Packaging is the longest lead-time item in most cosmetic launches. Working backwards from your launch date, these are the seven stages and where the schedule usually slips.
1. Brief and target price (2–3 days)
You define the formula, the capacity, the market, the target unit price and the launch date. A factory can only engineer to a target — if you withhold the price, you will get a quote you then have to negotiate down, which costs a week.
2. Concept and material shortlist (3–5 days)
We propose two or three routes: an existing mould with custom decoration, a modified mould, or a new build. Each comes with indicative tooling and unit costs so you can choose on total cost, not just on looks.
3. Engineering and drawings (5–8 days)
Technical drawings, wall thickness, neck finish, tolerances and the decoration layout are fixed and signed off. This is where a 0.2 mm error found later costs weeks instead of hours.
4. Tooling (10–35 days, or zero if using an existing mould)
For a new injection or extrusion tool, steel is cut and trialled. Starting from our 30,000+ existing moulds removes this stage entirely and is the single biggest schedule saving available.
5. Sampling and colour approval (7–14 days)
You receive physical samples with your decoration applied. Approve under the lighting of your retail environment, not a factory office — and approve a signed reference sample, which then becomes the quality standard for production.
6. Validation (concurrent, 4–12 weeks)
Compatibility, stability, transport and closure-torque testing run in parallel with sampling. Start this on day one: it is the most common cause of a missed launch date because it cannot be compressed.
7. Mass production and shipment (30 days + transit)
Production, in-line QC, packing and loading. Book freight at the start of production rather than the end — peak-season container space disappears in days.
Where projects lose two weeks
- Artwork handed over after tooling instead of during it.
- Colour approved on screen rather than on a physical signed sample.
- Stability testing started after sampling instead of at the same time.
- Freight booked after production instead of at the start.
Send us your launch date and we will give you a backwards schedule with the dates you need to hit at each stage.