Beauty lab in Bedford works with entrepreneurs to launch skincare products, cosmetics
Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
A Bedford-based beauty lab that works with beauty entrepreneurs to launch their products has received a manufacturing grant that will greatly increase its production capacity.
Genie Supply was awarded an $80,000 grant from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s Manufacturing Readiness Grants program.
Genie Supply President Megan Cox said the automated equipment will be the biggest machinery investment she has made.
“This is a nice opportunity for us,” she said. “One of the major concerns with manufacturing is it’s so capital intensive.”
One of the machines will fill and cap dropper bottles.
“The really nice thing is it increases our capacity by 5 to 10 fold without requiring more labor,” Cox said.
Genie Supply currently has machines to fill bottles, but the process requires hands-on labor.
To accommodate the new machinery, Cox purchased the former UAW Hall, 1411 H St., and will be moving her business to the new location. She anticipates the new machinery will be in operation in spring 2023.
Beauty revolution
Currently located in a small pink building just a few blocks from downtown Bedford, Genie Supply is part of a growing beauty revolution where start-ups are quietly finding their niche in a global industry that has been dominated for years by big names.
With a staff of chemists and assemblers, Genie Supply provides custom formulating, packaging sourcing, screenprinting, filling and assembly.
Customers can select from a set of stock formulations that have been researched and tested or they can create a custom formulation with a Genie Supply chemist.
“We help them with every part of the process. We work through testing, research and packaging on products,” Cox said. “We do the manufacturing here in Bedford.”
Cox opened her beauty lab at 1010 17th St., in Bedford in February 2018, working with entrepreneurs to start new cosmetic and skin care products.
Since opening, she and her staff of chemists have worked with 200 to 300 brands, assisting with every facet of production. Many of the brands Genie Supply has worked with have ended up in national retailers.
“We specifically cater to start-ups,” Cox said. “Minimum orders we have are 10 times lower than our nearest competitor.”
Cox is passionate about working with entrepreneurs because she was one herself.
Cox was a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology when she created Wink, an eyelash growth serum. She later created her own skin care brand, Amalie Beauty, which she sold in 2018.
From the beginning, Cox faced challenges as a start-up. As a new brand, her product volumes were small and most American companies only handle larger orders.
A determined problem-solver, she went to China to learn about the packaging process and stayed there for a couple of years. Her knowledge led to other businesses contacting her and she began consulting.
“Through my own experience I realized this was a huge gap in the process and China wasn’t going to be able to fill in the gaps. There are similar labs, but not labs similar to us that cater to start-ups,” she said. “This is the service I was looking for when I started. That’s what I created.”
Growth of indie brands
The number of beauty brands has exploded over the past 10 years, said Cox.
The beauty industry, which includes cosmetics, skin care, fragrance and personal care, generated global sales of $511 billion in 2021.
Social media platforms and YouTube are paving the way for more entrepreneurs to reach customers is a change in the landscape. Indie brands can reach their audience online and use a direct to consumer model instead of relying on retail partnerships.
Cox lets her customers know up front that the industry is highly competitive and the brands that are successful know their niche and how to find those customers.
One question that Cox gets asked a lot is does she make her own line of skin care. As much as she enjoys helping beauty start-ups, Cox missed having a brand. In 2021, Genie Supply launched XYZ Skin. The brand is dedicated to creating “affordably priced and environmentally conscious skincare.”
“It’s meant for generations XYZ, in other words, for everybody,” she said.
Genie Supply employs about 30 people, with 10 employees based in Indiana and the others working remotely.
Cox said southern Indiana has been a good place for Genie Supply.
“I feel we’ve been able to create a space where we can all collaborate together. And I do think the city and the state have been really receptive to what we’re doing.”