Whilst designed to protect the consumer, the introduction of Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 is perceived by many business owners in the EU cosmetic and personal skin care sector to be costly and burdensome. Micro, small and medium-sized cosmetic businesses especially are already faced with a steep uphill battle in competing with household beauty brands. Navigating through the complexities of the regulations, understanding how to formulate products using the CosIng ingredients database and how to create compliant PI files all place significant additional financial and administrative demands on these businesses.

A ray of hope may, however, be in the offing through a new web-based software called Cosmetri. Cosmetri’s mission is to support safety in cosmetics whilst empowering SMEs through the provision of an affordable, easy to use web application that promises to address the challenges faced by business owners in complying with the regulations.

Cosmetri founder Simon Bowen understands the impact that EU legislation has exerted on cosmetic businesses, having worked in the sector for over 12 years, providing IT solutions and business consulting services. Author of two business guides for the cosmetic sector, Simon identifies regulatory compliance as the No. 1 challenge faced today by cosmetic makers who wish to sell their products within the EU.

He explains: “Existing software solutions are just too expensive and lacking the features and usability that business owners need. I felt compelled to use my IT skills and experience of working in the cosmetic sector to design a new web application at a price that is realistic. Simplifying EU compliance while streamlining cosmetic formulation workflows means that cosmetic makers can focus on what they do best.”

The user-friendly [b]Cosmetri software[/b] starts as low as €14.99 p.m., with packages rising to €79 p.m., depending on number of users, products and storage space required. As it is a web-based application, it requires no installation or updating and will be accessible via all major web browsers on desktop computers and tablet devices. The core service enables users to create compliant formulations and generate their PI files, including full traceability to ensure that batch changes stay compliant through PIF versioning. The Flight Checker runs over 70 checks, to warn the user of possible compliance issues, before they generate their PI file. Users can also control their raw materials costs and use Cosmetri to develop their trial formulations.

For further information and a 14-day trial visit [b]http://www.cosmetri.com/free-trial/[/b]