A cosmetic packaging spec sheet needs 12 lines: product, fill volume, primary format, material, neck finish, closure or pump with its dose, decoration, colour reference, quantity per SKU and number of SKUs, target price, market and label needs, and launch date. The material line is decided by the formula before anything else — ethanol above ~30% rules out PET, pH below 4 means glass or PP, oxygen-sensitive actives mean amber glass, airless or a 5-layer EVOH tube — and the quantity line decides the route: about 500 for an undecorated stock part, 2,000 with a screen-printed logo, 2,000–5,000 per shape for sprayed colour, ~10,000 for airless and electroplated parts, 30,000+ for made-to-order glass. Lead time is the route's factory-gate figure × 1.3, +15 days across Chinese New Year, plus sea freight.
What the builder is doing, line by line
A packaging quote is only as good as the brief behind it. A supplier who has not been told your alcohol percentage, your pH and your key actives has quoted a shape, not a package; a supplier who has not been told the quantity per SKU cannot say whether the route is stock, stock plus decoration or a private mould. The builder forces those twelve facts into one sheet and applies the rules below in order: formula decides material, format decides neck and closure, look decides the decoration process and its minimum, quantity decides whether you clear it, and route plus calendar decides the order-by month.
The rules the builder applies
Every figure comes from the formula × packaging compatibility matrix, the MOQ index 2026 and the lead time index 2026. Minimums are indicative, per component, and reachable through partner factories already tooled for small runs; the published industry floor is 5,000–10,000 pieces per item.
| Formula condition | Allowed materials | Typical format | MOQ floor (stock + decoration) | Factory-gate lead time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water-based, low viscosity (serum, toner) | PET, PETG, glass | Glass 18/400–20/400 + pipette dropper; PET 20/410–24/410 + flip-top with orifice reducer or 0.1–0.2 ml sprayer | ~500 undecorated; 2,000 with screen print | Stock plastic 7–25 days +5–7 print; glass 30–60 |
| Ethanol above ~30% | Glass or alcohol-rated PETG; never PET | Glass bottle + sprayer with PTFE-coated or solvent-grade gasket | ~500 stock glass; 2,000 print; 2,000–5,000 sprayed | 30–60 days glass; ≈60 sprayed |
| pH below 4 (AHA/BHA) | Glass or PP; no standard metal spring in the fluid path | Glass + flip-top or orifice reducer; pump with 316 stainless or plastic spring | ~500 stock; 2,000 print | 30–60 days glass; 7–25 PP |
| Oxygen-sensitive (vitamin C, retinol, peptides) | Amber/opaque glass; PP/PETG airless; 5-layer EVOH tube (OTR ~0.2–1.2 vs 150–300 mono PE) | 15–50 ml airless, 0.15–0.2 cc dose; or amber glass + dropper | Airless ~10,000 (some stock lines lower); tubes 5,000–10,000, 3,000 negotiable | Stock airless 20–30 days; tubes 15–20 from sample approval |
| Essential oils, fragrance concentrates, perfume oils | Glass first; PP or HDPE if plastic; no AS or PMMA in contact; silicone or fluoroelastomer gaskets | Amber glass 15–30 ml + silicone-bulb dropper; perfume flacon + crimp FEA 15 or 15/415 sprayer | 500–1,000 stock flacon; sprayed flacon 3,000–5,000 | Stock 15–25 days; sprayed 30–40 after approval |
| Emulsion 2,000–50,000 mPa·s (cream, lotion) | Glass or PP jar; PMMA only with PP inner cup; PETG/PP airless | Wide-mouth jar Ø43–Ø70 with inner lid, foil seal, spatula; airless 0.5–1.0 cc | ~500 stock jar; 2,000 print; sprayed cap 2,000–5,000; plated cap ~10,000 | 21–27 days quoted stock + print; sprayed cap 30–40 |
| Wash-off 200–500 ml (shampoo, body wash) | HDPE; PET for a clear gel; PCR-HDPE 30/50/100% | 24/410 (200–300 ml) or 28/410 (300–1,000 ml) + disc-top or flip-top; lotion pump 2.0–3.5 cc for leave-on | ~500 stock; 2,000 print; 2,000–5,000 sprayed; moulded-in colour 5,000–10,000 | 21–27 quoted stock + print; 30–40 sprayed; PCR 35–50 |
| Mineral SPF / high-emollient sunscreen | 5-layer EVOH or ABL tube; PP airless; PP/HDPE tottle; not PET or AS | Tube Ø25–Ø40, 30–100 g, flip-top; airless 30–50 ml | Tube 5,000–10,000 per SKU; airless ~10,000 | 30–45 days; the 48°C / 30-day test governs |
How the decoration line moves your minimum
The look you choose is a machine set-up somewhere, and the size of that set-up is the floor. A full-wrap label or digital sleeve on a stock bottle starts at about 100–500; screen print at 2,000 (the decorating line's minimum, not the artwork's); frosting on a stock glass shape from about 1,000; sprayed custom colour 2,000–5,000 per component shape, because different shapes cannot be hung and sprayed together; anodised custom tones on aluminium collars around 10,000; electroplated closures ~10,000, not moved by any supplier; moulded-in colour 5,000–10,000; a new mould 3,000–10,000 pieces plus RMB 25,000–70,000 of tooling; made-to-order glass 30,000–200,000. Two ways under the numbers: move the colour to the label, or treat decoration as one programme across SKUs — six products of 2,000 sharing one shape and finish present the line with 12,000. Details on the decoration process comparison.
How the lead-time line is calculated
The builder uses the factory-gate cycle for your route from the lead time index — stock plastic 7–25 days, +5–7 for print or hot stamp, 30–40 for sprayed colour, 20–30 for stock airless, 15–20 for tubes and printed pouches, 30–60 for glass, 25–40 for anodised aluminium, 35–50 for PCR stock formats, 90–120 for a private-mould programme — multiplies it by 1.3 (the quoted cycle is the plan; the buffered cycle is the promise), adds 15 days if the production window touches Chinese New Year (6 February 2027; 26 January 2028), then adds sea freight port to port — 18–25 days to the US West Coast, 30–35 to the UK and Northern Europe, 20–25 to Australia — plus 5–10 days of clearance at each end. Sampling (7–10 days for stock samples, 10–14 for sprayed samples, 2–4 weeks for decorated samples on an existing mould) sits before the order and is not inside the figure. Sizes and their US fluid-ounce equivalents are on the bottle size guide; ml, fl oz and gram conversions on the unit converter.
Worked example: 30 ml vitamin C serum, 3,000 pieces, frosted, US, launch March
| Spec line | What the builder writes | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary format | 30 ml high-flint glass bottle, frosted, 18/400 neck; alternative PP/PETG airless 30 ml | Serum on 18/400 or 20/400 glass; vitamin C is oxygen-sensitive, so frosted clear glass needs a carton or the airless alternative |
| Closure | Glass pipette dropper, silicone bulb, 18/400 collar | Silicone over TPE for aggressive actives; the bulb is the weak point |
| Compatibility flags | Oxygen-sensitive: no clear PET dropper; amber/opaque glass, airless or EVOH; 48°C / 30-day test on the actual bulk | Oxidation browns vitamin C; the compatibility matrix rule |
| Decoration and MOQ | Acid-etch frosting on a stock shape, floor ~1,000; screen-printed logo, floor 2,000; 3,000 clears both | Frosted stock shapes from ~1,000; print 2,000; keep print + hot stamp to ≤2 passes |
| Lead time | Glass 30–60 days + print 5–7 = 35–67 quoted; × 1.3 = 46–88 buffered; + 15 CNY = up to 103 factory gate; + sea 18–25 + clearance 5–10 to the US West Coast | A March 2027 launch runs through the 6 February 2027 holiday, so the +15 applies |
| Verdict | Order by mid-October 2026 — golden sample signed, deposit paid — to have goods in the US for March 2027 | Consistent with the calendar rule: Q1 goods in the US or Europe need a confirmed order by the first week of December, earlier for glass |
Market label notes the builder adds as context
- United States — US labels print the fill in fluid ounces (fl oz = ml ÷ 29.5735), so a 30 ml bottle is 1.01 fl oz and 60 / 120 / 240 ml sizes exist alongside the metric steps; a domestic contact route for adverse-event reports goes on the label.
- United Kingdom — the binary "Recycle / Do not recycle" mark was postponed from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 for all materials, so a label run that must last beyond March 2027 should carry it now.
- European Union — nominal content, Responsible Person details, INCI list and PAO must fit the pack; PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40) has applied since 12 August 2026 and targets empty volume, recycled content and recyclability, so true internal capacity is measured against nominal size before a mould is committed.
- Australia — the importer's name and address must appear on the pack, the line most often missed on artwork adapted from a domestic version.
These are packaging-side observations, not legal advice; your safety assessor and Responsible Person own the label.
Vella is a Guangzhou-based beauty packaging solutions provider — a sourcing partner, not a factory — routing each component of your spec to vetted partner factories operating to ISO 22716 / GMP, batching decoration across SKUs to clear the minimums above, and signing every order against a golden sample and the four inspection gates on the QC standards page. Send the spec sheet the builder writes and the reply comes back per component, with the route stated. Browse the packaging solutions by category or send a brief directly.
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