Business Solutions
Startup Fast-Track
Everything an emerging or artisan brand needs to take its first cosmetic from formula to legally on sale: a CPSR, a Responsible Person, notification and a compliant label, assembled as one coordinated piece of work.
For a brand bringing its first cosmetic to market, the compliance requirements can look like a wall. The Fast-Track exists to take an emerging or artisan brand from finished formula to legally on sale in clear steps, coordinated as one piece of work rather than a set of separate purchases a founder has to project-manage alone.
What a first product needs
Before a cosmetic can be sold in the UK or EU, the law requires several things to be in place at once: a Cosmetic Product Safety Report prepared and signed by a qualified safety assessor, a Responsible Person established in the market, a Product Information File, a notification through the SCPN portal for Great Britain or CPNP for the EU, and a label that carries the required information. Missing any one of them means the product cannot legally be sold, however good the formula.
How the Fast-Track runs
We start with a Regulatory Due Diligence Review by a qualified safety assessor, which establishes exactly what the product needs and flags any formulation, ingredient or labelling issue while it is still cheap to fix; the review fee is credited in full against the first year of Responsible Person engagement. From there we prepare the CPSR, designate the Responsible Person for Great Britain, the EU, or both through our company registered in the Republic of Ireland, make the notification, and review the label and claims. Where a launch date is fixed, expedited turnaround is available.
Built for emerging brands
Our pricing is structured to be accessible to artisan and emerging brands as well as established multinationals, and a new brand works with one assessor and one point of contact rather than being passed around. The aim is that a founder spends time on the product and the brand, not on deciphering regulation.
The pitfalls we catch early
First products most often come unstuck on claims that stray into medicinal language, on the assumption that a manufacturer’s technical pack is the same as a CPSR, on decanting a bulk product into retail sizes without new labelling, and on confusion over whether a cosmetic needs a UKCA or CE mark, which it does not. The diligence review surfaces these before they reach a label or a customer.
How we help
We take a first product through the whole sequence, the due-diligence review, the CPSR, the Responsible Person designation, the notification and the label, so an emerging brand reaches the market correctly the first time. As the range grows, the same assessor and file carry forward, so the second and third products are faster than the first.
Relevant services
CPSR
From £70 · 2 to 3 days
The Cosmetic Product Safety Report is the safety assessment required under Article 10 and Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 before a cosmetic product may be placed on the UK or EU market. Prepared and signed by a qualified safety assessor.
Learn more →Responsible Person
From £149 · per product, per year
Oxford Biosciences acts as your Responsible Person in the UK and the EU under a single quality management system, holding the regulatory obligation: PIF maintenance, SCPN and CPNP notification, labelling oversight, and cosmetovigilance.
Learn more →Labelling
From £195 · from receipt of artwork
Independent review of packaging artwork against Article 19, and of product claims against the six Common Criteria of Regulation (EU) 655/2013. Label review £195; per-claim review from £125; substantiation dossiers from £1,495.
Learn more →Notifications
Notification of cosmetic products to the EU Cosmetic Products Notification Portal and the Great Britain Submit Cosmetic Product Notifications service, with amendments and withdrawals managed within the regulated timeframes.
Learn more →Frequently asked questions
What do I need to sell a cosmetic for the first time?
Before sale in the UK or EU a cosmetic needs a CPSR signed by a qualified assessor, a Responsible Person established in the market, a Product Information File, a notification (SCPN for GB or CPNP for the EU) and a compliant label. All must be in place before the first sale, and no UKCA or CE mark is required.
What is a CPSR?
A Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR) is the safety assessment required by Article 10 and Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 before a cosmetic product is placed on the UK or EU market. Annex I sets out two parts: Part A, the cosmetic product safety information (composition, physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics, stability, exposure and the toxicological profile of each substance), and Part B, the safety assessment, in which a qualified assessor states and reasons the conclusion on safety. It is the pivotal scientific document held within the Product Information File.
What is a Responsible Person?
Every cosmetic product placed on the EU or UK market must have a Responsible Person established within that jurisdiction. Under Articles 4 and 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, the Responsible Person is the legal entity that holds the regulatory obligation for the product: it maintains the Product Information File, makes the CPNP or SCPN notification, oversees labelling, and handles cosmetovigilance and contact with the competent authority. It is not simply a postal address. Oxford Biosciences acts as Responsible Person in both the UK and the EU under a single quality management system.
What must appear on a cosmetic label?
Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 sets out the mandatory particulars: the Responsible Person's name and address, the nominal content, the date of minimum durability or the period-after-opening (PAO) symbol, precautions for use, the batch number, the product function, and the list of ingredients in INCI nomenclature. In Great Britain the same requirements apply through the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013, and since 1 January 2026 the UK Responsible Person's details must appear on the label of products sold in GB. Oxford Biosciences reviews packaging artwork against these requirements for £195.
How much does a CPSR cost and how long does it take?
At Oxford Biosciences the standard Cosmetic Product Safety Report is £220, covering a single product of up to 20 ingredients. A single-ingredient product is £70, and a variation in essential oil or pigment that requires a full additional report is £40. Portfolio pricing applies to batches, from £875 for five products. All fees are exclusive of VAT. Timelines run from receipt of the full documentation set: standard turnaround is then typically 2 to 3 working days, with a 48-hour service at a 50 per cent premium and a 24-hour service at a 100 per cent premium where the complete set is supplied at the point of order.