In the growing industry of personal care and cosmetic, brands and manufacturers need to continuously create and innovate. The collection turnover is getting shorter due to seasonal constraints and fast-evolving consumers’ needs. To answer this changing demand, businesses must reduce their product time to market and costs while being innovative.
Food regulations are continually evolving with significant differences from one country to another, impacting each and every department of a company. In fact, those regulations impact every step of a product development, from R&D to marketing through procurement and quality. Non-conformity in product composition, labeling or claims can be both costly and damaging to a brand image.
To ensure an efficient product development with a fast go-to-market for targeted countries, it is essential to set up and follow regulatory frameworks to comply to local rules all along the product life cycle . It requires an international network of regulatory experts in order to share structured information, ensure data continuity from suppliers to consumers, and elaborate an efficient collaboration facilitated by optimized processes.
When it comes to cosmetics, product safety is one of the biggest concern of either legal administrations, consumers or manufacturers. Indeed, manufacturers have the responsibility of ensuring that each product sold is safe for consumers. It also determines brands credibility and product quality. As consumers expect the product they buy to be efficient and conform to its description. The better the quality perceived is the better it is for brand’s image and sales.
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Clean Label is there to stay. As said by Lu Ann Williams, Innova Market Insights: “It’s not really a trend anymore, it’s the new rules of the game”. Over the past few years, consumers have been looking more and more for products with cleaner label. It has been a wake-up call for the food industry to create or re-formulate some of their products that fit in consumers' wants. This desire for cleaner label might also go in pair with actions undertaken by governmental authorities to help customers better understand what they are exactly consuming, such as the new Nutrition Fact Label set by the FDA in the US.
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The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) is an international system created by the United Nations in order to standardized classification and labeling of chemical substances and mixtures. GHS by the United Nations includes several regulations such as, product testing, universal warning pictograms and safety data sheet for hazardous chemical. GHS is followed by many countries all over the world such as Canada, the U.S.A., the EU, etc. Most of them use it as a reference but integrated with their own local regulations.
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Food allergens are a real concern in the US. According to the FDA, about 2% of adults and 5% of infants and young children suffer from food allergies. Each year, it is estimated that approximately 30,000 people need emergency room treatment. For the same period, food allergies cause the death of about 150 individuals.
With millions of Americans affected by food allergies, it is crucial for the food and beverage manufacturers to, firstly, understand what exactly food allergens are; and, secondly, implement processes to control and manage all types of allergens in their products.
In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act regulate cosmetic products. FDA gives the standards but most of the states have their own regulations such as California.
In addition to cosmetic, FDA regulates all products containing more than one ingredient: foods, drugs, electronic products, medical devices, tobacco and cosmetics.
The food and beverage industry has been very dynamic in following trends in order to stay ahead of the game. Taking into consideration those trends, companies largely invest in new product development or re-formulation. Indeed, the need to develop new products through new or re-formulated recipes is supported by strong competition and demanding consumers – especially Millennials. Recently, there has been a great focus on reformulating or developing new product with healthier ingredients and cleaner labels. Formulators have been challenged to find new ways and ingredients to simplify labels while meeting expectations in term of nutrition, function and taste.
Here are some trends that should be embraced to stay relevant with consumers:
Each 50 states of the U.S. are under national and federal regulations. It is not uncommon that states have different regulations from others. This is exactly what happens in the state of California, especially, when it comes to cosmetic products. In addition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, California as its own rules that all businesses selling in this state must follow.
The new nutritional facts label should have been enforced in July 2018. However, the FDA is proposing to extend the compliance deadline.
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