If you run a natural or organic brand, chances are you are hoping to design, create, and launch a product. It may be your first one, or it may be part of an ongoing collection in your brand. Be it skincare, cosmetics, clean beauty, herbal, aroma, tea-and-coffee, chocolate, or organic food & beverage, your product launch must be DONE RIGHT in order to get the success your brand deserves.

After launching and selling wildly successful physical natural & organic products (in addition to online and digital products), I'm happy to share with you 11 key things you MUST do PRIOR to tackling that big product launch. Salve or ointment? Check. New tea blend? Yes. Skincare or clean beauty star? Most definitely. Follow these steps.

Before you launch any new product -- especially a new food, beverage, lotion, soap, tincture, or package of organic goodies -- follow these steps. These are extremely useful things I've gleaned over my career as an herbalist and entrepreneur that will save you time and money and will ease the frustration and stress that can come with delivering a new star for your brand.

What Should I Do BEFORE I Launch My Product?

First, download the FREE planner above. It will walk you through everything you need so you don't forget any steps while you're in the heyday of launching your new star product.

While you're filling out the planner with dates and to-do action steps, explore these key 11 steps you need to take before birthing your fantastic product out into the world. Remember: if you need more guidance, I'm here with 1:1 coaching.

1. Identify your ideal customer

You don't want your product to be for just everyone. A broad audience leads to poor sales and confused customers. You want customers to feel as if you are speaking directly to them and that you understand their challenges and needs intimately.

Determine your ideal customer (sometimes called an avatar) as one of the first things you do, so that you know exactly who you're talking to with your marketing and package design. You'll cover this when you enroll in the online course Essential Business Startup.

2. Decide retail or wholesale

Will you sell direct to customers (B2C)? Or will you hire a distributor to take your products to bigger stores and sell at wholesale rates?

Trust me, especially for young brands, it's very difficult to do both at the same time. They are very different animals! In my course, I'll help you decide which method works best for your business. And it's no simple decision--in fact, deciding whether you'll sell retail or wholesale will impact your catalog, pricing structure, delivery methods, warehousing, labeling, and taxes.

3. Identify your brand’s environmental or social mission or purpose

You aren't required to have a mission or purpose, but customers are increasingly more loyal to brands that do. Especially Gen X and Gen Z, who strongly favor brands that are transparent about their environmental and social goals.

Often a company develops a (positive) reputation based on their commitments. It's a strong way to show what you believe in... and how you intend to act on your beliefs.

Don't know where to start? Our online course Natural Brand Certifications features dozens of commitments including certified organic, fair trade, cruelty free, climate positive, ocean friendly, women- and minority-owned, and many more, and shows you how to determine what is most relevant for your brand.

4. Set up your business legally

It's important to make sure you've set everything up legally and correctly. Mistakes are costly and every state has different requirements. This means making sure you've set up as a sole proprietor OR a single-member LLC OR a partner LLC OR a corporation (which can include a B Corp). There are many choices and while they're not extremely complicated, the way you initially set up your business will impact everything from taxes to vendor relationships to growth and scale.

Our online course Essential Business Startup shows you how to decide if your business should be a sole proprietorship, an LLC, a corporation, or even a benefit corporation. It even covers trademarking a product (and it's available as part of our 20% off Product Maker's Business Bundle).

5. Get certified organic, or know how to vet organic ingredients from your suppliers

You may want to certify an entire product (or line, or brand) as organic.

But even if you're not planning to get your final product certified organic by the USDA, you'll probably purchase organic ingredients. How do you vet your suppliers?

How do you include organic terms on your labels and website? Customers look carefully so you must know your way around the organic world. Learn more about organic ingredients and suppliers here.

6. Identify which vendors/suppliers you’ll use and set up an ordering process

Is your head spinning with all the vendors you could choose from? Where will you get your ingredients? Whom can you trust? Whose shipping policies are most favorable?

You'll need to establish a process for identifying your vendor partners as well as re-ordering, shipping, warehousing or storing, and keeping supplies safe and clean according to proper standards. Our course Herbal Business Compliance helps with this.

7. Compare your product to your competition 

Your product will not exist in a vacuum. Your customers are VERY aware of your competitors and their products and they will compare you against them. Be proactive by checking out your competition (even if you're "not a competitive person") to ensure your own product is strongly positioned and exactly the way you want it.

You put too much time and energy into designing and birthing your product, don't ignore how others are creating (and marketing) something similar. Download our FREE Brand Brainstorming Competitor Toolkit to walk you step-by-step through this process.

8. Learn how to comply with FDA Labeling Laws

Before you print a single label or design a webpage for your product, make DOUBLE sure that you won't incur the wrath of the FDA. Every year, the FDA sends warning letters to maker businesses of all sizes that can lead to legal trouble and tremendous expense.

Learn what you can and cannot include on your labels (and what is REQUIRED to be there!), and see helpful examples in our course Herbal Business Compliance.

9. Decide a Pricing Method

What will you charge?

What is your product worth and (especially) what are your potential customers willing to pay?

It's a complex set of questions that can make it or break it for your brand. While you can sometimes change your price later, changes can lead to misgivings by your customers, and printed materials must be revised. It's best to develop a strong pricing strategy in advance. Learn our proven method that will help you decide your best product price.

10. Establish GMPs for yourself & your team

Once you start actually making your product, you've entered the world of GMPs. Whether you craft products in your home, a studio, or you have a dedicated manufacturing facility, you must follow good manufacturing practices (GMPs) so that you comply with federal and state (and local) laws, maintain hygienic standards, train your team (employees, apprentices, or interns) correctly, keep appropriate documents, and store materials and ingredients safely. How do you do this? Our online course shows you how step-by-step. 

Don't skip this step--local boards of health can inspect your premises at any time. Plus, your team members will feel increased loyalty when they witness your diligence about keeping strong safety and cleanliness standards. (And this is where product or liability insurance comes in -- don't worry! our course bundle covers insurance, too, so you'll be prepared.)

11. Create a planner or calendar to Prepare for Your BEST Product Launch

No matter what stage of the process you're in, you want your product launch to be wildly profitable, smooth, and successful. Download our FREE Product Launch Planner designed especially for natural and organic brands, including skincare, cosmetics, clean beauty, herbal, aroma, chocolate, coffee and tea blends, and organic food & beverage.

Whatever product you're launching, our FREE Planner Template (available as an Excel spreadsheet or a Google Sheet) will keep you organized and prepared as you approach launch day. Get it here to prepare for your next (or first!) product launch.

Save 20%! Our Product Maker's Course Bundle

You don't have to go it alone! Herbalist and award-winning entrepreneur Holly Bellebuono shares thousands of tips and a ton of wisdom in her online courses, and they're available HERE at a 20% discount when you enroll in all three.

This bundle of 3 courses is a wealth of information, guidance and wisdom to support you and your brand as you grow. All courses on video-based, online, on-demand and packed with Student Workbooks, materials, templates, checklists, case studies, and resources that are yours to keep.

Brand Business Coaching

Holly supports natural & organic brand owners and leaders with business support that you can't get elsewhere. Get 1:1 customized coaching to explore strategy, planning, pricing, leadership, product design and launch, and more. Click here to explore coaching with Holly and set up a free call.