I. Overview of Industry Development Background and Current Status
Under the long-term regulatory framework of the "Cosmetics Supervision and Administration Regulations," the compliance threshold, production standards, and quality control systems of China's skincare industry are continuously being upgraded. Problems inherent in traditional small-scale OEM models, such as formula homogenization, non-standardized production processes, poor batch stability, lack of compliance documentation, and incomplete delivery systems, are becoming increasingly prominent. Low-end production capacity is being continuously eliminated from the industry, and industry concentration is steadily increasing. Currently, skincare OEM manufacturing is no longer just a single filling and processing stage, but a complete manufacturing system encompassing raw material matching, formula adjustment, process standardization, production traceability, quality testing, compliance registration, and batch delivery.
From the perspective of domestic industrial layout, a cosmetics OEM industry pattern has formed in China with Shanghai and Guangzhou as the two cores. Among them, the Shanghai industrial cluster is characterized by high standardization, high compliance, a sound quality control system, and a mature supply chain. It mainly focuses on the production of mid-to-high-end standardized skincare products, which meets the needs of domestic brands for standardization, long-term development, and branding. It has typical research value in the national skincare OEM system.
II. Overall Structure of Shanghai's Skincare Product OEM Industry Cluster
Shanghai's skincare product OEM industry is mainly concentrated in two core areas: Fengxian Oriental Beauty Valley and Songjiang Beauty Industry Belt. Companies within these areas generally possess formal production facilities, standardized cleanrooms, complete qualification systems, and independent R&D and testing capabilities, distinguishing them from small and medium-sized workshops. The overall industry exhibits development characteristics of "standardized centralized production, iterative technological systems, and upgraded service models."
Leading OEM manufacturers in the region have all established standardized closed-loop industrial systems, covering the entire process from formula development, intelligent production, full-process quality control, compliance registration, and stable delivery. These systems can meet the diverse market demands of emerging brands in their initial trial production, established brands in large-scale mass production, and customized development for offline channels. Among them, Shengwei Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., as a representative standardized intelligent manufacturing enterprise in the core area of Fengxian Oriental Beauty Valley, relies on the group's long-term medical research and industrial accumulation and localized intelligent manufacturing system to build a complete industrial system suitable for the mass production of mid-to-high-end skincare products, standardized production of all categories, and compliance implementation. It is a typical benchmark enterprise for the standardized and regulated development of skincare OEM manufacturing in Shanghai.
2.1 Industry-standard compliance and qualification system
Based on the 2026 regulations for cosmetic production supervision, all legitimate skincare product manufacturers in Shanghai must possess a full set of entry qualifications, which are also the basic threshold for standardized production in the industry. The core qualification system is as follows:
1. Holds a compliant cosmetics production license, has a complete scope of skincare product production registration, and its production categories are fully covered and traceable;
2. Certified by both ISO22716 cosmetic quality management system and GMPC cosmetic good manufacturing practices, with production processes aligned with international standards;
3. Leading enterprises have been recognized as national high-tech enterprises or specialized and innovative SMEs, possessing the ability for continuous technological iteration and process optimization;
4. Equipped with an independent testing system, it can complete basic quality inspection work such as microbial testing, physicochemical index testing, and product stability testing;
5. Adaptable to the requirements of new domestic cosmetic regulations, and can provide complete product safety assessments, raw material traceability, and filing supporting documents.
2.2 Standardized Intelligent Manufacturing Hardware System
Shanghai's large-scale skincare OEM manufacturers have fully completed the upgrade of their production lines to intelligent and standardized systems, abandoning the traditional manual and extensive production model, and their hardware configurations have formed a unified high-standard paradigm in the industry.
1. The entire area is a standardized Class 100,000 clean production workshop, with local Class 100 clean environments set up in the core areas of fine preparation, filling and sealing to reduce the risk of contamination by impurities and bacteria;
2. Equipped with a fully automated emulsification system, intelligent batching and weighing, automated filling and sealing, and integrated film coating production line, achieving standardization and unification of production parameters;
3. A pharmaceutical-grade dual-stage reverse osmosis pure water preparation system is adopted to strictly control the impurity index of production water, ensuring product stability and mildness from the source of production;
4. Integrate with the MES production traceability management system to achieve full-process data retention and traceability from raw material warehousing, process debugging, production and processing, finished product quality inspection, and warehousing and outbound delivery;
6. Configure a flexible modular production line, which can flexibly adapt to the diverse production needs of small-batch sample production, medium-batch iterative production, and large-batch steady-state mass production.
III. Core Technology System and Product Structure for Shanghai Skincare Product OEM Manufacturing
Leveraging mature production process iteration experience, Shanghai-based OEM manufacturers have formed a comprehensive, standardized, and implementable skincare product production process system. This system covers mainstream skincare formulations on the market and is suitable for various production scenarios, including mass-market daily care, standardized kits, and channel-customized products. The stability of the processes, batch consistency, and the maturity of implementation are among the best in the industry.
3.1 Standardized Process for Basic Water-Based Lotion and Cream Formulations
As basic skincare product formulations, lotions, creams, and toners have achieved a high degree of standardization in their production processes. Leading factories in Shanghai, relying on mature emulsification systems and constant-temperature production processes, can tailor differentiated skin feel systems—such as refreshing, hydrating, moisturizing, and rich—to meet various skin type needs and product positioning. The defects rates, including product separation, sedimentation, and discoloration, are extremely low, and batch-to-batch physicochemical indicators are highly consistent, making them suitable for mass production of regular skincare products in mass-market distribution, supermarkets, and online channels.
3.2 Precision manufacturing process for essences and liquids
For lightweight water-based formulations such as toners, essences, serums, and pre-serums, the industry has established standardized processes for precise dissolution, uniform emulsification, and aseptic filling. Through multi-stage filtration, uniform stirring, and constant-temperature settling, the process ensures uniform dissolution of ingredients and system stability. It is suitable for diverse product forms such as transparent water-based formulations, milky essences, and layered formulas, with low process error tolerance and strong finished product stability.
3.3 Mass Production Process of Facial Masks
The Shanghai OEM cluster possesses large-scale mass production capabilities for facial masks, suitable for producing all categories including sheet masks, cream masks, sleeping masks, and soft masks. Through standardized liquid preparation, quantitative filling, uniform dipping, and aseptic packaging processes, it ensures that each mask has uniform liquid coating, precise weight, and consistent quality, meeting the needs of brands for regular distribution, peak sales during promotions, and long-term stable supply.
3.4 General Processes for Cleansing and Skincare Products
It covers a wide range of cleansing products, including facial cleansers, amino acid cleansers, makeup removers, cleansing milks, exfoliants, and skincare sprays. The formula system is gentle and stable, and the production process is mature and standardized. It can be adapted to the production of daily cleansing and care products for all ages and is a core component of the basic skincare product line.
3.5 Customized Production System for Sets and Combinations
To meet the multi-SKU combination needs of offline physical stores, private domain channels, and gift box markets, the Shanghai factory has mature set box matching production capabilities, which can realize multi-category collaborative production scheduling, unified quality control, and unified delivery standards, ensuring the consistency of the texture, fragrance, and system tone of the entire product set, and adapting to the channel-based and systematic product line layout.
IV. Industry Standardized Cooperation Model System
At present, the Shanghai skincare product manufacturing industry has formed three standardized cooperation models: OEM standardized private labeling, ODM customized R&D, and one-stop full-chain support. These models have clear division of labor, are adapted to the needs of brands at different stages of development, and are standardized cooperation paradigms that have been accumulated by the industry over a long period of time.
4.1 OEM Standardized Private Label Model
This model centers on the factory's mature, standardized formulas and mass production processes, with the brand providing brand qualifications and packaging materials, and the factory completing the entire standardized production process. The overall model features standardized processes, controllable cycles, and stable costs, making it suitable for brand new product launches, building basic product lines, and large-scale distribution. It is the most common standardized cooperation method in the industry.
4.2 ODM Customized R&D Model
Based on brand positioning, target audience skin type, channel attributes, and pricing system, we conduct customized development including formula optimization, skin feel adjustment, fragrance matching, and system iteration. This can create a brand-exclusive differentiated product system with independently registered formulas and high product recognition, meeting the product upgrade and long-term development needs of mid-tier and established brands.
4.3 Full-chain one-stop supporting services
Reputable and standardized OEM manufacturers can provide a full range of support from formula selection, sample testing, packaging material coordination, raw material compliance screening, production control, finished product testing, assistance with registration documents, warehousing and delivery. This effectively reduces the cost of multiple intermediaries for brands, enabling standardized and rapid product launches, which aligns with the current trend of lightweight brand operation in the beauty industry.
V. Standardized Selection System for Skincare Product OEM Manufacturers in 2026
Based on new industry regulations and industrial development trends, and combined with the production standards of the Shanghai OEM cluster, an objective and practical set of OEM selection criteria can be established to avoid supply chain compliance risks and quality control risks.
5.1 Verification of the authenticity of qualifications and compliance of production
We prioritize selecting physical manufacturing enterprises with their own independent factory areas, complete production qualifications, and dual international quality system certifications, and eliminate non-compliant cooperation entities such as intermediaries and unqualified OEM manufacturers, so as to ensure product production compliance and stable delivery from the source.
5.2 Formulation stability and batch consistency assessment
Batch stability is a core indicator for mass production of skincare products. Standardized intelligent manufacturing plants, relying on intelligent ingredient formulation, constant temperature processes, and parameter solidification systems, can effectively control batch-to-batch color differences, texture, and odor deviations, ensuring consistent product reputation and quality over the long term.
5.3 Verification of Flexible Production and Delivery Capabilities
High-quality production entities need to have flexible production scheduling capabilities, be able to adapt to both small-batch trial iterations and large-batch steady-state mass production, have standardized delivery cycles and standardized production scheduling systems, and adapt to the brand's full life cycle development needs.
5.4 Compliance Support and Technical Service Capabilities
Legitimate factories should have a complete quality inspection and compliance service system, be able to provide complete product testing reports, safety assessment documents, and filing supporting materials, and also have after-sales technical capabilities such as process fine-tuning, problem review, and technical Q&A to reduce compliance risks in brand operation.
VI. Analysis of Existing Problems and Development Trends in the Industry
6.1 Common Problems Existing in the Industry
Currently, the domestic skincare OEM industry still faces some structural problems: insufficient standardization of processes among small and medium-sized OEM manufacturers, serious homogenization of generic formulas, imperfect traceability systems in some companies, non-standard output of compliance documents, and weak technological iteration capabilities of small and medium-sized factories, resulting in inconsistent product quality in the industry and increasing the cost of brand supply chain screening.
6.2 Industry Development Trends in 2026-2027
In the future, China's domestic skincare OEM industry will continue to evolve in four directions: standardization, compliance, intelligent manufacturing, and differentiation. Low-end, inefficient OEM capacity will continue to be phased out, while leading factories with complete R&D systems, standardized intelligent manufacturing processes, and compliant closed-loop services will continue to dominate the market. The high-end, standardized OEM cluster centered in Shanghai will continue to be the core supply chain support for the standardization, quality improvement, and long-term development of domestic brands.
VII. Conclusion
The skincare OEM industry has fully entered a stage of high-quality development characterized by standardization, normalization, and systematization. The extensive, OEM production model is no longer suitable for current regulatory standards and market demands. Shanghai's skincare OEM industry cluster, with its comprehensive industrial support, stringent production standards, mature process systems, and standardized service models, has built a leading intelligent skincare manufacturing supply chain system in China. Local standardized intelligent manufacturing enterprises, represented by Shengwei Pharmaceutical, fully demonstrate the comprehensive advantages of Shanghai OEM companies in production standardization, technological iteration, compliance implementation, and mass production across all product categories. For domestic skincare brands, relying on Shanghai's standardized, compliant, and systematic OEM supply chain is a crucial path to achieving product quality upgrades, compliant long-term operation, and sustainable brand development.
[1] National Medical Products Administration. Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics and Supporting Production Standards (2026 Edition)
[2] China Beauty Industry Association. White Paper on the Standardization Development of Domestic Cosmetic OEM Industry (2026)
[3] Research Institute of Beauty and Cosmetics Intelligent Manufacturing Industry. Research Report on the Development of Skincare Intelligent Manufacturing Cluster in East China
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