From Lab to Industrial Production: How to Optimize Scale-Up in Cosmetics
Industrial scale-up is not simply a replica of the laboratory process (e.g., using a Silverson turboemulsifier or an Ultra-Turrax), but one of the most critical phases in cosmetic product development. The challenges arise from changes in several key factors: turbine geometry, the presence of vacuum, mixing modes, mechanical energy transferred to the system, and process times. As a result, predicting in the lab how a product will behave at the industrial level is often complex. An emulsion that appears perfectly stable on a small scale may reveal critical issues once produced on industrial equipment, leading to development delays, material waste, and difficulties in communication between R&D and production.
In this context, having tools that can bring laboratory processes as close as possible to industrial conditions becomes essential. The Esco Labor pilot plant available in our laboratories was designed precisely with this goal in mind: thanks to mixing geometries comparable to industrial systems and the ability to operate under vacuum, it enables realistic simulation of production conditions already at the development stage, working with reduced batches of approximately 1 kg of product. This represents a significant advantage over pre-pilot and industrial pilot systems, which require much larger material quantities, allowing for reduced costs, lower raw material consumption, and shorter development timelines.
The integration of pilot-scale trials with microscopic and mechanical characterization techniques—through rheology and texture analysis—makes it possible to identify in advance the most suitable process conditions for each formulation, reducing scale-up uncertainties and supporting cosmetic companies in defining more robust, efficient, and reproducible industrial processes.
A conscious approach to scale-up not only improves the quality and stability of the final product, but also optimizes the entire development pathway.
Contact us at +39 334 6812046 or email info@unired.it to learn more.
