Ariel Laboratories helps cosmetic companies save face by solving product problems

Published: 7-Jul-2011

Reformulating products quickly and effectively


In any business, reputation is everything. Even a relatively minor problem with a product’s formula can cause consumers to lose faith – leading to a possible brand perception, public relations, and even an economic challenge for the company. Ariel Laboratories, a custom product development laboratory headquartered in South Plainfield in the US knows that in the beauty industry, where image is everything and brand loyalty can be fragile, one answer is to reformulate the product quickly and effectively.

As a company with more than 35 years of experience in both creating original formulas and remediating existing problem products, Ariel Laboratories has helped cosmetic brands who find themselves in a delicate balance when it comes to product stability. According to Peter Bohm, president and ceo of Ariel: “When a brand turns to us for help, we know they need a solution that may change the formulation dramatically, but is either undetectable or comes across as an improvement.”

Recently, a brand’s hot-pours were cracking and falling out of their compact. Ariel Laboratories needed to solve the problem without affecting the shade, texture and overall performance of the product. By identifying what, in the original formula, was creating the issue, Ariel reformulated the product to increase stability with the package with no detectable alteration upon application.

Bohm stated that: “A single component of a formula can influence the complexity of the reformulation approach. Sometimes, it can be as simple as exchanging one ingredient for another that has similar characteristics. At other times, a product may have to be reformulated; which may mean that the composition will change dramatically.” Doing that without having the consumer notice the difference, while also staying within prescribed guidelines, is where Ariel excels.

Problems that Ariel has helped solve include products that sweat, fade, expand/contract, separate, or fall out of regulatory specifications. “Fixing any problem product is a matter of experience and a keen awareness of a formula’s physical and chemical interactions among a myriad of raw materials,” continues Bohm. “We have created and helped reformulate many products. We don’t ‘reinvent the wheel’ if we don’t need to, but we strive to create value with innovative solutions that are highly effective.”

Bohm concluded that: “As scientists, we analyse and use what we know to come up with solutions. As business people, we help companies keep their reputation intact by quietly, quickly, and effectively taking care of the problem at hand, thereby keeping their consumers loyal.”

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