Online organic cosmetic formulation school Formula Botanica is opening its exclusive membership site, The Lab at Formula Botanica, for the first time to non-students this November. The move sees the school share its unique, extra-curricula content on the latest in beauty industry innovation and research to a wider community of natural formulators. The Lab at Formula Botanica membership site launched in early summer 2020 as monthly VIP training in organic formulation, botanical ingredients and indie beauty entrepreneurship.
The cosmetics industry is continuously evolving with each week seeing new ingredient launches and formulation techniques. While the school’s courses teach the principles of formulation to ensure students build on a solid foundation, The Lab is aimed at keeping its members up to date with the latest in the cosmetics and beauty industry. With The Lab having proved a resounding success with its student members, Formula Botanica is opening the site to outside membership far earlier than planned.
Devised in layers of bite-sized content in thematic, standalone bundles – called ‘Mini Labs’ – on topics such as pH testing, beauty business branding and essential oils, the membership site represents an exciting, novel departure in the school’s business model that complements its portfolio of accredited courses delivered through fixed-term enrolment. The mini labs suit different levels of knowledge and modes of learning, and comprise short Lab Lecture series, Lab Lessons, and Masterclasses drawing on guest experts in beauty and cosmetic science. The Lab is ideally placed therefore to provide the kind of self-paced, pay-as-you-go learning that is in demand now and the membership site is set to develop into a parallel branch of the Formula Botanica business.
“That we had some 40,000 sign up for our free Masterclass training before our autumn enrolment shows the thirst worldwide for more informal, yet high-quality training on natural and organic formulation. To help meet that demand, we are opening up benefits of The Lab with its flexible modes of online learning and affordable, monthly subscription to a wider community of natural formulators,” said Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier.
Ana Green, membership coordinator of The Lab at Formula Botanica said that the membership site had now come of age and was ready to support a larger audience: “Our decision to open The Lab to non students after just six months’ proof of concept is a move I feel enormously proud of. The Lab is fulfilling its ambitious mission of helping even more natural formulators, whatever their level of knowledge or skills, be part of a dynamic, in-demand sector.
“What is particularly important to stress is that our bite-sized Mini Labs and our research libraries contain information created especially for the natural cosmetics’ formulator that is sorely missing from the wider industry”, explained Ana Green.
The Lab at Formula Botanica will allow the platform to cover trends, new ingredients and innovation in the natural cosmetic industry. “We saw a huge hole in learning out there that can keep pace with the rapidly evolving naturals’ industry. The Lab is our solution to enabling natural formulators to stay ahead of the curve,” said Dallmeier.
The Lab at Formula Botanica opens membership during 23-27 November, 2020 to anyone anywhere in the world interested in natural, organic formulation. Given the tens of thousands who regularly sign up for the school’s free Masterclasses, The Lab at Formula Botanica with its competitive membership fee and high-quality format that mirrors its accredited diploma and certificate courses is likely to prove another success in an already buoyant year for the school.
