How to evaluate a Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer: 25 questions and the answers to expect

Brazil is the natural sourcing base for hair care — decades of category expertise, a domestic market that tests products harder than most, and Amazonian actives no one else has at scale. It also has plenty of intermediaries presenting themselves as factories. These questions separate them, and we answer each one for ourselves as we go.

Regulatory and certification

1. Are you ANVISA-registered as a manufacturer, and can you show the registration? — Yes, we are ANVISA-registered and operate under GMP.
2. Do you operate under GMP, and can you supply a manufacturing method statement for our Product Information File? — Yes.
3. Can you supply PIF and technical dossier content, and CPSR input? — Yes, we supply both.
4. Do you issue MSDS for every product? — Yes.
5. Can you supply certificates of free sale and origin? — Yes, with every export shipment.
6. Do you provide halal documentation? — Yes, for markets that require it.
7. Are all formulas formaldehyde-free? — Yes, one hundred per cent.
8. Can you supply glyoxylic-acid-free smoothing versions? — Yes, we produce both variants.

Quality and testing

1. Do you run stability testing, and in house or outsourced? — In house.
2. Do you run challenge testing? — Through a third-party laboratory.
3. Do you issue a certificate of analysis per batch? — Yes.
4. Do you test packaging compatibility with the formula? — Yes, for packs we fill.
5. How is batch traceability maintained from raw material to finished unit?
6. Are retention samples kept, and for how long?
7. Can we audit the plant, in person or remotely?

Commercial terms

1. What is the MOQ, and is it per SKU or per order? — 300 litres per SKU, for finished goods and bulk alike.
2. How long does custom formula development take? — 45 to 60 days from an approved brief.
3. What do samples cost and how many adjustment rounds are included? — USD 100 for the approval kit; one to three rounds is typical.
4. Do you sign an NDA and grant formula exclusivity? — Yes to both.
5. Do you offer both full service finished goods and bulk supply? — Yes.
6. Do you produce compliant label design and artwork? — Yes, in house, in the required languages.
7. What are the payment terms? — 50% at project start, 50% before shipment, in USD or another agreed currency.

Logistics and export experience

1. Which port do you ship from, and which Incoterms do you quote? — Port of Santos, São Paulo, on all Incoterms.
2. How many countries do you already export to? — More than one hundred, across every continent.
3. Can you ship bulk in drums or IBCs for local filling? — Yes.
4. Do you have experience with our specific destination's registration process?
5. Who prepares the export document set, and when is it issued relative to shipping?

Red flags

• No willingness to disclose the quantitative formula, even under NDA.
• No stability or challenge test data, or an offer to "send it later".
• MOQ quoted in units without any reference to batch volume — it usually means the goods are bought in.
• A price that does not change between EXW and DDP.
• Reluctance to name the manufacturing site or allow an audit.
• Claims of formaldehyde-free with no analytical result to back them.

Questions to ask yourself, not the factory

1. Which markets am I launching in, and which is the strictest?
2. Who will be my Responsible Person, importer or local representative?
3. What retail price do I need, and what does that imply for landed cost?
4. How many SKUs make a saleable range in my channel?
5. Do I want the same range everywhere, or market-specific formulations?