I started making shampoo because I thought it was simple

When I thought selling shampoo was just about finding a bottle

I honestly thought that launching a cosmetic brand would be a side hustle I could manage from my desk. I spent a lot of time looking at EC21 and various wholesale sites, thinking I could just find a supplier, slap a label on a bottle, and start selling. It seemed straightforward. I looked at the requirements for becoming a cosmetics responsible vendor, and the paperwork alone was a headache. It wasn’t just about finding a good formula; it was about registering the business, dealing with manufacturing standards, and making sure I wasn’t violating any regulations. I remember staring at the screen for hours, trying to figure out if I needed a separate office space just to qualify for the registration. It turns out, you really do need to be meticulous about where your products are stored.

The reality of ODM and minimum order quantities

Once I started talking to actual manufacturers, the vibe shifted completely. I wasn’t just ‘picking a product.’ I was dealing with ODM (Original Development Manufacturing) processes that felt like they were designed for someone with a much bigger budget. When I asked about small-batch production, the tone from the manufacturers changed. It wasn’t exactly cold, but it was clear that my order size was barely worth their time. I remember thinking about how big companies like Daebong LS manage these massive government-funded projects for precision fermentation ingredients, while I’m just trying to get someone to pay attention to my pump design. The scale difference is jarring. I felt like a small fish in a very deep, high-tech pond.

The endless cycle of detail pages and marketing

Even after you sort out the product, you have to talk about the ‘detail page.’ Everyone says you need an amazing page to convert customers, but sitting down to write the copy for a shampoo bottle is soul-crushing. I didn’t want to sound like a professional marketer or a corporate robot, but I also didn’t want to sound like I had no idea what I was doing. I spent about three weeks just adjusting the color of the text and the layout of the images. I even considered hiring a freelancer to handle it, but the quotes I got were honestly more than what I was willing to risk. It’s funny—you spend so much time worrying about the chemicals inside the bottle that you forget how much energy the marketing side eats up.

Waiting for the pump to arrive

There was a moment last month where everything stopped because the pumps for the bottles were on backorder. It sounds like such a stupid thing to get held up on, but it was incredibly annoying. You can’t sell a bottle of shampoo without a pump, obviously. The supplier told me it would take two weeks, but it ended up being closer to a month. I just sat there with a garage full of filled bottles, waiting for these plastic components. It was a weirdly quiet time. I found myself thinking about those people who get certifications like a private detective license just to fill their time or gain a specific skill, and I wondered if I should have just done something simpler.

Still not sure if this was the right move

I’m currently selling a small amount, and the margins are… well, they aren’t what I imagined they would be after accounting for the initial investment and the shipping costs. I look at the news sometimes, reading about companies like Hugel and their massive expansion into the US market, and I feel like I’m playing a completely different game. I don’t really have a clear plan for next month. I’m just trying to move the inventory I have, and every time someone buys a bottle, I feel a mix of relief and exhaustion. I don’t know if I’ll keep doing this once this batch runs out. It wasn’t a total failure, but it definitely wasn’t the ‘easy money’ I pictured when I first started reading about online businesses.