Add your first raw materials

Overview

Your raw material library, which some beginners may think of as an ingredient library, is the foundation for formulas, batching, costing, purchasing, and inventory.

Do not try to build the full library on day one. Add the materials you actually need for your first real formula.

What to add first

Start with raw materials that are most likely to appear in your first working formula:

• your main water or oil phase materials
• emulsifiers, thickeners, preservatives, and fragrances you use regularly
• any materials you need for your first batch immediately

Small and accurate beats large and incomplete.

Open the raw material form

1. Open /ingredients
2. If you want to search the master catalog first, open /ingredients/reference
3. Click Add to My Raw Materials to prefill the normal create flow, or continue directly to /ingredients/new
4. Enter the core identity fields:
   • trade name
   • common / plain name
   • INCI name
5. Add the category, unit, and supplier details if you have them

If you know your opening stock or first purchase already, enter it during this first setup step so inventory starts connected to the record.

What matters most in the first pass

For an initial setup, prioritize:

• names that chemists and your team will recognize
• correct unit of measure
• correct INCI for compliance output
• enough cost or stock information to support the first formula

You can enrich the record later with documentation, HLB values, SAP values, supplier SKUs, and additional notes.

When to use the Formuley Database

Use /ingredients/reference when you want to:

• search the shared reference catalog before creating a new record
• compare common name, INCI, CAS, and category data
• start from a prefilled ingredient instead of a blank form

This keeps your own working library clean while still letting you benefit from the larger shared database behind Formuley.

Expected result

When this step is complete, you should have:

• at least one usable raw material in the library
• enough identity data to select it in formulas
• enough stock and cost data to support your first workflow

Next docs

• Create your first formula
• First workflow in Formuley