How to start a skincare brand in India — reselling, private label, or making it yourself

TL;DR

• • Three routes: reselling (least control), private label (the usual middle way), making it yourself (most control, most rules).
• • Licensing: manufacturing cosmetics for sale generally needs a licence. Confirm the details with the authorities and a consultant; this post is not legal advice.
• • Labels: ingredients, batch, dates, net quantity, MRP, manufacturer details and more. Have your artwork checked before printing.
• • Claims: no “cures”, no “clinically proven” without a report, no “chemical-free”.
• • Pricing: from the full cost per order; our example leaves about 38% at ₹699.
• • Launch: a small range, honest photos, full ingredient lists, and a store made for beauty products.

The three routes, side by side

Reselling is the quickest start but it isn’t really a brand; you are competing on price with everyone who sells the same bottle. If you go this way, buy only from the brand or its authorised distributor, and keep every invoice.

Private label is where most of the real decisions happen. When you choose a manufacturer, ask to see their manufacturing licence and check it covers the kind of product they will make for you. Ask for their minimum order quantity, what testing they do on each batch, the shelf life of the product, and who owns the formula if you later move to another manufacturer. Get a few samples, use them yourself for weeks, and give them to people with different skin types before you order a batch.

Making it yourself gives you full control and the most responsibility: a licence, suitable premises, safe raw materials, batch records and consistent results every time. It is a real manufacturing business, not a side project from a home kitchen.

Licensing: what is generally required

In India, cosmetics are regulated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Cosmetics Rules, 2020. The national regulator is the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). In broad terms:

• Making cosmetics for sale generally needs a manufacturing licence from the licensing authority of the state where they are made.
• Importing cosmetics to sell generally needs registration with CDSCO.
• Using a third-party manufacturer means their licence covers the making. You should still understand what your own obligations are as the brand owner, including what has to appear on your label.
• The category matters. An ayurvedic or herbal product that claims to treat something may fall under the rules for ayurvedic medicines rather than cosmetics, and supplements fall under food law (FSSAI). The category decides the licence, the label and the claims you can make, so settle it first.

Rules and procedures change, and the details depend on your product and your state. Before you order your first batch, confirm the exact requirements with your State Licensing Authority or CDSCO, and consider a regulatory consultant who works with cosmetics. For tax, read do you need GST to sell online in India? and check with a CA.

What goes on the label

Labels for cosmetics sold in India generally have to carry details such as the product’s name, the name and address of the manufacturer (and of the marketer, if that is you), the manufacturing licence number, a batch number, the date of manufacture and the expiry or “use before” date, the net quantity, the full list of ingredients, directions and any warnings, the MRP, and consumer care details.

The exact list, order and wording come from the Cosmetics Rules and the rules for packaged goods, and they are easy to get slightly wrong. Ask your manufacturer or a consultant to check your artwork before anything is printed. Reprinting a whole run of cartons costs far more than a review.

Ingredient honesty, and claims to avoid

A skincare buyer may check your ingredient list before your price, and one overstated claim can undo the trust a small brand depends on. A few rules:

• List every ingredient, using the standard names your manufacturer gives you, on the label and on the product page.
• Quote a percentage only if the formula says so. “10% niacinamide” has to be what is in the bottle.
• Don’t claim to treat or cure acne, pigmentation, hair loss or any other condition. A claim like that can push a product towards being treated as a drug rather than a cosmetic.
• Don’t say “clinically proven”, “dermatologist tested”, “patch tested” or “hypoallergenic” unless you hold a real test report from a lab for that exact product and can show it.
• Drop “chemical-free” and “100% natural” unless literally true. Everything, including water, is a chemical, and buyers who know that stop trusting the rest of the page.
• Be careful with anything about skin colour. ASCI, India’s advertising self-regulator, publishes advertising guidelines, including on skin-lightening claims. Read them before you write ads.

There is a difference between claiming your product is “patch tested” and telling buyers to patch test. The first needs proof. The second is simply good advice: “Patch test on your inner arm 24 hours before first use.” Put it in the directions for every product.

Pricing: a worked example

Say you sell a 50 ml face serum made by a private-label manufacturer. The numbers below are round examples, not quotes. Your manufacturer’s price will depend on the formula and your order size.

Example only. The 2% payment fee is a round figure for the sum; check your gateway’s rate card. If you are GST-registered, ask your CA how GST fits into your MRP.

The line that is easiest to forget is marketing. If it takes ₹150 of ads and free samples to win an order, that is a cost of the product, just like the bottle. Two more things: the MRP is printed on the label, so fix the price before you print; and a larger batch lowers the cost per bottle but ties up more cash in stock that has a shelf life. Our free product pricing calculator and profit margin calculator do this sum with your own numbers.

Launching: small, honest, and on your own store

• Start with two or three products that work together, such as a cleanser, a serum and a moisturiser, rather than twelve.
• Know your shelf life and keep batch records, so a complaint can be traced to a batch, and you never sell anything past its date.
• Photograph the real thing: the bottle, the texture on a hand, the true colour. See how to take better product photos.
• Write full product pages: what it is, who it is for, how to use it, the full ingredients, the size and the shelf life after opening. How to write product descriptions that sell has the structure.
• Say clearly what can be returned. Opened skincare usually can’t be resold, so tell buyers your rule before they pay.

For the store itself, SitesPlaced has a free Beauty Store template made for skincare, perfume and personal care. It has Bestsellers and New arrivals tabs (Bestsellers fill from your real orders), a benefit line and Add to cart on every card, a band for your current offer, and a bottom menu on phones. The benefit line comes from the first badge you give a product, so write something specific and true, like “Lightweight gel for oily skin”, never “Clears acne in 7 days”. Star ratings appear on cards only from real, approved reviews, which are part of the Growth plan at ₹499/month. Each product’s “Size chart / info popup” can hold a photo of your full ingredient label; rename the link “Full ingredients”.

If you sell supplements, gummies or ayurvedic products, the Wellness Store fits better: shop by concern, benefits shown as a list, and pack cards with their own prices. Both templates are compared with the alternatives in the best beauty and skincare store templates.

Your first buyers will come from people who already know you, then from a small group of real users whose honest feedback you act on. A launch post or a creator’s story can send many people to the store at once. On every paid plan (Starter at ₹199/month and up), a store’s pages answer about 4× faster than on the free plan, about 75 ms instead of about 330 ms in our 28 September 2026 measurements on live paid stores. “Answer” is the moment the page starts arriving on the phone, before the photos load. The free plan already takes UPI through your own gateway account, cash on delivery and WhatsApp orders at 0% commission.

Frequently asked questions