Bringing its search and discovery tools to a sector that has historically struggled with interruptions and roadblocks in supplier networks, the company announced that it now indexes over 1,000 manufacturers in the category, supporting a combined market value exceeding $100 billion.
According to Keychain’s press release, the expansion “connects brands to 1,000+ manufacturers representing over $100 billion in market value,” aiming to reduce costs, speed time-to-market, and streamline sustainable sourcing.
Bringing visibility to a fragmented industry
Keychain CEO and Co-founder Oisin Hanrahan told CosmeticsDesign US that the decision to prioritize beauty and personal care was driven by persistent inefficiencies in how brands and manufacturers connect.
“There’s a ton of innovation happening in beauty and personal care, but the manufacturing side hasn’t kept up,” said Hanrahan. “It’s still opaque, fragmented, and heavily relationship-driven,” he characterized, and “we found that many brands, especially newer ones, were struggling to find partners who could deliver on quality, support sustainable formulations, or scale quickly.”
On the supply side, he noted that manufacturers lacked access to real-time demand. “That slowed things down and made it harder to form the right connections,” he said. “We bring transparency and speed to a system that has long relied on word-of-mouth.”
Tailoring for a fast-moving category
Unlike in the food and beverage industry, where Keychain first gained traction, beauty brands face unique sourcing requirements. “Beauty and personal care brands move quickly,” said Hanrahan. “There’s constant pressure to launch new products and stay ahead of trends, but they also can’t compromise on quality or brand identity.”
He added that the company’s platform now includes tailored filters for the category. “Brands can search by formulation types, minimum order sizes, sustainability practices, and more,” he said. “We’ve also focused on onboarding manufacturers who are open to working with indie brands, not just established players.”
Manufacturers report improved demand forecasting
We also spoke to Pacha Soap, one of the manufacturers featured on Keychain’s platform, which has seen notable operational shifts since joining. “The biggest shift is that we’re no longer planning in the dark,” Alan Cunningham, president & COO of Pacha Soap, told CDU. “Keychain gives us clearer insight into what types of products brands are searching for, what ingredients or claims they’re prioritizing, and where the demand is heading.”
That level of visibility has informed both production and R&D strategy, he added. “We can plan production more efficiently, allocate resources with greater confidence, and even move more quickly on R&D for trending categories,” he said.
Enabling agile launch models
As brands seek faster market entry, Keychain is supporting a more iterative approach to product development. “We’re seeing strong demand for manufacturers that offer clean formulations, sustainable packaging, and newer formats like hybrid skin care or multifunctional products,” Hanrahan said.
For example, he illustrated, “instead of waiting months to launch a single product line, they’ll release smaller runs more frequently, use consumer feedback to refine their offerings, and build from there.”
Manufacturers like Pacha Soap also see broader implications for the industry. “It’s creating a more open and collaborative environment,” said Cunningham. “The old model relied heavily on brokers, word-of-mouth, or long-standing relationships, [but] platforms like Keychain give companies like ours direct access to a wider range of partners.”
Looking ahead, and following a recent investment round led by Bright Pixel Capital, the company plans to continue expanding across CPG categories and geographies, Hanrahan concluded.
