I've sat in a lot of meetings where marketing walks in with proposed copy and asks the room, "Can we say this?" By then the formula is locked, the testing is done, and the packaging is at the printer. If the answer is no, everyone is stuck choosing between weaker language and a costly round of retesting. Both outcomes are avoidable.
The fix is simple, and it's one of the core principles of how I work. Claims belong in the brief, on day one, right alongside the concept, the target consumer, and the cost targets.
Claims shape the formula, not the other way around
A claim is a promise to the consumer, and every promise needs proof. Whether it's "visibly firmer skin in four weeks," "non-comedogenic," or an SPF number, each claim tells you something about what the formula has to do and how you'll prove it. When you define claims first, the brief tells your chemist exactly what to build toward. The hero ingredients, the usage levels, and the delivery system all follow from the result you want to promise.
When claims come last, you end up working backward and causing a lot of unnecessary spinning in the process. You test what you made and hope the results say something marketable.
Testing becomes a plan, not a gamble
With claims in the brief, the testing strategy writes itself. You know early whether you need a clinical study, a consumer perception study, instrumental measurements, dermatologist or safety testing, or full OTC testing for a drug-facts product. You can budget for it, schedule it, and line up the right lab before development begins.
That matters for timelines. A clinical study can take months from protocol to final report. Discover that you need one after the formula is approved, and your launch date moves.
Packaging and regulatory stay aligned
Claims don't only live in marketing copy. They show up on cartons, components, and retailer pages, and in some cases they change how a product is regulated. A cosmetic claim and a drug claim are not the same thing. Planning claims in the brief gives your regulatory review a clear target, keeps packaging copy from being rewritten at the last minute, and protects the brand from language it can't support.
What a claims-first brief includes
When I build a brief with a team, the claims section answers a few questions up front:
- What is the single most important promise this product makes?
- Which supporting claims matter most to our consumer and our retailer?
- What testing will substantiate each claim, and what will it cost?
- Are any claims drug claims that change the regulatory path?
- What is the fallback language if a result comes in lower than expected?
That last question is the one most teams skip, and it's the one that saves launches.
The payoff
When claims lead, marketing gets language it can stand behind, development builds with a clear target, and the launch stays on schedule. Consumers get products that do what they say. That's what innovation with integrity looks like in practice, and it starts with the very first page of the brief.