Professional Beauty Systems

What Professional Beauty Systems does

Professional Beauty Systems Ltd is a privately held UK-based contract manufacturer and brand owner in the professional hair, beauty, and personal care industry, founded in 1984 in Hillington, Scotland and now headquartered at a 18,000 sq metre facility in Renfrew. The company employs 300+ staff across three UK and European sites and operates a dual business model: (1) full-service private label manufacturing for B2B brands covering formulation, packaging, regulatory compliance, and production at batch sizes from 50kg to 4 tonnes with 30+ filling lines, and (2) distribution of a portfolio of 10 owned professional brands including OSMO, Crazy Color, Apraise, KAESO, SKINTRUTH, TANTRUTH, and Vines Vintage to distributors and consumers globally. As the only UK manufacturer of professional hair colour, PBS supplies 710 customers across 75 countries and produces 12,000+ active formulations.

The company's revenue mechanics combine quote-based private label project work with a low minimum order quantity of approximately 2,000 units and 6-12 month launch timelines, alongside ongoing wholesale distribution of owned brands. It holds ISO 22716 (GMP), ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018 certifications, and maintains dedicated in-house NPD, innovation, and regulatory functions. In December 2024, PBS acquired Medik8 Limited and Nanogen (advised by Alantra), expanding its footprint into professional skincare and pharmacy, e-commerce, and hair clinic channels. Operational capabilities include cold-process formulation, Clean-In-Place systems, air-sourced low-carbon heating, and recently commissioned high-precision cream-manufacturing vessels with a 360kw chiller at its Newmains facility.

Customer segments span emerging indie brands seeking low-MOQ UK manufacturing with regulatory support, established international brands outsourcing production for speed-to-market, and professional distributors/retailers of owned brands. The go-to-market relies on direct enterprise field sales, dedicated private label sales leadership, and presence at major industry events including Cosmoprof Bologna, Cosmoprof Hong Kong, Pro Beauty London, SCS Formulate, and Great British Barber Bash. The 2025 manufacturing run-rate includes 3 million shampoo bottles, 10 million hair colour units, and 8 million body care units, with continued capacity investment signalling expansion rather than capacity rationalization.

Name

Professional Beauty Systems

Legal name

Professional Beauty Systems Ltd

Website

https://professionalbeautysystems.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Professional Beauty Systems is a UK-based contract manufacturer and owner of 10 professional beauty brands, producing hair care, skincare, body care, and hair colour products for 710 B2B and distributor customers across 75 countries from an 18,000 sq metre facility with 300+ employees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Cosmetics Manufacturing

NAICS

Soap and Cleaning Compound Manufacturing (32561), Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Retailers (456120)

SIC

Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844), Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional Hair Care (Shampoo, Conditioner, Treatments) (CRABALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Professional Hair Color (CRABALAA), Hair Care (Shampoo, Conditioner, Styling, Treatments) (CRADANAE), Hand & Body Care (Lotions, Creams, Body Oils) (CRADANAC), Professional Hair Styling & Finishing (CRABALAC)

Keywords

• Contract cosmetics manufacturing
• Private label beauty products
• Professional hair care manufacturing
• Skincare formulation services
• Beauty brand manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Renfrew

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Private Label Manufacturing: Contract manufacturing services for brands seeking bespoke hair, beauty, skincare, and haircare products. Services include concept development, formulation, packaging, and production from 50kg to 4 tonne batches.
2. Own Brand Portfolio Sales: Revenue from 10 owned professional hair and beauty brands sold globally: Apraise, Colorissimo, CrazyAngel, CrazyColor, KAESO, OSMO, OSMOIKON, SKINTRUTH, TANTRUTH, and VINES VINTAGE.
3. Outsourcing Partnership Manufacturing: UK-based contract manufacturing for cosmetics brands seeking supply chain resilience, faster speed to market, and tighter quality control.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Professional Beauty Systems is a UK-based contract manufacturer that develops and produces hair care, beauty, skincare, body care, hair colour, and men's grooming products for brands under private label arrangements, with manufacturing capacity from 50kg to 4 tonnes across more than 30 filling lines. The company also owns and distributes a portfolio of 10 professional hair and beauty brands (Apraise, Colorissimo, CrazyAngel, CrazyColor, KAESO, OSMO, OSMOIKON, SKINTRUTH, TANTRUTH, and VINES VINTAGE) and has acquired Medik8 and Nanogen, supplying products to customers in 75 countries.

Product overview

Professional Beauty Systems is a UK-based manufacturer of professional hair and beauty products serving global brands. The company operates a multi-brand portfolio of 10 proprietary brands (Apraise, Colorissimo, CrazyAngel, CrazyColor, KAESO, OSMO, OSMOIKON, SKINTRUTH, TANTRUTH, and VINES VINTAGE) alongside private label manufacturing services. PBS also acquired Medik8 and Nanogen in December 2024, expanding its professional beauty portfolio. The company manufactures a comprehensive product range spanning skincare, hair care, body care, hair colour and tints, and men's grooming products, with capabilities from 50kg to 4 tonnes batch sizes and over 30 filling lines. PBS offers full-service private label manufacturing from concept to delivery, including formulation development, regulatory compliance, and production, with a minimum order quantity of approximately 2,000 units.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Apraise: Professional beauty brand distributed to industry professionals and beauty-loving consumers worldwide.
• Colorissimo
• Crazy Angel
• Crazy Color
• KAESO
• OSMO
• OSMO Ikon
• SKINTRUTH
• TAN TRUTH
• Vines Vintage

Products and services

• PBS Private Label Manufacturing Full-service contract manufacturing from concept to delivery, including formulation development, regulatory compliance, packaging, and production with minimum order quantities of approximately 2,000 units and batch sizes from 500 litres up to 4 tonnes.
• Apraise Professional lash and brow product brand offering maintenance collections, brow spas, mixology demos, and mapping masterclasses for beauty professionals.
• Colorissimo Professional hair colour brand distributed to beauty professionals and consumers worldwide.
• CrazyAngel Professional tanning brand offering spray tanning products, starter kits, and tantouring solutions.
• CrazyColor Semi-permanent hair colour brand popular with professional stylists and consumers, featuring vivid colours and conditioning formulas.
• KAESO Skincare and beauty brand offering facial kits, body scrubs, body masks, and professional skincare treatments including anti-ageing, hydrating, and rebalancing facials.
• OSMO Professional haircare brand offering styling, finishing sprays, oils, shampoos, and conditioners for salon professionals.
• OSMOIKON Professional hair colour brand complementing the OSMO professional haircare range.
• SKINTRUTH Skincare brand focused on truth-based, results-driven formulations for beauty professionals and consumers.
• TANTRUTH Professional sunless tanning brand offering self-tan products and spray tanning solutions.
• VINES VINTAGE Vintage-inspired professional hair and beauty brand distributed to industry professionals and beauty-loving consumers worldwide.
• Medik8 Professional skincare brand acquired by PBS in December 2024, specialising in professional skincare formulations sold through e-commerce, pharmacy, and hair clinics.
• Nanogen Hair and beauty brand acquired by PBS in December 2024, managed by Andrew Rayner and expanding into pharmacy stores, e-commerce, and hair clinics.

Quantifiable outcome

• Manufacturing capacity of 3 million bottles of shampoo, 10 million units of hair colour, and 8 million units of body care in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Medik8 LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024Alantra acted as sole advisor to Medik8 Limited on their sale to Professional Beauty Systems. The transaction allows Medik8 to refocus on strengthening its core business while PBS expands its professional hair and beauty portfolio.
• NanogencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024Under Managing Director Andrew Rayner, Nanogen has achieved consistent growth over the past two years, expanding into pharmacy stores, e-commerce platforms, and hair clinics. The transaction allows Nanogen to refocus on strengthening core business while PBS expands its professional hair and beauty portfolio.
• BCMPA (British Contract Manufacturing and Packaging Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBCMPA trade association positions its member network as the solution for cosmetics brands seeking reliable, compliant, and flexible manufacturing partners. PBS is listed as a BCMPA member.
• Safic-AlcanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerManny Tailor from Safic-Alcan delivered a Hair Trend Masterclass for PBS NPD and Technical teams, providing industry insights and trend education.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Intercos Group: Italian-listed global ODM/CMO specialising in colour cosmetics, skincare, and hair care formulation and manufacturing for prestige and mass brands. Directly comparable as a full-service beauty contract manufacturer with proprietary formulation libraries serving global brands.
• HCT Group: US-headquartered full-service beauty manufacturer of colour cosmetics, skin care, and hair care serving indie and prestige brands. Directly comparable as a turnkey contract manufacturer with in-house formulation capabilities targeting emerging and mid-market beauty brands.
• McBride plc: UK-listed contract manufacturer of personal care and household products, supplying retailer private label brands across Europe. Most direct UK comparator to PBS's contract manufacturing business model and European customer base.
• Mana Products: US-based contract manufacturer of colour cosmetics, skin care, hair care, and personal care products. Directly comparable as a contract manufacturing peer offering end-to-end formulation, filling, and packaging services to brand customers.
• FAREVA: French-headquartered global contract manufacturer of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and household products with dozens of sites worldwide. Comparable as a multi-category beauty CMO serving brand customers end-to-end, but operating at significantly greater global scale than PBS.
• Stephenson Group: Leeds-based contract manufacturer of personal care and cosmetic ingredients and finished products. Directly comparable UK competitor offering bespoke formulation and contract manufacturing to professional and consumer beauty brands.

Others

• Lush Cosmetics: UK-headquartered cosmetics manufacturer and retailer with in-house manufacturing. Not a direct contract manufacturer, but comparable as a UK-rooted, vertically integrated beauty manufacturer with strong brand and sustainability positioning.

Broad incumbents

• COSMAX: Korean-listed global ODM/CMO of cosmetics and personal care with manufacturing across Asia, North America, and Europe. Overlaps with PBS on contract manufacturing for hair care and skincare, but operates at significantly larger scale and different geographic centre of gravity.
• Coty Inc. Global beauty manufacturer and brand owner covering colour cosmetics, hair colour, and professional hair care (Wella). Comparable as a professional hair colour and styling manufacturer, but operates at much greater scale and through an owned-brand-led model rather than contract manufacturing.
• PZ Cussons: UK-listed multinational personal care and beauty group (Imperial Leather, Sanctuary, Charles Worthington). Comparable as a UK-headquartered personal care company combining owned brands with manufacturing heritage, though more brand-led than contract-manufacturing-led.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/professional-beauty-systems
• Xx.com/probeautysystem

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Professional Beauty Systems