A stock 30, 50 or 100 ml flacon from a public mould starts around 500–1,000 pieces undecorated, about 2,000 with a screen-printed logo and 3,000–5,000 sets once flacon, cap and box carry a sprayed custom colour. Your own flacon shape means 10,000+ pieces, glass tooling of RMB 2,500–4,000 (≈USD 350–555) per set or RMB 16,000–32,000 (≈USD 2,200–4,450) for a 4–8 cavity set, and a 90–120 day programme. Factory-gate lead time is 15–25 days on stock glass, 30–40 days sprayed, and 45–60 days tooling + 30–60 days glass for a new mould.
First, decide what "custom" means
In perfume glass there are four levels of custom, and each one has a different minimum, a different tooling bill and a different calendar. Most first launches that call themselves "custom" are level two or three — a stock shape that carries the brand in print, colour and cap. Level four, a flacon shape nobody else has, is where the mould and the 10,000-piece floor appear. The full component-by-component programme sits on our perfume bottle supplier page; this guide is the planning layer on top of it.
- Stock flacon, undecorated — a public-mould 30 / 50 / 100 ml shape in clear glass with a stock silver or gold pump and collar.
- Stock flacon + print — the same glass with a silk-screen or hot-stamped logo.
- Stock glass, sprayed custom colour — flacon, cap and box lacquered and printed to one Pantone.
- Own shape, new glass mould — your drawing, your tool, your minimum.
MOQ, mould and lead time by route
The figures below are indicative industry floors reached via partner factories already tooled for small runs; the published industry floor for made-to-order glass is far higher, because a furnace does not stop. Read the buffered column as the number you put in your launch plan.
| Route | Indicative minimum | Tooling | Lead time, factory gate | Buffered (×1.3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock flacon, undecorated, stock pump and collar | 500–1,000 pcs | None | 15–25 days; samples 7–10 days | 20–33 days; +15 days across Chinese New Year |
| Stock flacon + screen print or hot stamp | ~2,000 pcs | Screen ≈RMB 0.1 per colour (≈USD 0.014); hot-stamp die, small one-off | Stock cycle + 5–7 days | 26–42 days |
| Stock glass, sprayed custom colour across flacon, cap and box | 3,000–5,000 sets | Colour-matching set-up per shape; no mould | 30–40 days after sprayed-sample approval (samples 10–14 days) | 39–52 days |
| Custom-colour or plated collar and cap | ~10,000 pcs per component | Plating line set up for your tone; anodising fixtures | 25–40 days | 33–52 days |
| Own flacon shape, new glass mould | 10,000+ pcs via partner lines; 30,000–200,000 made-to-order furnace floor | RMB 2,500–4,000 (≈USD 350–555) per set; 4–8 cavity RMB 16,000–32,000 (≈USD 2,200–4,450); full programmes commonly quoted USD 8,000–20,000 | 45–60 days tooling + 30–60 days glass | Plan a 90–120 day programme |
Two things the table hides. First, the minimum applies per component: a perfume pack is a flacon, a pump, a cap, a collar and a rigid box from three or four factories, and a published figure of 5,000 means 5,000 of each part, not 5,000 sets. Second, perfume glass rejects harder than skincare glass — clear glass shows every flaw — which is why sprayed minimums on flacons sit at 3,000–5,000 rather than the 2,000 you may see quoted for jars. The cross-category view is on the MOQ index.
What the glass mould actually costs
Glass moulds are cheaper than plastic injection tools because the cavity is simpler and the steel does less work. The cost is rarely the deciding factor — the minimum run that justifies a machine changeover is.
| Mould type | Indicative cost | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Hand-blown mould | RMB 2,500 ≈ USD 350 per set | Artisan or sculptural flacons, small runs, wider tolerances |
| Automatic-line mould, single cavity | RMB 4,000 ≈ USD 555 | Standard IS-machine production of 30 / 50 / 100 ml flacons |
| 4–8 cavity automatic set | RMB 16,000–32,000 ≈ USD 2,200–4,450 | Larger runs; lowers the unit price once volume justifies it |
| Full custom flacon programme (mould, sampling, trial runs) | Commonly quoted USD 8,000–20,000 | A proprietary shape with thick base or press-formed detail |
Whoever pays for the mould owns it. The partner factory holds it in custody for your orders only and releases it on written notice; that clause, the 30/40/30 payment structure and the eight cost lines behind a mould quote are on the mould cost and ownership reference. If a supplier quotes a 500-piece "custom-shape" perfume bottle, they are quoting a stock shape with your label on it — which may be exactly what you want, but call it what it is.
Where the lead time goes
"20 days" is the most quoted and least reliable number in packaging. A factory's production time is one node of ten; order review, raw material, outsourced decoration, incoming inspection, final inspection and freight are the other nine. Glass adds a structural twist: the industry is split between forming factories (melting and moulding the bare bottle) and decoration factories (spraying, printing, hot-stamping), so a sprayed flacon has two lead times and two quality gates inside it. Pumps and collars ship with the flacon but come from their own lines — anodised aluminium collars run 25–40 days. The rigid box is cut only after the glass is confirmed, never in parallel, because the insert is measured off the approved sample. The full ten-node chain and the Chinese New Year rule (+15 days if you cross 6 February 2027) are on the production calendar and the lead-time index.
Which route for which launch
- Under about 1,000 sets — stock flacon, stock collar, your colour carried by the cap, the box and the print. It reads premium on shelf and needs no colour set-up on the glass.
- 3,000–5,000 sets — the honest floor for a fully custom-coloured family; every component sprayed or printed to one Pantone and approved side by side.
- 10,000+ pieces with a shape that decoration cannot deliver — the only case where a new glass mould pays back. Plan five to six months from brief to first delivery.
Before any of these, fix the structural decision that cannot be changed after the glass order: crimp FEA 15 or screw 15/415. And before signing a golden sample, read the pass thresholds a fragrance order is checked against — atomisation to a target card, 0.1–0.2 ml per shot, ≥1,500 actuations, −0.08 MPa vacuum leak — on our QC standards page, and the questions to ask a factory on how to evaluate a China packaging supplier. The specification layer behind all of this is on fragrance bottles, glass bottle specifications and the fragrance packaging solution.
Vella is a Guangzhou-based beauty packaging solutions provider — a sourcing partner, not a factory. For perfume packs we route flacon, pump, cap, collar and box to vetted partner factories operating to ISO 22716 / GMP, publish the minimum per component before you enquire, and run the family's decoration in one coordinated pass. Full programme: perfume bottle supplier.
Common questions
- Perfume Bottle Sizes Explained: 1 oz, 1.7 oz, 3.4 oz (30/50/100 ml), Sprays per Bottle and Which Size to Launch
- Can You Bring Perfume on a Plane? TSA, EU and UK Liquid Rules for Perfume and Cologne (2026) and Which Bottle Sizes Pass
- How Long Does Perfume Last? Shelf Life, Storage, and How the Bottle Affects It
- Travel Size Perfume Bottles and Atomizers: 5–10 ml Refillable Sprays, MOQ and Sourcing from China
- Square Perfume Bottles: Stock Shapes, Custom Moulds, Decoration MOQ and Cap Options (Surlyn, Wood, Zamac)
Launching a fragrance?
Get the minimum per component before you commit.
Tell us the size, the volume you expect to sell in year one and whether your filler can crimp. We reply within 24 hours with the route, the minimums and a realistic calendar.
Send a brief →