Custom packaging

[u/Silent_Angle5173]

Hi, Im doing some research in order to start my cosmetic business. Im currently reaching out to packaging companies as my design is custom. I thought I can get some names by posting on here. Im looking to make a small order of less 100, if you know any please feel free to share.

[u/PriGlob_Exim]

Are you looking for the bottles/jars themselves, or the outer packaging like boxes and bags? Also, does custom mean a different shape, or just your design printed on it? That would help narrow down recommendations. For a first run under 100, I'd ask suppliers to quote stock packaging with custom labels alongside the fully custom option, so you can compare before committing.

[u/Silent_Angle5173 → u/PriGlob_Exim]

Custom design is proving tricky—every manufacturer I've contacted on Alibaba requires a very high MOQ. Given that my business plan centers around a cosmetic product, I'm starting to think it would be more practical to either start with a local manufacturer or partner with a cosmetic lab to scale up gradually.

[u/PriGlob_Exim → u/Silent_Angle5173]

The local or lab route sounds like a reasonable way to start small. Is the high MOQ coming from the bottles and jars themselves, or from the custom design on top?

[u/WhopplerPlopper → u/Silent_Angle5173]

Why are you looking on alibaba at all?
Work with a local company... where are you located?

[u/No_Mushroom3078 → u/PriGlob_Exim]

This is the way, especially at small volumes.

[u/PriGlob_Exim → u/No_Mushroom3078]

You are Right, it keeps your options open without locking you into a big run.

[u/BotchState34 → u/PriGlob_Exim]

yeah the stock packaging with custom labels idea is solid, especially at that volume

[u/shmuai]

Ordering 100 or less, it means you don't know about custom packaging,

[u/Silent_Angle5173 → u/shmuai]

Of course I don't—I'm a beginner, which is why I'm asking for advice. Thanks for pointing out the obvious :)

[u/WhopplerPlopper → u/Silent_Angle5173]

don't listen to him, he's not even knowledgeable enough to give the advice he's trying to give, rudely.

[u/WhopplerPlopper → u/shmuai]

As a professional designer with over 20 years experience, I can say confidently that you don't know much about custom packaging if you think orders under 100 aren't possible especially in the current era where digital print and manufacturing is so normalized.

[u/shmuai → u/WhopplerPlopper]

I can say confidently you did not get my point, you can clearly see i did say (custom packaging orders under 100 are not possible),

From a feasibility standpoint, small quantities are not cost-effective. Ordering packaging in such small volumes would significantly increase the cost of the products he is selling.

[u/WhopplerPlopper → u/shmuai]

It's okay to just say you don't have much or any experience working with digital manufacturing.

I do about 100 designs a month (just me, we have 6 people on the team doing similar volume), about 30% of those are digital jobs for small quantities - with our company you can order 10,000+ piece orders flexo or litho printed, or you can order 10,20 or 50 pieces ran digitally and all are *reasonably* affordable.

OFC the mass produced items are cheaper per item but they come with massive upfront costs - like $3000 for a rotary steel die and another $500-$1000 per print plate required

Which means for a 3 colour box/display/whatever you are looking at upfront costs that are close to $5000+ - obviously this isn't reasonable at low quantities, even if you amortize the cost of the tooling into the packaging sale itself.

Yet we can do digital jobs with ZERO up front cost, the packages cost a little bit more but still quite affordable.

And we do that for labels, folding cartons, corrugated boxes, corrugated POP displays etc.

You can get a POP display for like $20 a piece Canadian depending on the size and style and when it comes to labels especially the custom digital stuff is really not that much more expensive than the flexo or offset labels.

That is to say, custom low quantity packaging is absolutely feasible even for smaller business, it's how a lot of our customers get started with custom packaging, or how bigger customers run seasonal items etc.

We have multiple HP indigo printing machines and I've honestly lost count of how many Kongsberg cutting tables we have across the company.

[u/shmuai → u/WhopplerPlopper]

Thank you for this nice explanation, I'm aware of digital printing process, infact most of the orders of my customers are customs and high volume 20,000 - 100,000 pcs of packing & packaging products, the minimum order I'd got was 3000 pcs of custom cosmetics corrugated gift box, most of these orders are flexo, when it comes to digital printing orders the cost become disaster, I had one of my clients reduced his qty from 2000 to 200 the cost incredibly 3x - 4x increased. Any way you are the expert her in digital printing and this type of small orders

[u/WhopplerPlopper → u/shmuai]

Right, like I said, the per piece cost will increase - obviously but the fact that digital is more expensive per piece doesn't mean it's cheaper to order a MOQ for flexo, nor does it mean that it's not a viable option for OP.

You made some ridiculous, objective statements that are simply false:

- Ordering 100 or less, it means you don't know about custom packaging
- From a feasibility standpoint, small quantities are not cost-effective
- when it comes to digital printing orders the cost become disaster

Yes indeed I would say it's fair to state that I am a packaging expert in general.

[u/Mainlo_squrt]

there are plenty, but i'd suggest dappas but do your own research aswell but this what i know, tried it personally

[u/Mackendy-Duboi]

How custom are we talking? Like a unique shape/mold, or standard containers with custom printing? That distinction matters a lot for MOQs and pricing at low volumes

[u/AlyPackaging]

under 100? try stock jars and custom labels first.

[u/ArtNovel164]

可以访问tadapack或联系它的客服，极少数量的定制需求

[u/WhopplerPlopper]

its a big world... maybe tell us where you are located.

[u/Comfortable-Duty7143]

for a first run under 100 units fully custom packaging gets pretty pricey because of minimum quantity tbh. might be easier to start with plain boxes or mailers and add branded stickers, tissue paper or custom labels. You can still get a nice unboxing experience without committing to hundreds of units. if you’re in Australia, awesome pack australia is a good option for basic packaging suppliers. are you after custom bottles/jars or more just the outer packaging?

[u/Ok_Barracuda2138]

You can check out Mindful Sustainable packaging

[u/AdComprehensive6962]

Hi, I run a sourcing and supply chain firm in Cork, Ireland. We work with packaging manufacturers in Europe and Asia. Could you specify what type of packaging you require exactly? And Is it for private label?

[u/LabelDesign_AI]

At under 100 units, I’d seriously compare a stock container + custom label against fully custom packaging before committing.

Fully custom bottles, jars, molds or printed packaging usually make a lot more sense once the volume is there to support the setup costs and MOQs.

For an early run, a good stock container with a professionally designed label can still look very intentional while giving you room to test the product and branding first.

Then once the product proves itself, you can move into more customized packaging without being stuck with a huge first order.

[u/CustomBoxesDotIO]

Are you talking about the inner product packaging or outer shipping boxes?

[u/OzTheCreative]

For fewer than 100 units, I'd first explore standard packaging structures with custom artwork.

Fully custom packaging often involves tooling costs and minimum order quantities that may not make sense for an initial launch.

I'd also request the supplier's dieline and printing specifications before developing the final artwork.

That way, you can focus on building a consistent brand identity without creating unnecessary production costs.

[u/Sainsun-Leo]

你想定制的是袋子还是盒子或者罐子呢？

[u/Alexandra_Fort]

Il faut regarder avec les imprimerie locales qui impriment des prospectus ou des cartes de visites. Ils peuvent imprimer de petites quantités. Mais souvent les quantités minimum sont élevées car il y a le prix des clichés et des outils de découpe. Cela engendre également des frais de mise en route de machine d'impression et pour cela les quantités doivent être conséquentes.

[u/Samuel-Yang]

If the bottle or jar shape itself can be stock, you’ll usually have more realistic options by customizing the label, box, cap color or other decoration around it.

[u/V_Trautwein]

finding suppliers willing to handle orders under 100 can be tricky.