7 August 2026 · 2 min read
What to Order for a Three-Product Skincare Launch
Cosmetic packaging supplier, Strand, Western Cape. We quote and ship these containers from 10 units.
Three products is the usual first range: something to wash with, something active, something to finish. Each one wants a different container, and getting that wrong on a first order is the most expensive mistake available to a new brand.
The cleanser
Order a 150ml or 200ml bottle with a disc top. A cleanser is used quickly, in a wet-handed hurry, and a disc top is the closure that suits being opened with a thumb. A pump works if the formula is thin enough to travel up a dip tube, and a foaming cleanser needs a foamer pump with a formula built thin enough to aerate.
PET rather than glass here. This is the product most likely to be dropped in a shower, and the weight saving is real on a bottle this size.
The serum
30ml, glass, and the closure depends on what is in it. A stable formula such as niacinamide or hyaluronic acid is fine in a clear or frosted dropper. Anything that oxidises wants amber glass at the minimum and an airless pump if the budget reaches.
This is the product to spend money on. It is the one people photograph, the one that carries the brand, and the one where a heavier bottle changes what a customer thinks they paid.
The moisturiser
50g, and the format follows the texture. Push a finger into the cream and pull it away. If it peaks and holds, order a jar. If it slumps flat, a tottle or a pump will move it and keeps fingers out of the pot.
The quantities
- 10 units of each of your first-choice containers, to hold and fill before committing.
- 10 units of the one you are unsure about. Arguments about a jar versus a tottle end the moment both are on a table.
- Nothing printed yet. Order plain, decide what sells, then print the winner.
That is thirty to fifty units in total, which is a sampling exercise rather than an inventory commitment. The unit price falls as the order grows, so the same containers cost less per unit once you know which ones to scale.
What to check before you scale
- Fill each container with the actual formula and leave it somewhere warm for a fortnight. Panelling, weeping and discolouration all appear late.
- Confirm the neck finish on every line. A 24/410 bottle takes a 24/410 closure and nothing else.
- Open and close each one thirty times. A thread that gums up on a sticky serum is a returns problem you can find now.
Order the three formats, fill them, and let the products tell you which ones are right.