"How many should I order?" is one of the most common questions we get from café owners, bakers and retailers placing their first custom packaging order. Order too few and you're reprinting (and paying setup costs) again within weeks; order too many and you've tied up cash in boxes, bags or cups sitting in storage for months. Here's how to think about minimum order quantities (MOQs) for custom packaging, and how to pick the right quantity for your business without overcommitting.
Why custom packaging has minimum order quantities at all
Printing custom packaging involves real setup costs — preparing print plates or digital print files, calibrating colours to match your artwork, and running a press that's most efficient at higher volumes. Those setup costs are largely fixed whether you order 1,000 units or 10,000, which is why unit prices drop significantly as quantity increases, and why most custom packaging — from stickers to printed paper bags — comes with a minimum order quantity rather than being sold one at a time.
How MOQs typically scale by product
Smaller, simpler items like stickers tend to have lower minimums and a gentler price curve — our Square Stickers, for example, start at 1,000 units and step up in increments through to 5,000. Printed cups and boxes usually start a little higher because of the more complex print process involved: our Single Wall Paper Cups and Cake Boxes follow a similar tiered structure, while large-format items like printed paper carrier bags, such as our Grab Bags, often start at higher volumes again because they're produced in bulk production runs.
Need a smaller run of bags?
If a bulk bag order is more than you need right now, our Express bags start from just 250 bags. Express Flat Handle Paper Bags, Express Twisted Handle Paper Bags and Express White Paper Grab Bags are made in the UK and arrive around 2 weeks after artwork approval, which makes them a practical way to test your design and your real usage before scaling up.
How to work out the right quantity for your business
Start with your actual usage, not your ambition
Look at how many cups, bags or boxes you currently go through in a typical month using generic, unbranded stock, then work out how long a given order quantity would realistically last. A busy café going through 2,000 takeaway cups a month doesn't need to jump straight to a 10,000-unit order just because the per-unit price looks better — that's nearly five months of stock tied up in cash and storage space before you've even confirmed the design works well in practice.
Factor in storage space, not just budget
Many independent cafés and small retail units simply don't have the backroom space to store a very large packaging order, even if the unit economics look attractive on paper. It's often more practical to order a mid-tier quantity more frequently than to chase the lowest possible unit price on a volume you can't comfortably store.
Order a smaller first run if you're testing a new design
If this is your first time ordering custom packaging, or you're testing a rebrand, it's worth placing a smaller first order even if the per-unit price is higher, simply to confirm the colours, logo placement and overall look work as expected once it's printed and in your hands. Once you're happy with the result, scaling up to a larger, more cost-effective quantity for your next order is straightforward.
When it makes sense to order in bulk
- Your usage is steady and predictable, so you know stock won't go to waste or go out of date before it's used.
- You have the storage space to hold a larger quantity without disrupting day-to-day operations.
- You're planning ahead for a known busy period — a seasonal rush, a new site opening, or a known increase in footfall — where ordering once covers you through the spike.
- Your design is finalised and tested, so you're not at risk of needing to reprint due to a design change shortly after a large order arrives.
A practical starting point
For most small cafés and independent retailers just getting started with custom branding, a mid-tier quantity on your core items — cups, bags or boxes — strikes the best balance between unit cost and manageable storage. You can always step up to a larger quantity on your next order once you've got a clearer sense of how quickly you're going through stock.
Talk to us about the right quantity for you
Every business's usage is different, and we're happy to help you work out a sensible starting quantity across cups, bags, boxes and stickers rather than guessing. Get in touch before you place your first order and we'll help you find the quantity that actually fits how your business runs.