The carton says something different
A stockist's customer emails to ask why the ingredient list on the website does not match the one on the box. Both were typed by hand at different times. The formula changed a thickener last year; the web listing was updated, the carton artwork was not, because a large stock of printed cartons was still being used.
Nobody set out to mislead anyone. The ingredient list simply exists in four places (formula spreadsheet, artwork file, website, retailer listings), and each was updated separately.
Why lists drift
Building an ingredient list from a formula is fiddly: raw materials are often blends with several INCI names, carriers and preservatives within them add names, and the order depends on the combined percentages. It is done by hand, once, and then copied.
- Raw materials are blends, and their INCI breakdown sits in the supplier's documents, not the formula.
- The list is worked out by hand in a spreadsheet and typed into artwork.
- Formula changes do not trigger a check of the ingredient list.
- Printed packaging stock outlives formula changes.
- Website and retailer listings are updated separately again.
What a wrong list costs
Mismatches between the pack and the product erode trust with customers and retailers, and can lead to stock being withdrawn or repackaged. Reprinting artwork is expensive. What your labels must say, and how, is for you, your safety assessor and your adviser to decide. We give you an accurate starting point generated from the formula and make sure changes are noticed.
There is also the time spent. Every new product and every formula change means someone working through supplier documents with a calculator.
Brand clients add another layer. When you manufacture for other brands, they need the ingredient list for their own artwork, and they often retype it from your email into their designer's file. Any difference between what you sent and what they printed is still a product coming out of your factory with the wrong list on it.
Generating the list from the formula
- Each raw material is recorded with its INCI breakdown and proportions, taken from the supplier's documents and checked by a person.
- The system combines the approved formula with those breakdowns to calculate each INCI name's total, and produces the list in descending order, following the rules for order and presentation that you and your adviser set.
- The generated list is shown for approval, with the working behind it, so the person approving can see where each name came from.
- The approved list is stored against the formula version and becomes the source for artwork, website and retailer listings.
- The current artwork's list, read from the artwork PDF, is compared with the approved list, and any difference is highlighted.
- When a formula version changes, the list is regenerated and any difference flags artwork, website and listings for review.
| Step | By hand | Generated |
|---|---|---|
| Blends and carriers | Looked up each time | Held per raw material |
| Ordering | Worked out in a spreadsheet | Calculated from the formula |
| Checking artwork | By eye | Differences highlighted |
| Formula change | List may not be revisited | Regenerated and flagged |
One list, from one source
The ingredient list is worked out once, from the formula, and approved by a named person. Artwork, the website and retailer listings take it from the same place. When a formula changes, you find out which packaging and listings are affected straight away, and can decide how to handle the printed stock with the facts in front of you.
Warning signs
- Ingredient lists are worked out by hand.
- The list exists separately in artwork, website and retailer listings.
- Formula changes have not reached the packaging.
- Customers or retailers have pointed out a mismatch.
- Only one person can build an INCI list.