La nature de vos cosmétiques, l'excellence de soins

Consultancy and formulation

At Copaïba, the development of a new cosmetic is a great adventure and one that starts at the first meeting with the client and continues through to the final delivery of the formula ... and beyond.

A project is born when our client brings us his idea. He may wish to improve an existing line of care, update a slightly older formula, recreate a previous product, create from scratch a cosmetic that meets the company and customer needs, or simply increase the potential capabilities of an already existing ingredient.

His wishes, desires, and needs can be as varied as imaginable: cosmetics celebrating natural care made with exotic ingredients from every corner of the earth, products with a very original touch, a unique ingredient applied to many formulas, and creations oriented towards a specific market, or designed to support a particular specification or classification.

In our initial discussions, we try to help our customer - who sometimes has no solid knowledge of cosmetics - to define his needs. If he wants a product line, we help him to define the range, maintain a consistency in the ingredients, and project the market image that he hopes will be conveyed. We listen carefully as he recounts the experiences that led him to want to develop these cosmetics, and we share with him our own.

Together, we outline on paper the newly-born project. We delineate the route we will take to reach his goals, draw his attention to the potential difficulties or obstacles, and offer advice from our own history and experience. We discuss packaging, label design, sales strategies and present ideas, suggestions and new concepts for his consideration. At this stage, ​​the product prices are discussed and projected based on the proposed contract, our expertise and other brands on the market.

We open a file in the client’s name, and summarize these first preproduction steps: what he wants, and what he doesn’t want; the ideas we introduced that he accepted and those he rejected; the budget and time limits as well as opportunities to surpass his expectations. An offer is drawn up that clearly shows the commitment of Copaïba consultancy & formulation, the steps to be taken, the guarantees provided, the deadlines, and the goals defined together..

Once the offer is accepted, the work begins. A formula starts with a lot of imagination, and a blank sheet of paper. In the same way a passionate musician puts his notes on an empty page, we start to fill our own with ideas: a fragrance, a blend of essential oils, or perhaps an unexpected combination of ingredients. At this stage we are trying to develop a structure, a coherence, and an essential elegance in the project which could be achieved through a synergy of particularly active vegetable oils, an unexpected and wonderfully surprising fragrance, or by integrating an extract from distant islands. Then we define the order, draw on our skills to improve the proportion of particular emulsifiers which can define a fragrance more accurately, and literally feel the product before proceeding to actually physically realize it.

For Copaïba consultancy & formulation, each formula must be unique and linked to the history of our client. Each ingredient is carefully selected, brought discerningly into the formula, and worked in order to express the desired elegance - a work far distant from the pseudo-formulations that rely on industrial "bases" in which one adds five drops of vegetable oil here and three drops of perfume oil there to arrive at the final product.

Thus begins the painstaking, thorough and rigorous work of laboratory testing. We gather the necessary ingredients, manufacture the product, check if the results meet our expectations, modify an emollient here, an element of the manufacturing process there ..... and gradually the cosmetic takes shape. We then prepare samples with different viscosities, consistencies, and scents.

Then comes the moment we can present the formula to our client. Following a detailed report, we defend our project, the ideas that we brought, the boundaries in which we operated, and the options that we chose. As he will do with his customers, either directly or through packaging, we entice him by revealing the beauty of the care product he holds in his hand. We bring him samples which he can view later more objectively, and use to seek advice from his family and friends about this or that touch, or a particular aspect of the fragrance. Sometimes he asks us to make changes and then we rework the formula in the lab to best meet his desires. We continue this process until both parties are content with the results.

Next, the new product is examined to check its stability, its resistance to microbiological contamination and its formula is dissected to determine the list of ingredients which will appear on the label according to the laws and regulations required. The brochures and presentation packages are revised to correct any inconsistency with the final analysis.

Copaïba consultancy & formulation now sees its work almost complete. A final step remains to provide the manufacturer - chosen by the customer – with all the tips and tricks that will help to realize the production of the formula as identical to the samples. And of course, as our customer becomes full owner of the formula and all rights thereto, he is entirely free to patent it, put it into production as cosmetics, or if he so desires, to resell it.