How Long Will It Take? Product Development with The HatBerg Collective

You’ve got a killer product idea and you’re anxious to get it to consumers as soon as possible.

You’re not a formulator or a manufacturer, but that’s OK — you partner with The HatBerg Collective as your contract manufacturer. Your big idea and our know-how should make for a winning outcome.

But … how long will it take?

Numerous factors impact how quickly you’ll have a finished product, but the most important is deciding: White label (or at least starting with an existing formula) or custom manufacturing?

If we already have something in-house that meets your needs, we can easily have something in your hands two or three months after you select the product.

The trade-off for this quick time-to-market is a less differentiated product. You have to decide what is most important to you.

Enhanced White Label

For some clients, depending on what they have in mind, we can make small adjustments to an existing product.

You might consider this a hybrid of white label and custom manufacturing, with time-to-market in between those two options.  

This is a viable choice for clients who like an existing formulation in our library and simply want to augment it by targeting certain product claims or making some other small changes (we emphasize small).

In exchange for a longer time-to-market, you gain more product differentiation. This is the “middle road” choice, which can take from six to nine months.

Full Custom

Going with full custom manufacturing can take up to a year, starting with defining the product, and ending with the launch of finished goods. On the other hand, you have complete control over the final product.

When you’re shooting at the moon, it takes time to get there. Because we’re working from scratch, accurately defining the product at the outset is crucial to a smooth development process.

Having a clear (and set) idea about the product you want will help ensure the shortest possible process.  

Once the product is set, we can start on choosing and securing packaging.

Leaving this until later in the process can be disastrous. And, while our stock formulas have already completed appropriate testing, your custom product will need time for testing of its own.

It Won’t Take Two Years

On a final note, some brands like to brag their products were “two years in the making” as a way to strengthen the marketing story.

There’s no good reason for product development to take more than 12 months (although there are some bad reasons). A (reportedly) long development period does not mean a product is more effective.

We can produce great products on very reasonable timelines. 

Let’s get started on your next stand-out product. We’ll make it as smooth a process as possible.