The published industry floor for cosmetic packaging from China is 5,000–10,000 pieces per item. Through partner factories already tooled for small runs the indicative floors are about 500 for an undecorated stock component, 2,000 with a screen-printed logo, 2,000–5,000 per shape for sprayed colour, 5,000–10,000 for tubes and moulded-in colour, around 10,000 for airless bottles and electroplated closures, 3,000–10,000 plus RMB 25,000–70,000 tooling for a new mould, and 30,000+ for made-to-order glass. Every figure applies per component. The full sixteen-row master table is on the cosmetic packaging MOQ index 2026.
How to read this table
This guide is a summary of the Cosmetic Packaging MOQ Index 2026, which carries the full sixteen-row master table with tooling costs, notes and links to every product specification. The logic is the same throughout: MOQ is set by how much of the piece is made for you. Three routes exist for each type — an existing component in a stock colour; the same component with your decoration; a private mould. The published industry floor is 5,000–10,000 pieces per item; the lower figures are reachable only where a partner factory is already tooled for small runs, and they are indicative, not a commitment.
Sixteen formats, three routes
| Packaging type | Stock, undecorated (floor) | Stock + decoration | Private mould (floor) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airless bottles | ~10,000 (multi-component assembly; some stock lines lower) | 10,000; sprayed outer sleeve 2,000–5,000 per shape on top | 10,000 custom; 90–120 day programme |
| Dropper bottles | ~500 stock glass in warehouse; low thousands on a public-mould run | 2,000 screen print; 2,000–5,000 sprayed or anodised collar; frosted stock from ~1,000 | 3,000–5,000 on a short-run glassworks line; 30,000+ made-to-order |
| Glass bottles | ~500 in stock; low thousands on a public mould | 2,000 print; 2,000–5,000 sprayed per shape | 5,000+ on short-run lines; 30,000–200,000 made-to-order |
| Cosmetic jars (PP / acrylic / glass) | ~500 stock, incl. double-wall shapes | 2,000 print; sprayed cap 2,000–5,000; plated cap ~10,000 | 3,000–10,000 plus tooling |
| Matte black glass jars | Low thousands on stock glass | 2,000–5,000 per shape for the sprayed matte black; print / hot stamp +2,000 | 10,000–30,000 with tooling; rarely necessary |
| Cosmetic tubes | Not stocked — 5,000–10,000 per SKU extruded to order; 3,000 negotiable | Same (print is part of the run); ±10% over/under | Tube body is public tooling; private caps add a tool |
| HDPE shampoo & body bottles | ~500 stock (natural, white, black, clear) | 2,000 print; 2,000–5,000 sprayed per geometry; moulded-in colour 5,000–10,000 | 3,000–10,000 plus tooling |
| Sunscreen packaging | Airless ~10,000; tube 5,000–10,000; stock tottle / stick low thousands | Spray 2,000–5,000 per shape; tube print inside the run | 10,000 custom airless; 3,000–10,000 custom stick or tottle |
| Deodorant packaging | Low thousands on stock sticks (typical partner-factory range) | 2,000 print; 2,000–5,000 sprayed; moulded-in 5,000–10,000 | 3,000–10,000 plus tooling; each of 4–5 parts is a separate tool |
| Fragrance bottles | 500–1,000 stock clear flacon | 3,000–5,000 sprayed flacon; 2,000–5,000 sprayed cap; 5,000–10,000 magnetic or plated cap; 10,000 custom collar | 10,000+ own flacon mould (some lines from 5,000) |
| Lip packaging | Custom-decorated stock gloss tube from ~1,000 | 2,000–5,000 sprayed; moulded-in from ~3,000; plated ~10,000 | 3,000–10,000; custom mechanism 80–90 days |
| Gift sets / rigid boxes | From ~500 simple; 1,000–2,000 typical | Hot stamp, emboss, soft-touch inside the run | n/a — cutting die only |
| Paper / folding cartons | 2,000–5,000; digital print lower on simple cartons | Included in the run | n/a — die-cut |
| Flexible pouches & sachets | Set by the print run; low thousands on short-run lines | Printed on stock film; laminate plants quote ~30,000–100,000 per artwork for foil sachets | Custom structure or spout tooling |
| Eco / PCR packaging | ~500 where a partner factory already runs the item in PCR | 2,000 print; sprayed 2,000–5,000; masterbatch colour 5,000–10,000 | 3,000–10,000 plus tooling |
| Refillable systems | Stock outer + custom pod from ~1,000 units | Sprayed / anodised outer 2,000–5,000 per shape | Custom outer from ~3,000 plus tool; airless cartridge ~10,000 |
Read the table per component, not per finished unit. A pump bottle is a bottle, a pump and an overcap, often from three plants with three minimums; a fragrance pack is a flacon, a pump, a cap, a collar and a box. The number in the first column applies to each of them. Tooling costs per row — glass moulds at RMB 2,500–4,000 per set, injection and blow moulds at RMB 25,000–70,000 — are on the index and explained on mould cost and ownership.
What actually sets each floor
The thresholds are not arbitrary. Each comes from a specific machine set-up that has to happen for your order alone, and the size of that set-up sets the minimum. Printing is cheap and colour is expensive.
| Finish or route | What the set-up actually is | Effect on your minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Full-wrap label or shrink sleeve | Digital press; no set-up beyond the file | Lowest of all: ~100–500 |
| Screen printing | A screen per colour; inexpensive | Almost none: 2,000 comes from the decorating line, not the artwork |
| Hot stamping / foil | A die, cut once and reusable | Small one-off |
| Frosting | A finishing pass on clear glass | Moderate; frosted stock shapes from ~1,000 |
| Sprayed colour | Spray line set up, run and cleaned down for your tone alone | Significant: 2,000–5,000 per component shape; shapes cannot be hung together |
| Anodising (aluminium) | Batch-based; fixtures and dye | Batch minimums; custom tone ~10,000 on collars |
| Moulded-in custom colour | Full material changeover and purge on the moulding line | Large: 5,000–10,000 |
| Electroplating / metallic closures | Plating line configured for your tone alone | Largest: ~10,000; not moved by any supplier |
| New mould (your own shape) | Steel cut for your shape | 3,000–10,000 plus RMB 25,000–70,000 tooling |
| Made-to-order glass | A furnace runs continuously; the item must justify a machine changeover | 30,000–200,000 |
Two legitimate ways under the numbers
Move the colour to the label. A full-wrap label or sleeve gives full-colour artwork on a stock bottle from about 100–500 pieces, where a sprayed colour would need 2,000 and a moulded colour 5,000–10,000. Treat decoration as one programme, not per item. Six products of 2,000 sharing one gold finish present the plating line with 12,000 pieces, which clears a threshold none of the six would clear alone — and is the only way the gold will actually match across the range. See matching a packaging collection across formats.
Where no small-run route exists, nobody beats the factory. Electroplated closures stay around 10,000, airless assemblies around 10,000, custom glass at 30,000-plus, through a sourcing partner too. A sourcing partner's lower figures come from routing each component to whichever factory is already tooled for small runs and substituting an existing mould with custom decoration for a newly cut one; the saving comes from avoiding the tooling, not from beating factory prices. The comparison of what nine China suppliers publish as their own minimum is on the index and in what 8 suppliers actually publish.
Reading a quote
- "MOQ 5,000" — per component or per finished unit? Ask for bottle, pump and cap separately.
- "Stock mould" vs "our mould" — existing public tooling or a new tool? If new, who owns it, and is the clause in the contract?
- "Custom colour available" — sprayed (2,000–5,000 per shape) or moulded-in (5,000–10,000)? Sprayed white and moulded-in white do not match.
- "±10%" — over/under delivery is industry practice on tubes and pouches; agree who pays for the surplus.
- Unit price — 20–40% higher on a small run than in bulk; that premium is the price of not financing stock.
- Below 500 pieces — freight from China outweighs the goods; a distributor in your own market serves you better.
The twelve supplier questions behind these checks are in how to evaluate a China packaging supplier; the days behind each route are on the lead time index; the pass thresholds applied to every order are on the quality standards page.
Vella is a Guangzhou-based beauty packaging solutions provider that helps indie and emerging cosmetic brands source packaging from vetted Chinese partner factories operating to ISO 22716 / GMP; the number a brand can hold it to is the one in its Quote + Supplier Options, per component, with the route stated. The first-run route most small brands take is on the indie brand launch solution.
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