Product Development

The Product Development hub is the core of Aether. Here you’ll create and manage all the components that make up your cosmetics products.

Overview

Aether’s product development workflow follows the natural progression of cosmetics formulation:

Ingredients + Vessels → Mixtures → Templates → Products

Each step builds on the previous, allowing you to:

1. Define raw materials (Ingredients)
2. Specify packaging (Vessels)
3. Create reusable compositions (Mixtures)
4. Establish blueprints (Templates)
5. Build sellable items (Products)

The Product Development Hub

The main Product Development page serves as your command center with quick access to:

• Ingredients - Search, filter, and manage your raw materials
• Vessels - Define and organize your packaging options
• Mixtures - Create and manage reusable compositions
• Product Templates - Establish product blueprints
• Products - Build your final sellable items

Each section provides:

• List view with search and filter capabilities
• Details view for comprehensive information
• Edit view for modifications

Ingredients

Ingredients are the raw materials that make up your products. Aether supports:

Ingredient Types

• Fragrance Oils - Scent components for perfumes and body sprays
• Essential Oils - Natural extracts with therapeutic properties
• Bases - Carrier substances (alcohol, water, oils)
• Additives - Preservatives, colorants, stabilizers
• Solids - Gemstones, herbs, other solid additions

Key Attributes

INCI Integration

Aether integrates with comprehensive INCI databases to provide:

• Automatic import of INCI-defined ingredients
• Complete regulatory data (banned/restricted status)
• Safety classifications and warnings
• Composite ingredient resolution (ingredients that contain other ingredients)

Managing Ingredients

List View Features:

• Search by name, INCI name, CAS number, or supplier
• Filter by type, allergen status, safety flags
• Sort by name, cost, or last modified
• Bulk actions (export, tagging)

Details View Shows:

• Complete ingredient profile
• Regulatory information
• Safety and allergen data
• Cost history and supplier information
• Usage across Mixtures and Products

Edit View Allows:

• Updating all attributes
• Adding custom notes
• Linking to Suppliers
• Setting custom classifications

Vessels

Vessels are the containers for your products. Each Vessel tracks:

Key Attributes

Vessel Types

• Spray Bottles - For body sprays, perfumes
• Roller Bottles - For perfume rollers, deodorants
• Dropper Bottles - For serums, essential oil blends
• Jars - For creams, balms, scrubs
• Tubes - For lip balms, salves
• Custom - Any other container type

Managing Vessels

Vessels can be:

• Created individually or imported from Suppliers
• Linked to Supplier catalog items for reordering
• Photographed for visual reference
• Tagged for organization

Mixtures

Mixtures are reusable compositions of Ingredients and other Mixtures. They enable:

Mixture Types

Recursive Composition

Mixtures can contain other Mixtures, enabling complex hierarchical formulations:

Fragrance Mixture "Summer Breeze"
├── Essential Oil: Lavender (50%)
├── Essential Oil: Bergamot (30%)
└── Base Mixture "Alcohol Base" (20%)
    ├── Ethanol (80%)
    └── Distilled Water (20%)

Key Features

• Automatic Percentage Validation - Ensures all components sum to 100%
• Circular Reference Guard - Prevents infinite recursion (e.g., Mixture A containing Mixture B containing Mixture A)
• Normalization - Automatically normalizes nested percentages
• INCI Import → Mixture Auto-create - When importing INCI ingredients with composition data, Aether can automatically create the corresponding Mixture

Managing Mixtures

List View Features:

• Search by name or component
• Filter by type, complexity
• View composition summary
• See usage in Products

Details View Shows:

• Complete component breakdown
• Percentage validation status
• INCI compliance information
• Cost calculation (if all ingredients have costs)

Edit View Allows:

• Adding/removing components
• Adjusting percentages (with auto-validation)
• Renaming and reclassifying
• Setting custom metadata

Product Templates

Product Templates are blueprints that define the structure of a product without all the final decisions made.

Key Concepts

• Template Target - The primary parameter being targeted (e.g., Alcohol Percentage)
• Required Components - Must-be-included ingredients/mixtures
• Preferred Components - Should-be-included but optional ingredients/mixtures
• Parameter Resolution - Algorithm for adjusting the template to meet targets

Example: Alcohol Percentage Targeting

A “Perfume” Template might target 18% alcohol:

Template: "Perfume"
Target: Alcohol Percentage = 18%
Required:
  - Perfumer's Alcohol Base
Preferred:
  - Fragrance Mixture
  - Fixative

When creating a Product from this Template:
1. Select Perfumer's Alcohol Base with 90% alcohol
2. Select Fragrance Mixture
3. Aether calculates: Use 20% Alcohol Base + 80% Fragrance to achieve 18% alcohol

Managing Templates

List View Features:

• Search by name or target
• Filter by product type
• View template complexity

Details View Shows:

• Component requirements
• Target parameters
• Example calculations
• Products using this template

Edit View Allows:

• Modifying required/preferred components
• Changing target parameters
• Adjusting calculation algorithms

Products

Products are the final sellable items. They combine:

• Vessel - The container
• Mixtures - The formulation
• Ingredients - Additional components
• Overrides - Custom adjustments to the formulation

Product Modes

Key Features

• Component Overrides - Customize any aspect for a specific Product
• Version Pinning - Lock to specific versions of Templates and Mixtures
• Centipercent + Absolute Amount Modes - Specify percentages OR absolute weights/volumes
• Vessel Volume Validation - Ensure formulation fits in the selected vessel
• Photo Management - Multiple images per product

Example Products

Managing Products

List View Features:

• Search by name, SKU, vessel
• Filter by status (Draft, Active, Archived)
• View COGS and pricing information
• Bulk export for catalog management

Details View Shows:

• Complete formulation breakdown
• Cost analysis (COGS)
• Compliance status
• Sales and inventory data
• Photo gallery

Edit View Allows:

• Modifying formulation
• Changing vessel
• Updating pricing
• Managing photos and metadata

Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) Calculation

Aether automatically calculates Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) recursively:

Product Cost of Goods Sold = Vessel Cost + Sum of all Component Costs

Component Cost = Amount × Unit Cost
  (amount can be derived from percentage × vessel volume)

For recursive Mixtures:
Mixture Cost = Sum of (Component Amount × Component Unit Cost)

Missing Data Surfacing

If any ingredient or vessel is missing cost data:

• The Product is flagged as “Incomplete Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)”
• Missing items are clearly identified
• You can still save the Product, but Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) reports will show gaps

Duplication

All entities (Ingredients, Vessels, Mixtures, Templates, Products) support duplication:

• Duplicate creates a copy with “Copy of” prefix
• Duplicate with Overrides allows immediate customization
• Original link is preserved for reference

Next Steps

• Learn about Compliance & Safety
• Explore Inventory Management
• View Ecommerce Integration