Bring Your Own Formula Manufacturer. Your Recipe, Our Lab.
A chemist-led contract manufacturer in Chicago for brands that already hold the formula. Tech transfer, pilot validation, and production — pilot to production in weeks, not months.
You wrote the formula. We make it.
Formula 117 is a bring your own formula manufacturer for brands that already hold the recipe — developed in-house, inherited from a previous CM, or written by a contract chemist. The work is tech transfer, pilot validation, and a production floor that respects what you've already built.
The path is faster than custom or reverse work because the formulation question is settled. We don't second-guess your recipe. We read the master batch document, qualify the raw materials and supply chain, run a pilot, validate against your acceptance criteria, then take it to production. A degreed cosmetic chemist runs every transfer in-house — not a project manager handing your formula to a fill line.
Your IP stays yours. We do not retain the formula, do not repurpose it into a private label library, and do not contract around your right to take it elsewhere. The deliverable is reliable manufacturing of your formula at our MOQ of 500 units, scalable into small-to-mid volume runs. Every transfer happens inside our chemist-founded lab, so the chemist reviewing your master batch is the same chemist on the production floor.
Transfer to production in four stages.
Formula intake, master batch review, raw material list, supply chain audit, packaging spec, regulatory and claims review. We confirm the formula is manufacturable as written and surface anything that needs to be resolved before the floor.
Equipment mapping, batch sheet authoring, processing parameter translation from your origin spec to our line. Where a substitution is required (raw material, supplier, equipment), we propose it and document the justification.
Small-scale run against your acceptance criteria — viscosity, pH, sensorial, microbial, fill weight. Side-by-side comparison to your reference sample. Iteration if needed before the production sign-off.
First commercial run at MOQ 500. Component qualification. Ongoing production scheduled against your reorder cadence, scaling through small-to-mid volume.
What we transfer cleanly.
Common questions.
How long does BYOF tech transfer and production take?+
End-to-end runs 8–10 weeks for a clean transfer with no formula changes. Discovery 2 weeks, tech transfer 2–3 weeks, pilot validation 3 weeks, first production 1–2 weeks. Transfers requiring raw material substitution, equipment-driven reformulation, or re-stabilization extend beyond this range and may add a partial stability protocol.
Do I need to share confidential formula details with you?+
Yes — the master batch document is the input. Formula 117 operates under MNDA (mutual non-disclosure) before any formula is shared, and your IP is contractually protected end-to-end. We do not file your formula into a library, do not share it with other clients, and do not repurpose it into private label. The MNDA template is available on request.
What is the MOQ for BYOF production?+
500 units per SKU is the production-floor minimum. Per-unit manufacturing settles at $2–$3+ once volumes reach 2,500–5,000 units in subsequent runs. BYOF pricing is per-unit (not project-based like custom development) because the formulation work is already done.
What if my formula needs to change to manufacture cleanly?+
Sometimes it does. A raw material is discontinued, a preservative isn't broad-spectrum enough at scale, an emulsifier isn't compatible with our equipment. We propose the substitution, document the justification, and run a pilot before locking it. Substitutions stay minimal and never alter the formula's core intent without your sign-off.
Can I move my formula somewhere else after you manufacture it?+
Yes. The formula is yours, the master batch document is yours, and the contract does not lock you to Formula 117. We earn the next run by being good at this one. If a different manufacturer fits your scale or geography better, take the documentation and go.
Ready to start production?
Send your project details. You'll hear back within 48–72 hours with next steps.
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