PMG helps brands choose the right path — private label or custom formulation — then coordinates the work required to turn that decision into a compliant, retail-ready product. It is contract manufacturing with the product development, testing, packaging, and channel context most factories leave to someone else.
Turnkey manufacturing brings the critical launch work into one accountable relationship: formulation, sourcing, testing, compliance, production, and the packaging decisions that affect where your product can sell.
Private label is faster, lower cost, and lower risk — but the formula is not proprietary to you. Custom formulation is slower and higher cost — but the formula is yours alone. PMG helps you choose based on your launch stage, channel, and growth plan rather than pushing one path by default.
The choice is less about ambition than about what you are trying to prove and how much runway you have to prove it. Private label puts finished, retail-tested product on the shelf in 60–90 days at a 1,000 unit MOQ for non-supplement products, which means the capital at risk is inventory you can sell rather than development work you cannot recover. Custom formulation runs 4–6 months at a 5,000 unit MOQ for non-supplement products because the work is genuinely different: benchwork and prototype rounds, ingredient sourcing against a cost target, stability and compatibility testing in the actual package, and the regulatory review that has to hold in every market you intend to sell into.
Neither path is a quality statement. The stock formulas are the same compliant, retail-proven formulations established brands sell under their own labels. What custom buys you is exclusivity and control over the specification — the ability to differentiate on the product itself rather than only on branding, and to prevent a competitor from launching the identical base six months behind you.
First-time brands often need to prove the market before they invest in proprietary IP. Private label gets product on the shelf in 60–90 days, at 1,000 unit MOQs for non-supplement products, on FDA (Food and Drug Administration)-compliant retail-tested formulas. Validate the market, then upgrade.
Established brands with proven market demand need formulas competitors can't exactly replicate. Custom formulation gives you a proprietary product, defensible IP, and the ability to differentiate on something other than packaging.
Many brands start on a stock formula in year one, then commission custom reformulation in year two using the sales data they've collected. We design the engagement to support that progression rather than forcing an all-or-nothing decision upfront.
For supplements, Custom formulations are quoted per project, typically starting at 2,500–5,000 units depending on format. Finished units: bottles, sachets, pouches or boxes, depending on format. See individual product pages.
Not sure which path fits? See the decision framework ↓
Small batch beauty manufacturing means producing a real, retail-compliant product at the lowest run size a formula and package will support — for PMG, 1,000 units on a private label stock formula. It exists because the first version of a beauty brand is a hypothesis: about the shade range, the texture, the price, the channel. A small batch lets you test that hypothesis with finished goods instead of a pitch deck.
The cost structure is worth understanding before you plan a budget. Formulation, filling setup, stability and compatibility testing, and packaging tooling are largely fixed, so they land harder on a 1,000-unit run than on a 10,000-unit one. Packaging is often the bigger variable: component minimums frequently exceed formula minimums, and custom decoration or tooling can cost more than the fill itself. Choosing stock components for a first batch is usually the single largest lever on a startup budget.
Minimums also move by format. Creams, serums, and lotions filled into stock components sit at the lower end; anhydrous sticks, pressed powders, sheet masks, and aerosol formats carry higher minimums because the equipment setup is heavier. We quote the formula, the package, and the run size together, because a minimum quoted on the formula alone tells you very little about what your launch will actually cost.
For a first beauty launch, the sequence that works most often is a stock or lightly modified formula in retail-ready stock packaging, produced at the lowest minimum your format allows, followed by custom development in year two once you know which SKU repeats.
What happens if your private label supplement or skincare product is recalled: FDA recall classes, lot code rules, who acts and a recall-ready checklist.
Read the article →Can a private label supplement or skincare product say Made in USA? The FTC’s 3-part test, qualified claims, California’s rule and a sourcing checklist.
Read the article →What changes when you scale a private label supplement or skincare product past your first run: batch records, FDA listings, lead times and per-unit cost.
Read the article →How a spa or med spa launches its own skincare line: which claims make it a drug, what the label needs under MoCRA, professional-use rules and PMG minimums.
Read the article →Capsules, tablets or stick packs (sachets)? Compare minimums (from 1,000 units at PMG, varies by format), label wording, testing and FDA rules before choosing a format.
Read the article →Barcodes, liability insurance, FDA filings, test results and routing guides: the 6 checks retailers run before stocking your private label product.
Read the article →Does your private label supplement or skincare product need a Prop 65 warning? Who's responsible, what it must say, the 2025 short-form rules and a checklist.
Read the article →Accelerated stability testing typically runs about 3 months at PMG, with real-time testing to confirm shelf life. What cosmetics and OTC drugs need.
Read the article →What a supplement certificate of analysis must show under 21 CFR 111: methods, limits, actual results, identity and heavy metals, plus a printable checklist.
Read the article →Certifications a supplement or skincare maker needs: what FDA requires, what NSF, USP and ISO 22716 audits prove, and organic, kosher, halal rules.
Read the article →What a private label supplement label must include: 5 required statements, Supplement Facts rules, the claims disclaimer, allergens and adverse event contact.
Read the article →Under MoCRA, the company named on a private label cosmetic's label is the responsible person. See who registers, lists and reports adverse events.
Read the article →When a massage oil becomes an OTC drug: claims, FDA M017 menthol and camphor levels, child-resistant packaging, Drug Facts, minimums and timelines.
Read the article →How boutique hotels and spas private label body wash, shampoo and lotion: minimums, timelines, state small-bottle laws and what the label must include.
Read the article →Lab sample vs pilot batch vs first production run, why tiny runs cost more per unit, six realistic options below 1,000 units, and a downloadable readiness checklist.
Read the article →How claims set the FDA category, what Amazon hazmat review needs, when caps must be child-resistant, and PMG's minimums.
Read the article →How the gel changes without sugar, allulose vs sugar alcohols vs monk fruit and stevia, what a sugar-free label needs, and realistic minimums.
Read the article →10 questions to ask before you sign, plus a free evaluation checklist.
Read the article →Why minimums exist, what they cost below volume, and how to plan a first run you can sell through.
Read the article →A phase-by-phase breakdown of R&D, ingredients, production, packaging, and compliance costs.
Read the article →Allowed actives and strengths, Drug Facts labeling, NDCs and registration, and realistic OTC minimums and timelines.
Read the article →The right manufacturing path depends on where your brand is, what you're trying to prove, and how much runway you have. We help you make the call honestly.
