We would ask that you consider the following about your product to get you started; what’s the concept/purpose of the product? Where is it to be sold? Do you want it to be certified organic, vegan, natural, pseudo-natural? What key ingredients might you want in your product? What type of packaging and label, and whether or not you want your product in a unit carton or not?

We ask that you fill in a product brief that gives us a basic overview of your concept, ingredients, packaging (tube, bottle, jar) etc. The brief helps us create individual products for you: the more information, the better. With three cosmetic chemists onboard and a team for research and development, we are dedicated to ensuring your idea and concept comes to fruition.

If you are happy to proceed and we are confident we can help you, the next step would be to move into the research and development stage. This is where we develop your brief and make up some samples for you. We would need your business details. Business name, ABN, business address, contact name and email, and we would email you an invoice for $1000 ex GST (of which $500 is refundable off your first order, non-refundable if you chose not to proceed). Once payment is received, we will provide you with up to 10 samples of your product or products (totalling 10) based on the information you have given us. If you would like to work from an existing organic formula, we can send you some products from products we have previously made to give you an idea of texture, smell and viscosity. We never make a product the same for any two customers. We endeavour to create unique formulas for every brand and every customer.

You are looking at 12-16 weeks from the approved sign-off on the formula. This, however, may vary due to packaging, obtaining certifications, raw material supply and stability trials.

For products in bottles and jars, it's a minimum order run of 1000 units per individual product. And for products in tubes, it's 3000 units per individual product.

We can supply standard types of packaging in the form of bottles, jars and printed tubes. Alternatively, if you have specific packaging that you source yourself, we would need to see this to ensure that it is suitable to our machinery and your formula before we can supply a quotation. It is essential to know what packaging you want the product to go in as it determines viscosity. For example, if you wished to use a jar, it would need to be thick. On the other hand, if you're planning to use a pump, the formula needs to be thinner. The tubes have certain viscosity parameters also but have a lot more range. Due to our buying power with tubes, we can purchase the printed tubes on your behalf. You provide us with artwork in the template we provide you. Our tubes are BPA free and are a mixture of HDPE and LDPE.

Labels and unit cartons are designed, sourced and printed by the customer/brand owner. We can supply recommended printing companies when the time comes. We can also provide some templates and relevant industry guidelines to help you with this when required.

We are not able to schedule meetings for potential customers. At this stage, we can only host meetings with committed clients. Once you enter the R&D process and are developing a product with us, we can schedule a meeting by phone, zoom or in person. For on-site visits, Covid safe regulations apply.

We quote on a per unit basis, and our unit costings include formula, packaging (where agreed), labelling (not the label), codes, pack and filled into shippers in one combined cost. Each approved formula will need to go through our stability program before production. The stability cost is $300 ex GST per formula; this is a once-off fee unless the formula is changed and stability needs to recommence. Each production batch (initial and ongoing) will have a microbiological testing fee of $40 ex GST per formula. We do not provide formalised quotes until you have confirmed what formula/s you wish to move ahead with. We also need confirmation on packaging such as sizing, colours (how many are in the artwork), flip-top or screw-top - matte or gloss. And whether you are putting it in a unit carton (shelf-ready box).

After you're happy with your formula and you want to proceed, we will provide you with a quote. If you confirm this quote, contracts are exchanged, and a sales confirmation for the total production job is provided. At this stage, we require a 50% deposit. Once received in full, we will enter the product into stability testing (taking four to six months, depending on the formula) and into our production schedule. The timeline is based on when the product comes out of stability and packaging arrives.

If Cawarra Cosmetics create the formula, we warrant and guarantee the formula's stability and safety data; we maintain ownership of the formulation.

We are happy to manufacture this for you. For this, we require specifications such as stability data, including preservatives tests, certificates of manufacture and ingredient supply details, where required.

We will provide a list of key ingredients with your sample on request only. Complete INCI ingredient lists are provided once the sample is approved and the 50% deposit paid.

Unfortunately, we do not offer those services to people that aren't our clients as we are a full-service contract manufacturer.

Our facility has been independently audited, accredited and certified with:

• ISIO 22716 Cosmetics-Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)

• ASEAN Guidelines for Cosmetic Good Manufacturing

• ACO Australia Certified Organics

• OFC Organic Food Chain (Australian Government approved organic certifier processor number 0482)

• USDA organic certification on selected products

• UK Vegan Society

• Australian Made Campaign

• Choose Cruelty Free

• NSW Sustainability Advantage Program

• Natrue

We submit Organic Certification on your behalf to the appropriate organisations. We can also help you obtain other third-party certifications at an extra cost.

No, as we are not a TGA certified facility, we cannot manufacture products that make SPF claims. However, we can do a natural sunscreen in a body moisturiser using zinc. This product can claim to have natural sun filters.

We are a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) facility, meaning our practices conform to strict guidelines to assure that our products are of high quality and do not pose any risk to the consumer.

No. We also don’t manufacture toothpaste or manufacture any product into aluminium type tubes.

As part of our procedure, all products need to have 4-6 months of stability, depending on the formulation. Once you sign off on the final formulation and are ready to proceed with an order, we place your samples in for stability testing at no additional costs. We provide microbiological testing on all products when produced and again when filled.

Production times are around eight to 10 weeks after your first order. However, this can sometimes be reduced. It is dependent on raw materials and packaging. Tubes can take 12 weeks to arrive from artwork submission.

No. We test on humans, all products have been sampled on the staff here at Cawarra (lucky us!). We also use only ingredients that have been studied and have evidence of safety and approval for use in cosmetics. Using mainly natural and organic food-based ingredients also ensures safety.

Generally, from initial inquiry until finished product delivery, it can take a minimum of six months. This time includes research and development, sampling trials until approved, exchanging contracts and quotes, placing an order, stability testing, and finally, the production timeline. Therefore, we recommend that you plan for a minimum of six months before your product is ready to launch.

We don't have catalogues on hand, but we can direct you to our in-house brand websites to see product ranges. This will show you the types of packaging we can supply.

We can provide you with our preferred packaging suppliers; however, each customer is different and has varying requirements. Once we know more about the product you want to create, we can suggest environmentally friendly packaging options to suit your product and packaging goals.