Manufacturing guide
Serum manufacturing: six formats, and the packaging decision that sets the price
A serum brief usually arrives as an active ingredient. What decides the cost, the shelf life and the retail price is the pack it goes into and the stability work behind it. Here are the six serum routes we run, with the real minimums, lead times and the listing data where it exists.
The serum routes we run
Single-dose PDRN / salmon DNA serum
Unit-dose where the format is part of the product story. 5,217 pcs sold at US$1.42–1.74 per unit on our storefront listing — the highest per-unit price in our serum range.
What you specify: PDRN concentration, dose volume, seal type, and secondary packaging that keeps the units upright in the carton.
Niacinamide + hyaluronic acid
The workhorse brightening and barrier serum — the formula most private-label brands start with, because the actives are widely recognised and the claim set is straightforward.
What you specify: Niacinamide percentage, HA molecular weight blend, viscosity and pump compatibility.
Vitamin C (stabilised)
Positioning-led serum where the active is the SKU. Sold in dropper or airless pump bottles, and usually quoted for a larger first run.
What you specify: Derivative choice, concentration, antioxidant packaging (airless preferred over dropper for stability), fill volume.
Snail mucin
The K-beauty repeat-purchase serum, often specified in a larger dropper format because consumers treat it as a daily product.
What you specify: Mucin percentage, filtration grade, preservative system, bottle size (one of our specifications runs a 110 ml dropper).
Microlitre / microneedling peptide
Precision-dose serums that pair with a microneedling routine — smaller fills, more technical positioning, and a claim set that has to be written carefully.
What you specify: Peptide system, fill in microlitre terms, applicator, and the claim language your market allows.
Single-dose collagen (Korean format)
Same unit-dose logic applied to a collagen hydration serum — travel sizes, sampler sets and gift-with-purchase programmes.
What you specify: Fill volume, vial or ampoule format, closure, and carton artwork.
What a serum project actually involves
- Formulation with your actives — developed by 12 in-house formulation scientists; the target market decides which actives are acceptable and at what level.
- Stability runs in parallel with sampling — accelerated and long-term (3–6 months), plus compatibility and microbial challenge testing.
- Pack compatibility — the bottle, dropper or pump is tested with the fill, not chosen after the fact; that is where a serum launch usually slips.
- Label and claim review — the INCI list and the claims are checked against the destination market before artwork goes to print.
- Documentation — MSDS, COA, INCI, stability reports, and the market-specific paperwork your importer or consultant needs.
Verifying the plant
Serums are filled in the same plant as the rest of the catalogue: 8 production lines, a Grade D cleanroom, an in-house microbiology laboratory, and SGS-issued GMPC and ISO 22716 certificates covering liquid and gel units as well as mask formats. Certificate numbers and the transport classification reports are published so a buyer can check them.
Buyer questions
Dropper, airless pump or single-dose — how should we choose?▾
Each one changes both the stability story and the retail price point. A dropper is the cheapest and reads as a classic serum, but it exposes the fill to air on every use. An airless pump protects the fill and is the usual pick for oxidisable actives such as vitamin C. Single dose removes the in-use question entirely and carries the highest unit price — the PDRN listing behind this page sells at US$1.42–1.74 per unit against US$0.35–0.45 for our sheet masks. Choose the channel first, then the pack.
What is the MOQ for a serum?▾
1,000 units per SKU for most specifications, with private-label runs on an existing formula able to start lower (from 500 units). Some SKUs quote 3,000 units where the packaging or the active route requires a longer setup. MOQ does not change by destination market.
How is stability handled for a serum?▾
Accelerated and long-term stability testing (3–6 months), packaging compatibility testing, microbial challenge testing and efficacy testing are part of a formulation project, not an extra. That work runs alongside sampling, so by the time a sample is approved the stability picture is already underway — which is the difference between a 45-day launch and a three-month one.
What documentation does a serum need for the EU or the US?▾
For the EU: a CPSR signed by a qualified safety assessor — we supply the technical dossier behind it (formula, INCI, stability, microbiological data and the GMPC certificate) and work to your responsible person’s timeline for CPNP notification. For the US: MoCRA facility registration is already held under FEI 3015316073 with 19 product listings, and we prepare the product information for listing your SKUs. MSDS, COA and INCI travel with the goods.
Send your active ingredient list, the pack you have in mind and your market — you will get the formulation route, pack recommendation, MOQ, stability timeline and documentation list back.