A cosmetic spout pouch refill is a 100–1,000 ml stand-up pouch in a mono-PE (recycle-ready) or PET / PE laminate with a welded spout and screw cap sized to pour into the bottle neck. On stock film with a stock spout the minimum is set by the print run — cylinders at RMB 850–1,500 per colour — and the cycle is 25–35 days door to factory gate. A custom fitment needs a tool at a typical partner-factory range of USD 2,000–6,000 and 55–75 days. Every pouch is signed against spout seals ≥20 N/cm at a 3.5–4.5 mm seal width, side seals ≥65 N/15 mm, 200 N compression for 10 min and −0.06 MPa vacuum for 1 min with no leak.
What the pouch is and where it fits
A refill system is two things sold separately: a durable outer the customer keeps — typically a 250–1,000 ml HDPE or PET bottle with a 24/410 or 28/410 pump — and a low-cost inner they replace. The spout pouch is that inner for liquids: shampoo, body wash, lotion, hand wash, hair oil. It is a stand-up pouch with a bottom gusset, a spout and screw cap welded into the top or corner seal, and a tear notch. Structure is PET / PE for print and stiffness or a mono-PE laminate where a recycle-ready claim is wanted, with a barrier layer only where the formula needs it. The plastic saving against a rigid bottle is up to 80%, which is the whole reason the format exists.
The engineering is in the interface. The spout must be sized to pour into the bottle neck without a funnel, the seal around the spout must not weep under squeeze, and the pouch must survive a carton stacked for 30 days at sea. The system view — outer, inner, interface and test — is on the sustainable and refill packaging solution; the formats are on flexible packaging and pouches and refillable packaging.
MOQ: the print run sets it, the fitment can move it
Unlike a foil sheet-mask sachet, a spout pouch is usually made on stock film — a standard PET / PE or mono-PE web the converter already runs — so there is no structure to develop and the minimum is set by the print run. Rotogravure cylinders cost RMB 850–1,500 (≈USD 120–210) per colour, and the converter quotes a quantity that amortises them: low thousands on partner short-run lines for a plain or lightly printed pouch, more for a full-coverage six-colour design. The stock spout — a standard fitment in a standard bore with a matching screw cap — carries no tooling and is bought by the thousand.
| Route | Realistic minimum | Set-up cost | Factory-gate lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock film + stock spout, custom print | Set by the print run on stock film; low thousands on partner short-run lines | Cylinders or plates RMB 850–1,500 per colour; +5–7 days on new artwork | 25–35 days door to factory gate |
| Stock film + stock spout, plain pouch + pressure-sensitive label | From ~500 | Label print run only | Inside the label lead time — the route below the print floor |
| Custom structure (barrier layer, new sealant, PCR laminate) | Quoted per structure | Structure development; cylinders | 55–75 days |
| Custom spout / fitment (bespoke bore, cap, tamper band) | Quoted per fitment; tool amortised across the programme | Fitment tool, typical partner-factory range USD 2,000–6,000 | 55–75 days including tooling |
| Refill-compatible HDPE or PET bottle (the outer) | ~500 stock undecorated; 2,000 with a printed logo; 2,000–5,000 sprayed per shape | None on stock; spray set-up per shape | 7–25 days stock; 30–40 days sprayed |
| Folding carton or shipper for the pouches | 2,000–5,000 carton; ~100 shipping cases | Cutting die, low cost | 10–15 days after artwork |
Two habits from converter practice. First, ±10% over- or under-delivery is normal on a printed and converted run — agree who pays for the surplus. Second, the unit price on a small run is typically 20–40% higher than in bulk; a quote well below market that hides the cylinder or tool cost is the one to distrust. Every format's floor is on the MOQ index.
Fitment tooling: when a custom spout is worth it
A stock spout is a standard injection-moulded fitment with a welding flange and a screw cap, available in a handful of bores. It costs nothing to tool and pours into most 24/410 and 28/410 bottle necks. A custom fitment — a bespoke bore that mates with your bottle, a branded cap, a tamper band, a one-way valve — needs an injection tool at a typical partner-factory range of USD 2,000–6,000, adds 55–75 days, and follows the same ownership rules as any private mould: the brand pays, the brand owns, the partner factory holds it in custody for that brand's orders only (see mould cost and ownership). Closure-size tools generally quote across a wide spread — USD 3,000–10,000 for a bottle closure, with quotes varying by a factor of three — so get three quotes and itemise the tool separately from the pouch.
The decision rule: a first refill programme uses a stock spout and sizes the pouch to the existing bottle; a custom fitment is justified when the reorder volume is proven and the interface — a pour that does not dribble, a click that the customer trusts — is a brand feature rather than a convenience. Interface forces are measured on samples before the minimum is committed, the same way pod engagement is: across repeated cycles on a set of samples, not once on one.
Seal tests: the numbers the pouch is signed against
The spout weld is a three-way seal — film to film to fitment — and it is the weak point of the format. The pass marks are numeric and they are checked on the pre-production sample filled with your actual product, not with water alone.
| Test | Method / standard | Pass threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Spout-pouch and tube-style seals | Heat-seal peel | ≥20 N/cm; seal width 3.5–4.5 mm; seal line variation ≤0.5 mm |
| Heat-seal strength — side seals | QB/T 2358 peel | ≥65 N/15 mm |
| Heat-seal strength — top seal | QB/T 2358 peel | ≥60 N/15 mm |
| Compression | Filled to net content, 200 N for 10 min | No burst, no leak |
| Vacuum seal | Filled with water, −0.06 MPa for 1 min | No leakage |
| Tensile strength / elongation | GB/T 1040.3 | ≥50 N/15 mm; break force ≥50 N; elongation ≥77% |
| Interlayer peel (delamination) | GB/T 8808 | AL/PE ≥2.5 N/15 mm where a foil layer is used |
| Barrier (where a barrier layer is specified) | GB/T 1037 (WVTR), GB/T 1038 (OTR) | Agreed per structure; ≤0.1 per m²·24 h on foil |
| Formula compatibility | Actual bulk sealed in at 48°C for 30 days, ambient and cold controls | No delamination, ink lift, odour, swelling or seal softening |
| Cold / heat / light | −10°C (or −18°C) 7 days; 50°C 7 days; light cabinet 7 days | No visible change against the control |
| Solvent residue | GB/T 10004 | ≤10 mg/m² |
| Thickness | Micrometer, 0.001 mm | Total laminate within ±8% of the standard sample |
| Print register and position | Steel rule, 0.5 mm | Main image ≤0.3 mm; position ±2 mm; barcode grade C or better |
| Acceptance | ISO 2859-1 AQL | Agreed per defect class |
The ≥20 N/cm at 3.5–4.5 mm spout-seal figure is the one to write into the spec and ask for on the report; a converter who quotes only side-seal strength has not tested the fitment weld. The four gates behind these numbers are on the QC standards.
Formula rules that override the table
- Shampoo, body wash, lotion, hand wash: mono-PE spout pouch; spout sized to the bottle neck; seal and burst tested on sample batches. The default.
- Alcohol above ~30% (styling waters, scalp tonics): PE sealant inside, never a PET contact layer; test the sealant against the bulk.
- Hair oil, essential-oil-rich treatments: oils extract plasticisers and lift ordinary inks — run the 48°C / 30-day hold on the printed pouch and check the ink and adhesive.
- Oxygen-sensitive actives: add a barrier layer (EVOH or foil); a mono-PE pouch alone passes oxygen at 150–300 units.
The full set of rules is on the formula × packaging compatibility matrix; the bottle side of the system — 200–500 ml HDPE / PET, 24/410 and 28/410 pumps — is on the haircare and bodycare packaging solution.
Lead time and transit
Stock film with custom print is 25–35 days door to factory gate, with +5–7 days for cylinders on new artwork; a custom structure or fitment is 55–75 days. Multiply by 1.3 for the committed date and add 15 days across Chinese New Year (calendar on lead time and the China production calendar). Empty pouches ship flat-packed with a moisture barrier in cartons at ≤8% board moisture; they are filled by your contract filler, so the refill-compatible bottle and the pouch are sequenced to arrive together. Brief the pouch as a system — bottle neck, fill volume, structure, spout, print, tests — and check the converter's answers against how to evaluate a China packaging supplier.
Vella is a Guangzhou-based beauty packaging solutions provider — a sourcing partner, not a factory — that specifies the pouch and the bottle it refills as one system, routes the pouch to partner converters on stock film and stock spouts for a first programme, itemises any fitment tool separately with ownership held by the brand, and signs the pouch against the ≥20 N/cm spout-seal, compression and vacuum thresholds with your actual product before production. Partner factories operate to ISO 22716 / GMP; empty packaging only.
Common questions
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