Being a beauty arm of a global fashion brand definitely a help not hindrance for Burberry!

When Burberry took its beauty business in-house in April 2013 all eyes were on to see how one of the world’s best known fashion brands would position itself in the beauty market and it has definitely helped according to its new product development team.

Speaking exclusively with CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com at the in-cosmetics event in Barcelona last week, Antonia Kenning, Regulatory Manager - New Product Development, Beauty, explains that it has been an advantage to draw on the global brand’s success in other markets.

“It is definitely a help to be part of a big global brand. Brand awareness is already there and established so it makes processes easier to follow and gives Burberry an advantage for positioning, when it comes to product and packaging,” she says.

“Now that it is in-house the expertise is in-house which means working with manufacturers very closely and working with the right people to be successful.”

Regulation responsibilities

Speaking in her own area of expertise, Antonia also explains that the new cosmetics regulation that came into play two years ago has also changed the beauty landscape.

“The new regulation brought in more definition, so there is more understanding for companies,” she says. “However, it has also brought in more administrative burden due to the added processes.”

This means that getting the right responsible person in the business is very important, as it requires someone with a background in manufacturing, technical, formulation, safety and they also need to sit in the right place in the supply chain.

“This has changed a lot as you used to be able to outsource it to third parties, but now a lot of companies are bringing it in-house,” Antonia adds.