create better products for brands and consumers.”

Martin said that tariffs have created an influx of interest from Canadian manufacturers interested in becoming FP Labs' clients. “We can ultimately provide the compliance that's needed for the American market, rather than them having to manufacture in Canada.”

Creating great products takes time; many brands cannot spare the time and energy required to create truly innovative products. However, FP Labs’ library of formulations and a team of expert chemists allow the lab to shorten production time for its clients. 

Reducing development time on the front end is essential to FP Labs, said Martin, because “brands are not getting that time back on the testing side.” FP Labs puts every product through rigorous testing, and they refuse to cut corners when it comes to this. “Products need to be tested, period. We know it takes time and money, but our comprehensive testing process is essential.”

The lab’s comprehensive testing process is primarily in-house but utilizes third-party labs as part of its program. This often becomes an educational component with brands, said Martin. “A lot of the brands we work with—particularly the independent, emerging brands—don’t have a huge staff or the time or energy to figure out what needs to be done [for testing]. We help provide that oversight.”

The FP Labs team walks clients through every step of the testing process, explained Martin. “It’s our job to make sure our clients’ products are compliant.” Whether a product needs to be water-resistant or SPF 30-compliant, FP Labs helps brands understand the testing process from the first step. “We find that testing in-house and outsourcing pieces to labs that can do certain tests quicker, provides a great value for brands, especially if we are educating along the way.”

Whether FP Labs provides a stock formula or tweaks one that is already on the shelves, the company prides itself on its “superstar lab,” according to Martin. “We devoted a lot of time and resources to build out the lab’s talent and make it state-of-the-art so we can be the in-house chemists for our clients.”

FP Labs is well-versed in both federal and state legislation as it pertains to personal care products. “A lot of states are now requiring recycled PCR content within containers, so we do a lot of small sizes that are under a personal care size,” explained. We know this [regulation] is coming, so we’re working to ensure our clients can sell products in all 50 states.” In the following year, FP Labs will roll out a variety of containers with 50% PCR because they know this is where the industry is going. “We're trying to make sure we're ahead of it.”

FP Labs prioritizes the consumer in everything it does. “We want to make sure that every item that comes out of here is a fantastic product, because if we create a product that brands cannot use or need to initiate a recall, not only do we lose that business, but we lose the trust of the consumer.”

Martin stressed that FP Labs made its business out of helping brands grow. He concluded, “We are heavily invested in the success of our brand clients. With MoCRA and new regulations, even state-by-state legislation, we need to be on the front end to help brands understand that landscape. Because in the end, having to do a recall, or pull products from shelves, is just a killer for all involved.”