All natural ingredients business

Coops14_2

Hi all,

I had a thought about using simple oils to create moisturizers that are truly beneficial for you and for baby. Oils such as Beeswax, Coconut, Almond, Lavender etc.
Why I became interested in the first place as I was seeing a number of products such as baby bottles and baby wipes that contained harmful toxins.
The problem is that I have not a clue who and where to turn to help research/funding etc. I also need a worshop and gather evidence to prove the ingredients work over time. I also need certificates etc. Any help would be much appreciated. I would like the build up a portfolio of work before I go ahead with my idea, i want to be absolutely sure it will work and I have interest

thank you

Annisele

How much of your own money do you have to put in to this venture? And how much experience of the sector do you have?

Unless you have something to bring to the table (either cash or knowledge, but ideally both) you won't get anywhere - nobody will lend on just an idea, if the ideas-guy isn't putting her own money where her mouth is.

jjlandlord

Coops14 wrote: »

The problem is that I have not a clue who and where to turn to help research/funding etc. I also need a worshop and gather evidence to prove the ingredients work over time. I also need certificates etc.

I have no knowledge of that industry but reading this I'm thinking "very expensive".
5 zeros, and probably 6.

Mojisola

Coops14 wrote: »

I had a thought about using simple oils to create moisturizers that are truly beneficial for you and for baby. Oils such as Beeswax, Coconut, Almond, Lavender etc.

Why I became interested in the first place as I was seeing a number of products such as baby bottles and baby wipes that contained harmful toxins.

You'd be reinventing the wheel - there's a lot of companies already selling natural baby products.

trailingspouse

And just because something is natural, it doesn't mean it's beneficial, or even benign - take nuts for example, very natural, but very dangerous for some people.

The big players (I'm thinking Unilever and such like) spend gazillions on research, and still sometimes get it wrong.

rach_k

There are lots of companies already doing the same thing, from bigger ones like Weleda and all the other companies on BigGreenSmile.com right down to WAHMs making products in their kitchens and everything in between. I'd suggest doing some basic market research before going any further - you might find a gap in the market but I think it's more likely that you'll realise it'll be harder than you expect to get anywhere, unless you want it to be a little hobby for pin money.

paddyrg

Natural isn't another word for harmless - asbestos, uranium, arsenic and syphilis are all naturally occurring, yet I suggest avoiding them all for a line of baby products! ;-)

Seriously, it's a massive market, but the liabilities are extreme when dealing with babies and so you'd need very specific insurance and as you already mentioned, various certifications to get that insurance. What I would suggest instead would be finding white label suppliers for goods and formulae that are already on the market, and create a brand around those. Probably easier for adult cosmetics than baby stuff, mind, but you let experts do the expert bits and bear the liabilities and you deal with the ordering and supply end. Allow £0,000's roughly for branding and stock development and packaging, plus whatever promotional budget you think you'll need.

jjlandlord

trailingspouse wrote: »

And just because something is natural, it doesn't mean it's beneficial, or even benign - take nuts for example, very natural, but very dangerous for some people.

Nuts are good for health.
It's not the nuts' fault if some human beings are 'defective'.

trailingspouse wrote: »

Natural isn't another word for harmless - asbestos, uranium, arsenic and syphilis are all naturally occurring, yet I suggest avoiding them all for a line of baby products!

Better examples!

trailingspouse

I suspect the OP might be more likely to include nuts in her products (she mentions almond herself) than asbestos, uranium, arsenic or syphillis.

And I don't think calling people with a potentially life-threatening allergy 'defective' is really adding anything to the discussion.

paddyrg

I took a marginal example with those 4 ingredients, but the margins are what prove or break a definition! Closer to the list suggested, beeswax for instance can effectively seal pores preventing healthy perspiration which could be critical where the recipient has no way to communicate that, nor wanting a hot soapy scrub to remove it.

However, I think we're all agreed now that all-natural is a explicitly not the same thing as safe.

IronWolf

judyblackwell wrote: »

I don't think that natural occurring substances can be dangerous for human health as natural ingredients are more effective for killing bacteria and germs.

Really..? So Manuka honey is more effective at killing bacteria than bleach? I somehow doubt it.

Our bodies don't need to eat anti-bacterial food, our guts are full of bacteria most of which is very beneficial to us. We also have acid in our stomachs to kill harmful bacteria, hydrochloric acid - which would be classed as a 'chemical' if you made it in a lab.

As natural substances don't have any side effects to your body. I have been searching about these natural antibacterial substances where I got to know about manuka honey which has all natural antibacterial values.

Of course natural substances have side effects, where do you think most 'chemicals' come from? They are just concentrated, isolated forms of natural substances.

Penicillin is produced by naturally occurring moulds, that doesn't stop it having side effects.

Tobacco is a natural plant, doesn't stop you getting cancer and the likes from chewing it.