In the press: Beauty Independent— Approving a Formula

Fred Khoury speaks to Beauty Independent on How many iterations should it take for a brand to approve a product

It all starts with a perfect brief. That takes a skilled person to draft the brief on the brand side and an equally skilled person to receive and digest the brief on the development side. At ARL, our motto is, “Ask and you shall receive.” The more detailed the brief the better, and the more questions the developer asks the better.

The skill is learning how to ask the correct questions to extract the information needed to match the brief in the least amount of time. Time is money for all parties involved. In a perfect world and if all the stars aligned, it should take about three to five iterations (or rounds, similar to boxing) for a brand to approve a product.

For example, let's consider developing a new dewy finish gel to oil moisturizer. The developer would draft a paper formula that will align with the brands wish list, which includes desired ingredients, skin benefits, texture preferences, loves, hates, pipedreams plus any other specific requirements. This prototype is sent to the brand for initial feedback, and upon receiving feedback, adjustments that need to be made to the formula are addressed.

By the third round, if concept/product positioning has not evolved beyond what has been captured in the brief, the product should closely align with the brand’s expectations. If needed, fourth and fifth rounds adjustments are made based on broader testing groups feedback but generally should be ready for final approval at this stage.

This iterative process ensures that the product meets all the brand’s specifications while allowing for fine-tuning based on real-time feedback. The more rounds that are requested, the more punches the developer takes.  The key is to get a TKO in the first few rounds.

If there are additional iterations beyond the ideal three to five, common hiccups often arise from unexpected concept changes or inconsistent feedback due to the late involvement of key decision-makers. Streamlined development can be achieved by engaging the key decision-makers earlier in the process to align with their vision and expectations.

Another common problem is the mismatch of marketing requests versus cost constraints on development. Multitudes of iterations can be avoided by the brands collaborating closely with all their internal departments to marry their marketing strategy, consumer demographic and budget targets at the product brief stage. This synergy helps ensure that the development process stays on track and within budget.

I wouldn’t be lying to say we have had projects that have been through 27 rounds, plus 14 fragrance variations on top of that. This mainly takes place with brands that are not pressed to hit a ship-to-trade date, have too many cooks in the kitchen or if a retailer is running the innovation. On the flip side, the developer could be at fault if they are not asking the right questions or they are trying to transform a square peg to fit into a round hole.