Packaging MOQ: What is it and Why is it Important for You?

custom made printed plastic bag

If you’re a business owner sourcing for custom plastic packaging, you may likely have heard the word MOQ from factory chains or suppliers. It’s prevalent more so when the manufacturing or printing is done on a made-to-order basis. Believe it or not, MOQs play an important part towards all suppliers, factories and material providers involved in the process.

What Does MOQ Stand For?

It stands for Minimum Order Quantity. Suppliers, including those in plastic packaging industry, will often state their specific MOQ requirements. It simply means the smallest number of products a supplier will produce for a single order. In addition, they are enssential for most businesses, due to the fact the MOQs are set to cover operational costs.

MOQ requirements can differ from each supplier, including the plastic packaging business. They can be as little as 500 units (yes, that’s also a small number), to as much as almost 30,000 units. Some companies even take product weight into account in order to meet the MOQs.

custom printed singlet plastic bag — a simple singlet plastic bag packaging also requires a high number of MOQ

Why is There an MOQ for Custom Packaging?

Most suppliers set MOQ requirements for cost coverage, including the plastic packaging sector. This includes production cost, effort and energy required to produce a specific production run. Basically, suppliers also have an MOQ they have to follow when ordering materials from their supplier partners.

While it might feel like it, packaging suppliers aren’t setting MOQ requirements to be difficult. It’s also not with the intention of keeping small businesses out; far from it. Instead, they generally set the MOQ based on how many production runs they need to make in order for it to be viable for them. This can range from the time it takes to set up the machinery, or the cost of having to develop a certain mould.

But what happens if the quantity is lower than the MOQ requirement?

Well, a couple of things, among others:

Potential Extra Surcharges

In most plastic packaging industry, some suppliers might charge you extra if you go for lower than the MOQ. This is because their target profit may not be met without extra charges. The sub-factories or supplier partners may also ask them to pay extra due to not having met their individual MOQs.

In fact, this can also affect you as a business owner, as daunting as this may sound. There’s no denying that starting small is good to test the waters in business. It can also reduce the risk of packaging being out of date. But, there’s also the risk of stocks running out and a higher ordering and admin cost, among other things.

Expensive Cost of Materials

packaging moq — printing companies are also influenced by MOQs

MOQ requirements can also influence packaging printers too. Printed packaging in general uses gravure printing. It requires a copper cylinder, which we commonly call a cylinder. They are relatively expensive as they also depend on the complexity of the design patterns.

The amount to order these materials also play important roles in plastic packaging printing. One unit may need as much as 6000 meters worth of material roll (yes it’s that much). In short, if the MOQ is not met, a lot of sides will basically lose money and risk a number of other losses.

It’s Always Good to Do Our Research

Despite everything, MOQ requirements from suppliers should not deter you to get the perfect plastic packaging for your best products. In fact, they can be a real advantage when done right and making it work for both business owners and suppliers.

Try to find out details to work around it; know your cost margins, break even points, and your target profit. It’s always good to get your money’s worth without having to risk other factors.

At HAIN® Packaging, we do our best in providing top-quality service with reasonable MOQs at a competitive price. We cater to almost all manners of business, corporate companies, and services from various industries. If you are a business owner looking to enhance your branding and marketing efforts, we’re always ready to assist you. Come talk to our team to find out which is the right one for you, or share your brand ideas with us to get a head start.

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