Redator Kivalita em 13 de September de 2021 em Articles

Shelf-life of cosmetic products requires attention

Estimating the shelf-life of a product is very important for business success. As in any sector, especially cosmetics, it is essential to consider the projections on the operational costs of manufacturing, storage environment, distribution and sales of products in the company’s planning.

More than that, it is also necessary to be aware of the validations of each of the steps included in these processes, aiming to extend the shelf-life of cosmetic products and ensure that, in the end, they will be delivered to the market with the quality that the consumer requires.

Factors that can impact life

There are many factors that can impact the shelf life of a cosmetic product. The storage environment itself can change its composition, for example. Depending on the cosmetic, the color and texture may change when exposed to sunlight or even just to the air. Therefore, it is necessary to check the storage conditions of cosmetic products, so that they are in the ideal conditions for their preservation, such as stocking them in cooler environments and away from direct sunlight.

The shelf life can also be challenging as it is directly linked to the choice of packaging type. A short shelf life may require smaller containers and the need for product cooling, while flexibility is greater for products with long shelf life.

The manufacturer also needs to be transparent when sharing information about the shelf-life of a cosmetic product with its consumers. The fact is that the customer needs to know all the conditions that must adopt to keep the product preserved, seeking to extend its useful life after purchasing it. Otherwise, customer dissatisfaction can lead to large losses to the brand.

Another factor to be considered is the threat of growth of fungi and bacteria, which can occur even in the stage of production of the product. Therefore, those responsible for the production area must ensure that all resources, equipment, processes and people follow good practices to ensure the delivery of quality cosmetic products.

Stability test as good quality practice

Globally, routine stability tests are on the list of good cosmetic product manufacturing practices and can provide valuable data to their manufacturers, both on the safety and life of their products. This is very useful information, in terms of insights into product management, especially to expand your shelf-life.

Eyeing fault identification and quality management

It is critical that manufacturers map and identify possible flaws in the processes inherent in the shelf-life of cosmetic products. We at Kivalita Consulting specialize  in the development of process quality management and technology validation for companies in the area of Life Science, which includes cosmetics.

Here, we support our clients with the “Gap Analysis” methodology, being applied as a quality tool for mapping processes in the organization, besides being a good strategy to diagnose failures and opportunities for improvement.

It is precisely through this method that the company begins to have knowledge and a systemic vision, with a perspective on the business that was not had until then. More than that, it makes it possible to create a critical and non-departmentalized evaluation capability to work improvements with each revealed failure. It also brings managers opportunities to make more assertive decisions.

The opposite, that is, poor quality management in organizations, can cause losses and the fall of performance indicators. Poor quality processes increase costs, generate waste and rework. Examples of gaps most common in Life Science organizations that can impact the shelf-life of cosmetic products are:

  • Lack of indicators for decision-making, due to limited visibility into problems in processes, to reduce costs and waste;
  • Lack of a systemic view of the processes and segregation of the problems of the sectors in their departments;
  • Lack of prompt service to potential customers;
  • Lack of structure to meet specific and growing demand;
  • Lack of adequacy between prospecting / sales demands versus production;
  • Lack of skilled manpower and adequate management to ensure effective results;
  • Lack of data management technology, which may increase risks with human error or theft of sensitive information;
  • Lack of process automation versus risks with the centralization of manually manipulated information by incomplete teams;
  • Among other Gaps, many of them related to regulatory, environmental, economic, storage and even business strategy impacts.
  • And many others.

You knew that depending on the size of the organization, these“Gap Analysis” notes will be larger and more complex, since the number of mapped processes will also be proportionally larger. To get an idea, in small Life Science organizations, this list can reach up to 300 gaps, on average, per plant.

How about talking to our experts and how we can help your company identify, and resolve any flaws in processes that could directly threaten the shelf-life of cosmetic products?

Get in touch! It will be a pleasure to talk about it!

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