A: If we have stock, MOQ 3000pcs. | B: If out of stock, MOQ is 10000pcs.
Views: 0 Author: Ruijia Packaging Team Publish Time: 2026-11-08 Origin: Site
For most skincare brands the jar is the second-largest cost line after the formula, and it is the only one the customer physically holds. Bulk cosmetic jars therefore sit at the intersection of cost engineering and brand experience: a 30 g injection-moulded polypropylene jar and a 30 g thick-wall glass jar can differ by a factor of four in unit price and by a factor of two in shipping weight. This guide is written for buyers, product managers and sourcing teams who need to compare offers on equal terms. It sets out the specifications, tests and commercial terms that should be agreed before a purchase order is signed, based on the questions our export customers raise most often at Guangzhou Ruijia Packaging Products Co., Ltd., a cosmetic packaging manufacturer with more than 15 years of production experience.
The first step is to define the jar before anyone defines the price. Two quotations for a "50 g cream jar" are not comparable until material, wall thickness, neck finish, closure, liner and decoration are fixed. A 50 g jar can be blow-moulded PET at 28 g, injection-moulded PP at 45 g, or pressed glass at 110 g. Each has a different cost curve, a different freight profile and a different feel in the hand. Buyers who issue a request for quotation with only a capacity and a target price usually receive three answers that cannot be compared, and the cheapest of them is often the one that fails the leak test.
Start from the fill weight and work backwards. A 50 g cream fill needs roughly 55 to 60 ml of usable volume once headspace is allowed for, and that volume determines the diameter and height, which in turn determine the neck finish and the closure. Fixing the fill weight first prevents the common mistake of buying a jar that looks right on a rendering but cannot take the label size or the outer carton the brand has already designed.
Decide early whether the jar is a primary container that must protect the formula for 24 to 36 months, or a secondary pack for a short-life product such as a sample or a gift set. The first case justifies wall thickness, liner specification and compatibility testing; the second can be satisfied with a lighter stock item at a lower cost.
The word "bulk" covers three very different supply arrangements, and the price gap between them is wider than most first-time buyers expect. Ready stock uses an existing mould and a colour already in production. Custom colour or decoration uses the same mould but adds a colour match, a minimum run and a setup charge. A custom mould is a new development project with tooling, sampling and approval built in.
Order tier | Typical quantity | What can be customised | Indicative lead time | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ready stock | 500 to 5,000 pcs | Label, silk screen on stock colours | 7 to 15 days | Launch tests, samples, small brands |
Custom colour on existing mould | 3,000 to 10,000 pcs | Colour match, frosting, printing, hot stamping | 20 to 30 days | Seasonal lines, brand colour systems |
Custom mould | 10,000 to 30,000 pcs plus tooling | Shape, capacity, wall, neck, closure | 30 to 45 days after sample approval | Signature packs, patented shapes |
These bands are indicative and depend on mould availability and finishing capacity; they should always be confirmed in writing against a specific drawing. A supplier who quotes a custom colour at a stock lead time is either holding inventory or planning to paint a stock jar, and the buyer should know which one it is.
Polypropylene is the workhorse of cream packaging. It is chemically resistant to most emulsions, tolerates oils and alcohols reasonably well, can be injection-moulded to a thick double wall for a premium look, and is available in a matte or frosted finish without extra processing. Its weakness is clarity: PP is naturally translucent to opaque, so brands that want to show the product choose something else.
PET and PETG offer glass-like clarity at a fraction of the weight. They are blow-moulded or injection-stretched, which keeps wall thickness modest and freight cost low. Their weakness is chemical resistance: PET can stress-crack when filled with high-oil or high-alcohol formulas, and the failure often appears weeks after filling rather than at the filling line.
Acrylic, meaning PMMA and its SAN copolymers, delivers the heaviest visual premium per gram. It polishes to a deep gloss and can be combined with an inner cup to hide a refill. It is brittle under impact and can craze when exposed to certain solvents, so it suits thick creams and balms rather than liquid oils.
Glass is inert, scratch-resistant and infinitely recyclable, and it carries the strongest premium signal in most markets. The trade-off is weight, breakage risk and a longer, more expensive development cycle.
Material | Clarity | Chemical resistance | Relative weight | Recyclability | Relative unit cost | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PP | Translucent to opaque | Good with most emulsions, oils | Low | Widely recycled | Low | Volume creams, body butters, masks |
PET / PETG | High clarity | Limited with oils and alcohols | Low | Widely recycled | Low to medium | Gels, scrubs, clear visual packs |
Acrylic (PMMA / SAN) | Highest gloss | Poor with solvents | Medium | Limited | Medium to high | Prestige creams, gift sets |
Glass | Clear, amber, frosted, opal | Excellent, inert | High | Infinitely recyclable | Medium to high | Premium skincare, natural and organic lines |
Nominal capacity is the overflow volume, measured to the brim. Usable capacity is what the customer actually receives, and it is smaller because the filling line needs headspace and the closure needs clearance. For creams with a density close to 1.0, a practical rule is that usable volume should equal the declared fill weight in grams, with an additional 5 to 10 percent margin so that the jar can be filled on an automated line without overflowing.
Declared fill | Indicative usable volume | Typical outer diameter | Typical height | Typical neck finish | Common application |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 to 10 g | 6 to 12 ml | 30 to 38 mm | 22 to 30 mm | 33 to 38 mm | Samples, eye cream, lip balm |
15 to 30 g | 18 to 33 ml | 42 to 52 mm | 32 to 42 mm | 43 to 48 mm | Eye cream, travel size, spot treatment |
50 g | 55 to 60 ml | 55 to 62 mm | 45 to 55 mm | 53 to 58 mm | Face cream, the most common SKU |
100 g | 105 to 115 ml | 65 to 72 mm | 55 to 65 mm | 63 to 70 mm | Moisturiser, mask, hair mask |
150 to 200 g | 160 to 215 ml | 75 to 85 mm | 65 to 75 mm | 70 to 78 mm | Body butter, scrub, salon size |
250 g | 260 to 275 ml | 85 to 95 mm | 70 to 85 mm | 78 to 89 mm | Professional and refill formats |
Dimensions above are indicative ranges for procurement planning, not a drawing. Request a dimensional drawing with tolerances on diameter, height, neck thread and capacity before approving artwork, because a two-millimetre diameter change can invalidate a label that has already been printed.
The neck finish is the single most under-specified item in jar purchasing. It is defined by the thread diameter in millimetres followed by the thread style code, for example 53/400 or 70/400, where the three-digit number describes the thread profile and the finish height. Two jars described as "50 g with a screw lid" can carry 53/400 and 58/400 necks, and their lids are not interchangeable.
Ask for the drawing, not the description. Then confirm three things: the thread is single or double start, the finish has a bead or a shoulder to stop the lid, and the closure has the same nominal finish with a matching liner recess. Double-start threads engage in half a turn and are common on wide-mouth jars; single-start threads need more turns but tolerate mould variation better.
Torque matters as much as geometry. A lid that is tightened by hand in a laboratory may not match the torque applied by a filling line capper. Specify an application torque range, typically expressed in inch-pounds or newton-centimetres, and a removal torque range, then verify both on the actual filling equipment. A closure that is over-torqued deforms the liner and creates a slow leak; one that is under-torqued backs off in transit.
The liner is where most leaks are decided, and it is usually the cheapest component to change. A PE foam liner compresses against the jar rim and seals dry creams and powders. An EVA or co-extruded liner adds a barrier layer for oil-based balms. A pressure-sensitive liner bonds to the rim and is used for liquid and gel formulas. A silicone gasket gives the best compression recovery and is chosen when the jar will be opened and closed many times.
For a cream jar the practical specification is a PE or EVA disc of 0.5 to 1.0 mm, die-cut to the inner diameter of the closure with a 0.5 mm clearance, sitting flat without wrinkles. For a liquid or oil, add an induction seal or a pressure-sensitive membrane, and test the seal after filling rather than relying on the liner datasheet.
Write three tests into the purchase order. First, a vacuum leak test on a sample of filled or water-filled units, typically at minus 40 to minus 60 kPa for 30 seconds, with no bubble or water ingress. Second, an inversion test with the jar filled to nominal volume and inverted for 24 to 48 hours at room temperature and at 40 degrees Celsius. Third, a transport simulation following ISTA 1A or 3A, which is the only test that reproduces the cumulative vibration, drop and compression of an export carton.
Decoration is where quotations diverge most, because setup charges are easy to hide and unit prices are easy to under-scope. The table below is a procurement comparison rather than a price list.
Method | Setup burden | Unit cost | Colour range | Durability | Notes for buyers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Silk screen printing | One screen per colour | Low to medium | 1 to 4 spot colours | Good on flat surfaces | Best value for logos on cylindrical jars; avoid fine gradients |
Hot stamping | One die per colour | Medium | Metallic and solid | Good, can wear at edges | Premium look on caps and shoulders; specify foil reference |
Heat transfer | Plate plus film | Medium | Multi-colour, photographic | Moderate | Good for multi-colour artwork on curved surfaces |
Pressure-sensitive label | Die and artwork only | Low | Full colour | Depends on substrate | Fastest changeover; specify adhesive for oily or frosted surfaces |
Laser engraving | Programme only | Low per unit | Monochrome | Permanent | Ideal on bamboo and wood lids, no consumables |
Coating, frosting, electroplating | Batch process | Medium to high | Any solid or gradient | Depends on adhesion | Test adhesion with tape pull and rub tests; affects recyclability |
A cosmetic jar has three defect classes and they should be sampled separately. Critical defects are leaks, cracks, sharp edges and thread damage that prevent closure; these are usually inspected at AQL 0.65 or tighter, or by 100 percent leak testing on filled lines. Major defects are colour drift outside the approved standard, missing or displaced decoration, and dimensional values outside tolerance; AQL 1.0 to 2.5 is common. Minor defects are light scuffs and minor flow lines that do not affect function; AQL 2.5 to 4.0 is typical.
Function and appearance are only half of the approval. A buyer should also request the documentation package that the destination market requires: material declarations for REACH and RoHS where applicable, food-contact statements for jars used for balms, lip products or samples, heavy-metal and migration test reports for decorated ware, and child-resistant closure certification to ISO 8317 where the product is regulated. Our own workshop operates at 100,000-class cleanliness with 12 bottle production lines and 14 integrated systems, and we hold ISO 8317 and CE certification with supporting test reports, which is what allows these documents to be issued together with the shipment rather than after it.
Unit price is not landed cost. A complete model has six lines: jar, closure, liner, decoration, packing and freight with duty. Packing deserves attention because it drives damage rate and container utilisation. A typical export carton for 50 g jars holds 200 to 500 pieces in a polybag plus a divided layer, with a gross weight kept under 15 kg for manual handling, and the carton dimension should be chosen so that pallets cube out rather than weigh out.
Cost component | Share of landed cost | Main lever | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
Jar body | 35 to 55 percent | Material, wall thickness, stock mould | Specifying glass for a mass-market price point |
Closure | 10 to 25 percent | Standard finish, stock colour | Custom cap on a stock jar |
Liner | 1 to 3 percent | Material grade | Omitting the liner from the quote |
Decoration | 5 to 20 percent | Number of colours, method | Comparing a printed jar with a bare jar |
Packing | 3 to 6 percent | Carton design, divider | Under-packing to save cost and losing 3 percent to breakage |
Freight and duty | 10 to 25 percent | Weight, volume, Incoterm | Quoting EXW and comparing with FOB |
Payment terms in this industry are usually 30 percent deposit with the balance against a copy of the bill of lading, and the Incoterm should be stated explicitly: EXW, FOB Guangzhou or Shenzhen, or CIF to the destination port. A buyer comparing an EXW price with a CIF price is comparing two different products, and the difference can easily be 20 percent.
Send these nine items and most of the ambiguity disappears: declared fill weight in grams; material and colour reference with a physical standard or Pantone code; neck finish and closure type; liner material and thickness; decoration method, colours and artwork file format; target quantity per SKU and per colour; carton and pallet requirements; required documentation for the destination market; and requested Incoterm, port and delivery window.
Beyond the quotation, the supplier should be able to support the development itself. Our team provides free design support and 3D rendering within 15 minutes so that a shape can be evaluated before a mould is cut, free custom samples for approval, and OEM and ODM programmes that cover jar, closure, liner, label, paper box and paper tube as one package. Because the decoration lines, the mould shop and the assembly area sit in the same facility, a change to the artwork or the liner does not require a second supplier and a second lead time.
The practical conclusion for buyers is simple. Treat the jar as an engineered component rather than a commodity, fix the specification before the price, and write the tests into the order. Done that way, bulk cosmetic jars become a predictable cost line instead of a recurring quality problem, and the brand keeps the part of the experience that the customer actually touches.