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Hair care products are, without any doubt, one of the most widely used categories in cosmetics, as any person of any age or gender is expected to have at least one hair care product, whether or not they have hair.
Thanks to the growing awareness around scalp help, hair care products have also been gathering more attention and more expensive products managed to find their places on the shelves.
This is crucial for small or midsized companies who look to manufacture smaller quantities to be able to compete in the market, as they are unable to get in price wars with the industry giants due to much higher costs of production.
In this article, we will be trying to give insights for those who look to manufacture their own private label hair care product in Japan and help them choose the best Japanese manufacturer to work with.
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Even though shampoos are the only products everyone is expected to have, there are many other different types of hair care products demanded by large audiences.
Conditioners or treatments have also come a long way to become a norm in most households.
However, there is a lot more to hair care products than shampoos and conditioners.
Hair oils, masks, clays, serums, heat protectants, hair growth products, and the list goes on.
Especially in the Japanese market, there is a quite big market for hair growth products, most of which aim at helping the thin hair get its strength back, rather than grow hair out of thin air.
As this article’s main objective is to explain the differences between manufacturers, rather than the products themselves, we won’t be going too deep on the product types.
However, if you wish to know more about hair growth products, you can read our dedicated article through the URL below:
Just like the products themselves, manufacturers come in different sizes and types as well.
We will be dividing these manufacturers into 2 different categories, based on their business models, which actually are not limited to hair care products but apply to any type of cosmetic product.
These are manufacturers who operate their own production facilities which fits the traditional understanding of manufacturing.
These private label hair care manufacturers may have their own products on the market, however, their main focus is to produce private label products for other companies.
The main advantage of working with such manufacturers is the lower cost of production as there is no other company in the middle of the client and the manufacturer.
Although this heavily depends on the company, one other advantage would be quick response times as factories have immediate and full access to information.
However, there are also disadvantages to working with a factory. First of all, factories tend to have considerably higher quantity requirements, especially for first-time clients. This is not limited to hair care manufacturers and is a general situation with the cosmetic industry.
Also, factories are often limited with their production equipment, raw material inventory, and experience so it may be difficult for them to offer a one-stop service for different types of products.
These manufacturers are called “fabless manufacturers”. This may be a foreign concept for overseas, however, it is actually quite common in Japan as there are many fabless cosmetics manufacturers in the country.
Fabless private label hair care manufacturers do have their own “manufacturing license for cosmetics” and are legally allowed to put their names as the manufacturer of the product on the packaging.
Yet, they actually stand in the middle of the manufacturer and the client, ultimately outsourcing the manufacturing of the products.
At first, these companies may not seem ideal but there are quite many reasons why they exist and this is for, they serve a purpose.
Not having a factory means not being limited to equipment, experience, and material inventory which enables these companies to be able to assist their clients with any type of product of any category.
These companies try their best to be a one-stop service, putting great effort to offer a thorough service from packaging to product development which makes them a tempting option, especially for more inexperienced companies.
Also, these manufacturers often have lower MOQ requirements and are more likely to have English and Chinese-speaking staff on board as most of these companies are eager to extend their business overseas.
However, there are also disadvantages to working with such companies.
As these companies are middlemen at the end of the day, they will have to put their profit margin on the price they get from the factory, which will end up being more expensive than working with a factory directly.
If you are looking for a private label hair care manufacturer in Japan, you are likely to Google `private label hair care manufacturer Japan` and come across quite many different manufacturers that offer an English page.
From there, you will start sending inquiries to companies which you find appealing.
Even though you probably won’t get a response from some of them as many companies do not have English-speaking staff and do not even bother to check their international inquiries, you will hear back from a good deal of them.
Depending on the replies you get, you will have a clearer idea of who could be a good fit for your business and who couldn’t.
For people with experience, this could be relatively easy but how does it go for a first-timer? What should you expect from a private label hair care manufacturer in the first place?
These are the 3 things we believe are the most important in the beginning.
Although most private label hair care manufacturers in Japan with an English page usually have at least once exported cosmetic products abroad, the level of experience will differ from company to company.
For example, a private label hair care manufacturer that has only been exporting to the Asia-Pacific region will have to confront a dozen challenges when it comes to exporting to Europe.
There is no way to guarantee if they will have the power to provide countless numbers of documents required by the EU.
So, having general experience in cosmetic export is very important but it’s also important whether a company has experience in a case that’s similar to yours.
Of course, there is a first time for everything and anything can be learned with a little bit of hard work although they can be very challenging in the beginning.
But if you’re in a position where you cannot be willing to take risks, this could be an important criterion.
Private label hair care manufactures produce the bulk, fill them into containers, do the packaging and then ship the products. In the case of exportation, they are also supposed to provide the paperwork needed to send the product.
But of course, nothing goes perfect. Problems occur all the time and they often require hard work to fix. How cooperative your private label manufacturer will play a huge role in how smooth the whole process takes place.
It will, without any questions, be to your advantage that you work with a partner who is willing to take that extra step with you to make the best out of that partnership.
You will probably be able to tell how cooperative the salesperson is while exchanging e-mails, at an early stage. If you feel that you’re not happy with the process, perhaps it’s a better idea to look elsewhere.
For example, in the case of small lot orders, container prices are a big problem. There is usually a very big difference between ordering 1000 pieces and 3000 pieces of a container.
To reduce the costs, some factories offer to store those containers along with other materials for future orders. This way, you are able to order 5000 containers and split them into 5 productions. It is great because you don’t have to hold a big product inventory and you don’t have to pay twice as much for containers every time you order a product.
There are a million examples of cooperation in this business. You should always feel free to ask to what extent that private label hair care manufacturer will be offering their service. It is always easier to manage a business with one-stop services.
It may be unknown to some people, but there are many private label hair care manufacturers in Japan that do not own their own factories. These companies may have manufacturing licenses too.
They basically have partner factories in Japan where they outsource the production. When you ask for a product, they go through their list of factories and look for the most suitable options.
There are a couple of good things about these companies. Firstly, they are more likely to have international employees which makes it much easier to communicate both in the aspects of language and culture. They also tend to be very experienced exporters of private label hair care products.
Not having a factory also enables them to handle pretty much all kinds of products you can think of. If you ask for shampoo, they have partner companies who are good at making shampoos. If you ask for nail paint, they will probably have partner companies for that one too.
They also do a great job matching products with overseas clients from factories that don’t export directly themselves.
They can be very cooperative with their all-around and convenient services. But there is a disadvantage to everything. They will need to add their product margin which makes the prices higher than buying directly from a factory.
If cost is the most important thing for you, it is probably wiser to look for a company that has its own factory. If you’re okay with paying more for a smooth, convenient, and one-stop service, you should go ahead and give ‘fabless’ companies a chance as well.
And last, we would like to talk about why we think we could be an ideal private label hair care manufacturer to work with.
In OEM Co., Ltd., we have accumulated a track record and know-how of manufacturing various hair care products such as shampoos and conditioners in addition to hair growth products for many years.
This experience enables us to propose a large number of products from our off-the-shelf formulations, as well as develop original formulations based on the unique needs of each client.
Our parent company mainly focuses on hair and scalp care products, we also pay exceptional attention and effort in this field.
We are able to propose formulations of originality such as those containing the hair-growth ingredient “Chaga mushroom” discovered by our parent company Svenson Co., Ltd. as a result of collaborative research with the Tokushima University in Japan.
In this article, we tried to explain the different types of private label hair care manufacturers in Japan and moved on to explain the key points when choosing a manufacturer in Japan.
In this article, we tried to explain the different types of private label hair care manufacturers in Japan and moved on to explain the key points when choosing a manufacturer in Japan.
Please feel free to inquire us through the button below if you would like us to provide further information on the topic. As a private label hair care manufacturer ourselves, we will be doing our best to offer products that fit your needs.
For further information, please contact us.