Beauty product development sits at the intersection of product creation, marketing, and business. Product developers generally work cross functionally with nearly every department to bring a product from conception to completion. The skill set needed to be a product developer goes beyond understanding cosmetics.
Different companies will have varying job descriptions, the basic pillars of this role are:
CAS Number - chemical abstracts service, a numerical code that identifies natural and synthetic chemicals, often found on ingredient lists
Contract Manufacturer - a factory the brand pays or “contracts” to manufacture a product, sometimes also referred to as “vendor”
Dieline - the file artwork is often completed on
INCI List - international nomenclature cosmetic ingredient, often referred to as the ingredient list, includes the official ingredient names (vs its common names)
MOQ - minimum order quantity, the lowest amount of units you can order from a vendor
Primary Packaging - the packaging that directly holds the formula, such as a tube or bottle
PPS - pre-production sample, the sample that requires approval before mass production
PS - production sample, this is a unit taken from production and reflects what the final consumer will see
PO - purchase order, the order form used to place an order with a vendor
QIL - quanitative ingredient list, this is usually a final version of an ingredient list with the concentrations of each ingredient list
Secondary Packaging - also known as the unit carton, this is often the retail box that holds the product