I’ve been exploring Frank Tufano’s sunscreen products and noticed some intriguing information on the label. It reads “Manufactured for: Frank Tufano, New York, NY,” which typically suggests it’s produced by a third-party rather than by Frank himself.
The listed ingredients appear quite basic: water, glycerin, zinc oxide, sodium chloride, and jojoba oil. I’ve observed these same ingredients in numerous generic sunscreen formulations from various OEM producers.
I’m interested to know if anyone has insights on whether Frank is indeed making these products or if he’s obtaining them from wholesalers. Have any of you encountered similar formulations from other sources? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
yeah, saw this coming. same deal with his supplements - basic stuff you can get anywhere but with insane markup. that “manufactured for” label basically screams “i didn’t make this.” just grab zinc oxide sunscreen from cvs or whatever, it’s probably identical and way cheaper.
The labeling tells you everything, honestly. A few years back when I got into researching skincare companies, I learned the difference between “Manufactured for” vs “Manufactured by” - that’s your smoking gun. You’re looking at classic white labeling where they buy existing formulations and slap their brand on it. That zinc oxide blend? Super common. I’ve found nearly identical ingredient lists from at least three wholesale suppliers with basic searches. Dead giveaway is how simple the formula is. Custom manufacturing would have more complex ingredient combos and preservative systems. Frank’s probably buying these in 500-1000 unit batches minimum and marking them way up. Nothing wrong with this model, but you’re paying for the brand name, not proprietary R&D.
Been in cosmetics for years - that “Manufactured for” label screams private labeling. If they actually made it themselves, it’d say “Manufactured by.” That ingredient list you mentioned? Super basic zinc oxide formula that tons of contract manufacturers sell as stock products. I’ve seen these exact same ingredients from suppliers like Kolmar Labs and other OEM facilities doing private label skincare. Most influencers and smaller brands do this because real manufacturing means FDA compliance, equipment, and formulation expertise - we’re talking hundreds of thousands upfront. Private labeling isn’t bad, but the price should reflect that these aren’t custom formulas they developed themselves.
Yeah, that labeling screams private label. What drives me crazy is trying to find the actual manufacturer and compare prices across white label brands - it’s impossible to do by hand.
I built something for this exact problem when researching supplements and skincare for my team. Automated scraping of ingredient lists from hundreds of products, cross-referenced them with OEM catalogs, and flagged identical formulations sold under different brands.
Found insane markups. Same zinc oxide formula: $12 wholesale, $45 from one influencer, $89 from another. The automation grabbed pricing data, ingredient matches, and even tracked down original manufacturer specs.
You can set up flows to monitor new launches, auto-compare ingredients, and get alerts when you find that same formula elsewhere for way less. Beats manually checking every label and trying to remember what you’ve seen.
Saves massive time and money when you’re figuring out who’s actually innovating vs. just slapping their name on existing products.
I’ve worked with contract manufacturers before, and yeah, others are right about the private labeling. When I checked out Frank’s products, the formulation has zero unique identifiers or proprietary ingredients - nothing that screams custom development. Companies doing real R&D usually have at least one or two ingredients that separate them from standard OEM stuff. That basic five-ingredient list you mentioned? That’s textbook wholesale sunscreen. I’ve seen the exact same formula from multiple suppliers offering it as stock with 500-unit MOQs. The dead giveaway isn’t just the ‘manufactured for’ label - it’s that there’s no formulation story or explanation for why they picked those specific ingredients in those ratios. Real manufacturers love talking about their development process.
Frank’s not making these himself. I’ve been through this exact thing when we checked out skincare suppliers for our company wellness program.
That ingredient list? It’s what I call a “commodity formula” - the most basic zinc sunscreen you can get from contract manufacturers. Got samples from 6 different OEMs and half had this same blend.
The sodium chloride gives it away. That’s just table salt they use as cheap thickener in basic formulas. Any decent formulator would use something better.
The markup’s insane. We tracked one of these formulas to the source - same product selling for $3.50 per unit at 1000+ quantities. Saw it retail for $40+ under different brands.
Private labeling’s fine if you’re upfront about it and price fairly. But when someone acts like they’re some skincare innovator? That’s sketchy.
