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Part 1: Choosing an Organic Standard

Part 1: Choosing an Organic Standard

by | Oct 17, 2018 | Formulation

Organic certification can be tricky

Choosing the right organic standard for your market and brand can be the difference between products that work and products that will never be manufactured.  BPI Labs has years of experience working with our certification agent, Oregon Tilth, in the development and certification of organic personal care products, and we can help you enter the organic market. If you don’t know who Oregon Tilth is or how products become certified organic, then read our article here.

Entering the organic market successfully depends on what organic standard you’re aiming for.  In this article, you will read about the difference between the USDA’s NOP certification and the cosmetic industry’s NSF/ANSI-305 certification.  Then we will discuss the difficulty in achieving the NOP certification and why the NSF/ANSI 305 organic standard was created for the cosmetic industry.  Finally, we’ll tell you what we know about the market’s readiness to adopt the NSF/ANSI-305 standard.  Knowing these standards will help you set reasonable expectations for product development.

The USDA organic standard, formed by the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP), is regulated with agricultural products in mind. According to the USDA NOP, personal care products are only eligible to be certified USDA organic and to use the USDA label on product packaging if the product is made of at least 95% food-based ingredients. So achieving USDA organic certification is a challenging task as the majority of personal care products cannot be made up of 95% food-based ingredients and still be an efficacious and user friendly product.

One of the other great difficulties in producing efficacious personal care products is in the creation of preservatives that can keep your product within the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) guidelines for product contamination.  Organic matter is a natural breeding ground for all manner of microbiological cultures including some pathogens.  The FDA’s guidance on Title 21 of the CFR suggests that zero pathogens can be present and under 500 colony forming units (CFU) for products applied to the face and 1000 CFU’s for products applied to the body.  If microbiology is found in excess of those guidelines then the FDA considers your product adulterated and will take action to prosecute your company under federal law.

If microbiology is found in excess of those guidelines then the fda considers your product adulterated and will take action to prosecute your company under federal law.

 

The USDA’s focus is on the preservation and consumption of agricultural products, and their guidelines leave out many possible candidates for organic personal care ingredients and preservatives.  However, BPI Labs has found some suitable ingredients and preservatives that can be considered USDA NOP qualified. however, they are not guaranteed to work in many personal care products.  Consequently, formulation work for an organic product that satisfies the USDA’s NOP standards is difficult and usually prolonged.

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Certify Your Personal Care Product as Organic

Certify Your Personal Care Product as Organic

by | Oct 16, 2018 | Formulation

Introduction

As consumer demands for organically certified personal care product rises, it might be time to think about creating a product that meets organic standards. We work with Oregon Tilth, one of the most trusted and accredited, organic certifying agents to create organic products with our clients. BPI Labs relationship with Orgeon Tilth enables you to have product certified either USDA NOP or NSF/ANSI 305 organic.  Take a look at our registration with Oregon Tilth here. Read on to learn how to have your product certified organic.

By the end of this post you will understand how you can benefit from BPI Lab’s relationship with Oregon Tilth and make sense of the USDA’s role in regulating organic personal care products.  This article will also introduce the purpose and significance of the NSF/ANSI 305 organic standard and how Oregon Tilth will organically certify your personal care product.

Image Left: This is the Oregon Tilth brand, and if your product is certified organic then you can display this image on your packaging and promotional materials.

Who is Oregon Tilth?

Oregon Tilth is one of the largest and most well-known USDA and NSF/ANSI 305 accredited organic certification agencies. They have grown to become the leading certifier, educator, and advocate for organic production and manufacturing since their establishment in 1974 (Oregon Tilth).

The expectations set by Oregon Tilth for organic standards played a role in the USDA’s establishment of the National Organic Program (NOP) and the formation of the Organic Materials Research Institute making Oregon Tilth a crucial mover and shaker in the industry.  Oregon Tilth provides us with knowledge on how to formulate your product to meet organic standards, and our partnership with them enables you to have your product organically certified through the NSF/ANSI 305 or USDA NOP standards.

What is the USDA’s role in regulating organic personal care product?

The USDA has no authority to regulate personal care products that make organic claims. This means organic personal care products are not legally being held to any organic standard. Personal care products can make organic claims without going through organic certification, but consumers lack confidence in organic claims that are not proven to be true through certification.

Moreoever, the USDA does not itself certify products as organic. Instead they created a set of standards and authorized 3rd party certifiers, like Oregon Tilth, to evaluate product according to the USDA’s standards. After Oregon Tilth inspects your product formulation it can then certify your product as USDA NOP certified.

 

 

Certifying your Product

Once we create a formula of a personal care product you love, we will submit your formula to Oregon Tilth and ask them to evaluate your formula as either USDA NOP or NSF/ANSI 305 organic. Once they’ve looked over the ingredients they will authorize you to make claims regarding your organic certification.

You will be able to market your product as “Certified Organic” and feature the Oregon Tilth and NSF International or USDA NOP labels on your product’s packaging. Your personal care product will also be featured as an organic product on Oregon Tilth’s website.

    Pictured Left: The Oregon Tilth brand.

    Conclusion

    We are confident we can work with you to formulate a personal care product that Oregon Tilth will certify under an organic standard. However you should read about the differences in NOP and NSF/ANSI-305 standards in our article written here.

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    Filling Your Cosmetic Products in Bags with Zippers

    Filling Your Cosmetic Products in Bags with Zippers

    by | Sep 20, 2018 | Filling Services

    Salts & powders in bags with zippers

    BPI Labs has received requests for a gusseted bag filling service for powders and salts for years, and we’ve finally responded with a bagging service that has range and options that’ll meet your needs.  While the service is specified to work with salts and powders, additional tooling would enable us to fill these bags with liquid product.

    If you take a look at the top 10 selling products in the bath salts category at Amazon.com(tm), you’ll see a significant number of those products filled into what the industry calls gusseted bags.  To gusset something is to reinforce a seam with fabric or material, and many bag styles fit this definition.  The great news is that BPI Labs can fill your product into many of these styles. 

    Above Picture: Shaped Standing Doy Pouch

    Unique Styles

    Bag Styles

    We’re able to fill shaped pouch, standup doy pouch, 3-side seal bags, side-spout pouch, and flat bottom bags, which are shown throughout this page.

    Shape Design

    Bags can be designed to have a unique shape that reflect your brand logo and a unique seal shape to bring those curves to the top of the bag.

    Pictured Left: Shaped Standing Doy Pouch with Side Spout and Shaped Seal

      Unique Features

      Zippers and Spouts

      One of the more appealing features of these bags is the ability to include zippers or other resealing mechanism to add convenience to the customer’s reuse of a product.

      Quality Screen Printing

      These bags are a stellar medium for high-quality screen printing and label design.  And if you need your product to speak for itself, then the bag can be made of a clear medium to showcase your uniquely styled ingredients.

      Pictured Right: Clear Standing Doy Pouch with Zipper

        Private Label Salt Products

        Technical Details

        Capacity

        Each bag can be filled with up to 2 kg. of mass, but our engineers assure us we can dial past that with some testing.  Our service is rated to produce 20~55 pieces per minute (PPM).

        Dimensions

        We’re able to fill bags anywhere from 120~260 mm. ( 4.72~10.24 in.) in width up to 130~400 mm.  (5.12~15.75 in.) in length.

          Pictured Left: Flat-Bottomed Bag with Zipper

            Get Started

            Bag Suppliers

            BPI Labs has a ready network of bag suppliers who can assist you in finding the perfect bag for your product and have it screen-printed with a jaw-dropping label.  Give your project manager at BPI Labs a call to get information on these suppliers.

            Start your Project at BPI Labs

            And if you’ve never met your project manager, Click Here to setup a first-time meeting.  We can’t wait!

            Pictured Right: 3-Side Seal Packet with Zipper and Standing Doy Pouches and Zippers

              Private Label Salt Products

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              Partnership Matters

              Partnership Matters

              by | Sep 15, 2018 | Stories

              How it all begins

              The owner of a small e-commerce website was having difficulty keeping her inventories stocked. This medical doctor and driven entrepreneur had contracted with another manufacturer to produce and deliver her self-formulated products.  Ten months had passed and her order of product was still not produced, even though she had placed a $35,000 down payment.  Meanwhile, demand for her brand of ethnic personal care products had only increased, and customers were seeing an increasing number of stock-out notices on product web pages.  Shortly before contacting BPI Labs, stock-out warnings had developed site-wide, and, with the situation growing more dire, our customer converted her own home into a provisional laboratory and processing area to fulfill customer orders.

              BPI Labs’ Response

              On February 12, 2012 BPI received a call from this entrepreneur, and with urgency, BPI set out to develop samples of her formulas for approval. First, BPI converted her formula processing instructions, which were optimized to work with household processing implements, into large-production processing instructions.  Second, BPI worked with the entrepreneur to create thoroughgoing specifications for product design so that BPI could ensure quality control on all production.  Finally, we expedited our order fulfillment process beyond our typical schedule to alleviate the back order situation.  Within weeks her inventories began to fill and the stock-out warnings were soon removed from her website. This is where the story gets interesting.

              This is where the story gets interesting

              Our Customer Contracts a Life Threatening Illness – Stockouts Loom

              BPI’s client contracted a life-threatening illness and was admitted into the hospital for 5 – 6 months. Like many of our clients, our customer would order and forward all of the packaging she used for her products to BPI’s factory before production.  But communication became difficult for her, consequently stock-outs were again threatening her company with losses and damaged reputation.  Because of our client’s embattled condition BPI made the unprompted decision to streamline her product ordering process so she could continue to operate her business.

              The Solution

              BPI proceeded to find suppliers for all of her materials, supplies, and packaging for her products, and then we negotiated lower prices resulting in an overall lower unit price for her products. BPI also located a product fulfillment house in nearby Salt Lake City that would fulfill and ship her customer’s orders.  The fulfillment house would now alert BPI when inventory was low, and BPI would begin coordinating with materials suppliers to ship the raw materials and packaging necessary to make her product and refill her inventory.  Now, our customer would only need to sign a purchase order to prevent stock outages.

              Conclusion: BPI Labs competes on relationship

              Today, after our client signs a purchase order, all raw materials and packaging are ordered by BPI Labs. Her SKUs will be produced and delivered to the fulfillment center where orders from her website are fulfilled automatically.  In spite of our client’s desperate plight, stock-outs will not threaten her company again, and moreover, her product has never been cheaper to produce.  Recently, the client has had the thrilling opportunity to begin stocking a major, national, retail outlet with her products.

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              Filling: Sample Size Your Personal Care Product with Packets

              Filling: Sample Size Your Personal Care Product with Packets

              by | Sep 9, 2018 | Filling Services

              What is your company doing to give your customers new ways to try your product?

              Packets are perfect for niche markets and new product adoption.  Our newly designed machine can fill your product into screen printed single-use packets that your customers will find simple to use and convenient to try.  Our service works with both wet and dry product.  Keep reading to see why you should be thinking about single-use packaging.

              BPI Labs cosmetic packet filling

              New Markets

              Packets are perfect for certain niche markets that desire single-use packaging. You can now position your product for travel markets with travel size packaging. Markets that require single-use packaging to prevent cross-contamination, like medical markets, will appreciate packets, as well as any market that wants frustration-free packaging that comes only at recommended use levels.

                Here’s some designs we’ve used.

                Create your own size, design, and look for wet or dry product.

                  BPI Labs cosmetic packet filling

                  Sample Packaging

                  Packets are extremely suitable for marketing your company’s new products. You can encourage prospects to try your products in packets at trade shows or you can send them in mass mailing campaigns. Packets are ideal to cross-promote with other products customers already purchase. Or if a consumer isn’t sure which of your new products to try, packets make it easy for the consumer to try all of your new products and decide which they like best.

                    Getting Started

                    If you believe packets might be good for your brands, then get in touch with a BPI Labs project manager. We have already found sources for packets, screen printing, and we’re now taking orders for clients. You should be putting your new products in packets and introducing your brand into new markets with trial size packaging.

                      See the new sachet machine demonstrate packet creation!

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