More than 500 SME manufacturers and an unknown number of brands make up the €11.1bn cosmetic and personal care industry in the UK. These companies, alongside thousands more in the European union need to take urgent action, so that they are prepared for the changes a ‘No Deal' Brexit would bring and can continue trading after the exit date, says MSL, the specialist supplier of regulatory and ‘Responsible Person' services. To help guide businesses through these key changes in legislation, MSL has launched a ‘Preparing for Brexit' hub [1].
The advice hub is designed to help cosmetic and personal care SMEs understand the impact Brexit will have on their businesses and how to be prepared, using easy to understand language, highlighting the different possible scenarios. The most notable issues raised by Brexit involve CPNP notification transfers, re-labelling and the requirement for a suitable ‘Responsible Person' as a legal entity to represent UK cosmetic businesses within the EU community.
Since UK companies will no longer be legal entities within the EU post-Brexit, MSL has also set up a subsidiary business in Dublin, Ireland, to take on this role. Similarly, thanks to its Greater Manchester-based HQ, it will be able to act as the UK Responsible Person for EU businesses wishing to trade within the UK too. This enables MSL to offer a dual Responsible Person service, helping companies gain regulatory compliance and seamless entry to both the EU and UK without having to deal with multiple service providers.
Alex Fotheringham, Operations Director - Cosmetics at MSL, comments, ‘These changes will come into force regardless of a deal, however, if the UK leaves without one, then the new regulations are effective as of the exit date, currently set as 29th March 2019. We know that many small companies in the industry are simply not ready - and are set to lose a lot of money in Europe. If these companies want to continue selling in Europe, they need to act now.'
He continues, ‘We have already helped more than 100 businesses prepare for Brexit. They can now rest in the knowledge that they are prepared for the UK's exit, whether we crash out with no deal on 29th March, or after a transition period. Our approach is that if you are prepared for a no deal, then you are prepared for all scenarios - and we are committed to helping cosmetics companies get set for business post-Brexit, whenever the final withdrawal date is.'
MSL is a specialist supplier of Regulatory and Responsible Person services to the Cosmetics and Personal Care industry and is one of the largest and most experienced third-party Responsible Persons in the world. With an in-house microbiology laboratory, safety assessment team and regulatory experts, its unique integrated approach provides a breadth of technical expertise. Its experts sit on working groups across the UK and EU, so it is perfectly placed to react proactively at this highly volatile time.
The ‘Preparing for Brexit' advice hub can be found here [2] . For more information about partnering with MSL, please email Brexit@msl.io [3] or visit www.msl.io [4]