Every month, another creator announces they're launching a beauty brand. And every month, I watch talented people walk into problems they didn't know existed.
Having 2 million followers is a genuine advantage. It means you can skip the "how do we get anyone to care" phase that kills most indie brands. But an audience is not a business, and the gap between the two is where creators get hurt.
The compliance wall
Your audience loves your recommendations. So you decide to launch a serum. Simple, right?
Then you learn about EU cosmetics regulations. CPNP notification. Safety assessments that take 8-12 weeks. Claims substantiation - you can't say "anti-ageing" without clinical evidence. Ingredient restrictions that differ between the UK, EU, and US. Labelling requirements down to the font size of your INCI list.
I've seen creators announce launch dates publicly, then scramble to delay because their safety assessment isn't complete. That's a brand credibility hit before you've sold a single unit.
Supply chain reality
Finding a contract manufacturer who'll produce your dream formula at your price point in your timeline is genuinely hard. Good manufacturers are booked months in advance. Minimum order quantities mean you need to commit tens of thousands of pounds before you've validated demand.
Then there's packaging. Custom moulds for bottles cost £15-40k. Lead times are 12-16 weeks. And if your audience expects luxury packaging because that's what you feature on your channel, off-the-shelf stock packaging might not cut it.
The brands that navigate this well start small - fewer SKUs, stock packaging with beautiful labels, lower MOQs from flexible manufacturers. They prove demand before investing in custom everything.
Customer service is a full-time job
When you have an audience, you also have expectations. Your followers expect the same responsiveness from your brand that they get from your DMs. When their order is late, they'll tag you publicly. When they have a reaction to your product, they'll post about it.
Most creators underestimate customer service volume by 5-10x. And unlike content creation, you can't batch it. A customer complaint at 11pm on a Sunday needs a response.
Budget for a customer service solution from day one. Whether that's a dedicated person, a shared service, or an AI-assisted system, don't assume you'll handle it yourself.
Cash flow will surprise you
Here's a rough timeline: you pay your manufacturer 50% upfront and 50% on delivery. Product arrives in your warehouse. You launch. Sales come in - but payment processors hold funds for 7-14 days for new merchants. Meanwhile, you need to fund your next production run because you sold through faster than expected.
The cash gap between paying suppliers and receiving revenue is where creator brands get squeezed. I've worked with founders who had £500k in sales their first month and still couldn't pay their supplier for month two.
What works
The creators who build lasting brands treat the business with the same seriousness they treat their content. They hire operators early. They learn the regulatory landscape before they brief a formulator. They keep their SKU count tight. They build systems instead of doing everything personally.
Your audience gives you a head start. But the race is won by operations, not influence.