Salon Product Strategy: Create Your Own or Stock Brands?

"Should I create my own product line or just stick with known brands?"

I'll never forget the day Mariam, a talented colorist who'd been renting a chair at my Dubai salon for three years, asked me this exact question. She was standing in our retail corner, holding up a bottle of our bestselling Moroccan oil treatment, then pointing to a mockup label she'd designed for her own hair serum.

"Look," she said, "this bottle costs me 180 AED wholesale, I sell it for 320 AED. But if I make my own version with the same ingredients, I could probably sell it for 280 AED and still make double the profit."

She wasn't wrong about the numbers. But what she didn't realize—and what took me years of trial, error, and honestly some expensive mistakes to figure out—was that the math is only part of the story.

Today, as Dubai's beauty market continues exploding (we're looking at nearly 8% annual growth through 2026), this question isn't going away. Whether you're a solo stylist working from a studio apartment in JLT or managing a spa in Jumeirah, you're probably wrestling with the same dilemma: create your own products for those juicy profit margins, or stick with trusted brands that practically sell themselves?

Here's what I've learned after watching dozens of beauty professionals navigate this choice—and making plenty of my own missteps along the way.

What exactly is salon product strategy anyway?

Simply put, it's how you decide what products to sell in your salon and whether to create them yourself or stock established brands. Think of it as your retail roadmap—the strategy that determines whether your clients walk out with a bottle of Kerastase or your own signature hair mask.

The decision impacts everything: your profit margins, brand identity, client trust, and honestly, how much sleep you get at night worrying about inventory and quality control.

Let me walk you through what really works in practice, especially here in Dubai where clients have high expectations and plenty of options.

How does salon product strategy actually work in practice?

I've seen three main approaches that actually succeed:

The Brand Loyalist Approach: You stock 2-3 premium established brands that align with your services. Think Aveda for organic-focused salons or Olaplex for damage repair specialists. Your role becomes that of a trusted curator—clients know you've vetted these products and stand behind them.

The Private Label Pioneer: You develop your own product line, usually starting with 1-2 core items that complement your signature services. This requires finding manufacturers, ensuring quality, and building trust from scratch.

The Hybrid Strategy: This is what I recommend for most Dubai salons. You maintain a few trusted brand staples while gradually introducing your own products. It's like having a safety net while you build your own brand recognition.

Here's a real example: Sarah runs a nail salon in Dubai Marina. She stocks OPI and Essie because clients specifically ask for them, but she also created her own cuticle oil blend using local ingredients like argan oil. The branded polishes bring clients in, but her custom oil—which costs her 12 AED to make and sells for 65 AED—is pure profit and keeps clients coming back.

The key is understanding that your strategy should match your business goals, not just your profit dreams.

What are the main benefits and drawbacks of each approach?

Stocking Known Brands:

Benefits:

• Instant credibility (clients trust names they recognize)
• Built-in demand (people specifically request Moroccan Oil or L'Oréal)
• Marketing support from brands
• Quality assurance handled by established companies
• Easy reordering and inventory management

Drawbacks:

• Lower profit margins (typically 40-60% vs 70-80% for private label)
• You're competing with every other salon selling the same products
• Limited control over pricing and availability
• Brand loyalty belongs to the manufacturer, not you

Creating Your Own Products:

Benefits:

• Higher profit margins (I've seen 300-400% markups work)
• Complete brand control and differentiation
• Deeper client loyalty to YOUR brand
• Flexibility in pricing and positioning
• Exclusive products create scarcity and desire

Drawbacks:

• Significant upfront investment (minimum orders, packaging, testing)
• Quality control responsibility falls entirely on you
• Marketing burden to build trust and awareness
• Regulatory compliance (especially important in Dubai with ESMA requirements)
• Inventory risk if products don't sell

Let me share what happened when I first tried creating my own line. I was so excited about a hair mask formula I'd developed that I ordered 500 units without testing the market. Six months later, I still had 300 bottles sitting in storage because I'd underestimated how long it takes to build client trust in a new product.

When should you use each approach?

Go with established brands when:

• You're just starting and need immediate credibility
• Your clients specifically request certain brands
• You want to focus entirely on services, not product development
• You're in a high-traffic area where tourists expect familiar luxury brands
• Your cash flow is tight and you can't handle inventory risk

Consider private label when:

• You have a signature service that could benefit from a complementary product
• Your clients already trust your expertise and ask for product recommendations
• You're ready to invest time and money in product development
• You want to differentiate from competitors
• You have steady cash flow to handle upfront costs

The hybrid approach works when:

• You want the best of both worlds (which is most of us)
• You're established enough to experiment but not ready to go all-in
• You have some products that sell consistently (your bread and butter) and want to test custom options
• You're building toward eventually having more private label products

What mistakes should you avoid?

I've made most of these mistakes myself, so learn from my expensive education:

Mistake 1: Starting too big with private label I see stylists wanting to launch with 5-6 products. Start with ONE product that directly complements your most popular service. Test, refine, then expand.

Mistake 2: Ignoring Dubai's regulatory requirements You can't just slap a label on products here. ESMA approval is mandatory, and the process takes time. Factor this into your timeline and budget.

Mistake 3: Competing on price instead of value Whether it's your own products or established brands, don't race to the bottom on pricing. Dubai clients often associate higher prices with better quality.

Mistake 4: Poor inventory management I once had three bottles of a expensive hair treatment expire because I didn't track turnover properly. Now I use systems that alert me before products get close to expiration.

Mistake 5: Not educating clients about your products Having great products isn't enough. Your team needs to know how to recommend them naturally during services, not push them awkwardly at checkout.

The Dubai advantage: Why location matters for your strategy

Working in Dubai gives us unique advantages that I don't think we always appreciate:

High disposable income: Clients here are often willing to pay premium prices for quality products, whether branded or private label.

International clientele: Tourists love taking home exclusive products from their salon experience. Your private label items become souvenirs.

Luxury expectations: The market here expects premium experiences, which can work in favor of both high-end brands and well-positioned custom products.

Growing wellness trend: There's increasing demand for natural, organic, and halal-certified products—a perfect opportunity for private label development.

But Dubai also presents challenges. Competition is fierce, regulations are strict, and clients have access to products from around the world. Your strategy needs to account for these realities.

How DINGG helps Dubai salons nail their product strategy

Here's where having the right tools makes all the difference. Whether you're selling established brands or your own products, you need systems that actually work.

DINGG's inventory management helps you track both luxury brands and private label products in one place. You can see which items sell best after specific services—like recommending your custom hair oil after a keratin treatment—and set up automatic reorder points so you never run out of bestsellers.

The CRM features let you track client preferences and purchase history, so you know exactly when to introduce new products or reorder favorites. Plus, for multi-location salons expanding across Dubai, you can manage inventory and sales data from JLT to Downtown from a single dashboard.

Most importantly, the reporting features help you understand your true product profitability, factoring in all costs something crucial when you're comparing private label margins to branded product sales.

My recommendation: Start hybrid, think long-term

After years of watching salons succeed and fail with different approaches, here's my honest advice:

For solo professionals: Start with 2-3 established brands that your clients already trust. Once you're consistently selling products and have cash flow stability, test ONE private label item that complements your signature service.

For single-location salons: Maintain a core selection of proven brands (your steady revenue), but allocate 20-30% of your product space to testing private label options. This gives you room to experiment without risking your entire retail revenue.

For growing chains: You have the advantage of scale. Consider developing private label products that can differentiate all your locations while maintaining some branded products that franchisees can easily understand and sell.

The key is thinking beyond just profit margins. Yes, private label can be incredibly profitable, but only if you can build the trust and systems to support it.

Remember Mariam from my opening story? She ended up taking a hybrid approach. She kept selling the Moroccan oil treatment (it was too popular to drop), but she developed her own leave-in conditioning spray. Two years later, her custom spray outsells the branded treatment 3:1, and clients specifically book with her partly because of her exclusive products.

The beauty of the hybrid approach is that it gives you options. Market conditions change, client preferences evolve, and your business grows. Having both established brands and private label products means you can adapt without starting from scratch.

Your product strategy isn't just about what you sell—it's about how you position yourself in Dubai's competitive beauty market. Whether you choose established brands, create your own, or blend both approaches, the key is aligning your products with your brand identity and your clients' expectations.

Start where you are, use what you have, and build gradually. Your perfect product mix is probably different from mine, and that's exactly how it should be.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I create my own product line or stock well-known brands as a solo beautician? 

For solo professionals, I recommend starting with established brands to build credibility, then gradually introducing 1-2 private label products once you have steady cash flow and client trust.

How can I start a private label product line with limited resources? 

Begin with one product that directly complements your most popular service. Partner with local manufacturers, ensure ESMA compliance, and test with existing clients before investing in large quantities.

What are the risks of selling my own products in Dubai? 

Main risks include upfront investment costs, regulatory compliance requirements, inventory management challenges, and the time needed to build client trust in unfamiliar products.

How can I effectively market retail products without a big budget? 

Use social media to showcase products in action, educate clients during appointments about benefits, create loyalty programs, and leverage client testimonials and before/after photos.

What tools can help me manage product sales alongside appointments? 

Integrated platforms like DINGG help track inventory, monitor which products sell best after specific services, and manage client purchase history from a single dashboard.

How do I decide which established brands to stock? 

Choose brands that align with your service specialty, have good profit margins, strong client recognition, and reliable supply chains in the UAE market.

Can selling my own products improve client loyalty? 

Yes, exclusive products that reflect your expertise can significantly increase client retention and create a unique selling proposition that competitors can't easily replicate.

How do I price my private label products competitively? 

Research competitor pricing, calculate all costs including ESMA compliance, factor in your target profit margin, and test pricing with a small client group before full launch.

What are common mistakes solo professionals make with product sales? 

Over-investing in inventory, neglecting Dubai's regulatory requirements, poor product education for clients, and trying to launch too many products simultaneously without testing demand.

Are eco-friendly or halal-certified products worth the investment in Dubai? 

Absolutely. There's growing demand for sustainable and halal-certified beauty products in Dubai, and these can command premium pricing while attracting conscious consumers.