What Happens During Scale Up

Why your formula looks perfect at the sample stage, and what happens when it meets the real world

There’s nothing like that feeling during product development when you think you're nearing the finish line. The sample comes back, the texture is just right, the fragrance hits, and it performs better than you could’ve imagined. You’re just about to pop the champagne and then –

It’s time to scale up.

Lab sample approval is, for sure, a major milestone, but the magic you’ve just formulated may look different during full-scale production. Understanding how certain variables will affect your formula is the key to nailing it from the very beginning. Getting scale-up right is not just about protecting quality, it's about protecting your timeline, costs, and your first impression in the market. Here's what every brand founder should understand about the journey from bench to batch:

The lab and the factory floor are not the same environment.

When a formula is developed in a lab, it's made in small quantities with precise, controlled conditions. The formulator can add ingredients drop by drop, adjust pH immediately, and control temperature exactly with little to no time pressure. But when that same formula moves to manufacturing scale, not only does the volume increase, but the physics change entirely. Here are the variables that are the most common culprits:

• Equipment and processing naturally differ, for example, compact lab mixers versus large production kettles. Because these systems move and incorporate materials differently, slight variations in appearance or feel can occur. These differences are expected and part of the transition from development to manufacturing. During this phase, our manufacturing and R&D teams work closely together to fine-tune the process, so the final product consistently meets all quality standards and performs as designed.
• Order of addition and timing shifts. Some ingredients behave differently at larger volumes, so the order or timing of additions may be adjusted during scale-up. At production scale, materials take longer to disperse, hydrate, or emulsify, and certain steps that occur instantly in a small beaker may require more time or a different sequence in a large kettle. These refinements help ensure the formula processes smoothly and consistently at scale, supporting the same performance you approved in the lab.
• Raw material variability is a manufacturing reality. They can have slight differences from lot to lot – things like color or aroma can vary just as they do in any ingredient-based industry. These nuances become more noticeable at production scale, and our quality team reviews each lot to ensure it meets the formula’s specifications and delivers consistent results.

The scale-up phase is a planned, collaborative, and carefully managed step that helps turn your approved formula into its most market-ready form.

The key? Build your formula with production in mind from the jump

When you’re dreaming up your next formula, make sure to keep production capabilities and limitations in mind from the very beginning. Here are a few points to prioritize:

• Understanding manufacturing equipment.
• Knowing which aspects of your formula are most sensitive to process variation.
• Building those considerations into the development brief, not troubleshooting too far down the pipeline.

What to ask before you move into production

When you're approaching a scale-up conversation with your manufacturer, these questions are worth asking:

• How does your production equipment compare to standard lab conditions for this formula type?
• What's your process for validating a formula at pilot batch before committing to full production?
• How do you document and communicate process parameters, so results are consistent run to run?
• What happens when a production batch falls outside specification, and who takes accountability?

The answers will tell you a lot about whether a manufacturer is set up to protect your formula or simply set up to run it. At Twincraft, our process is uniquely collaborative. Our development teams work alongside our production teams. We don't hand a formula over a wall, we build formulas knowing exactly how they'll be made, on our equipment, at our scale.

Ready to talk about bringing your formula to scale? Our team is here to guide you through every step of the process.