Buyer guide

Supplying your own bottles: what to agree first

Many brands buy their own bottles, pumps or caps and ship them to the filling plant. That works well when the loss rate is agreed in writing before anything is ordered. A small share of components is always lost in production, so buying exactly one bottle per finished unit leaves you short. We accept client-supplied packaging. We do not fill client-supplied juice.

Packing team on the YFF production line

Why components are lost

On every run some components do not make it into a finished unit: glass chipped in washing, a pump that will not crimp, a cap with a moulding mark, a box scuffed in folding, units taken for leak tests and retained samples. The rate depends on the component and its finish. Decorated glass and plated caps lose more than plain ones.

Agree the rate first, in writing

If the rate is set too low, the run stops short and you have to reorder a few hundred bottles at short notice, often at a higher price and with weeks of delay. If it is set too high, you pay for stock you never use. So before you order components, we look at the actual parts and give you the rate in writing. You order to that number.

Also agree:

  • Delivery. Components should arrive in time for testing, not on the day of filling.
  • Inspection. We check incoming components against your approved sample and report shortfalls and defects at once.
  • Spares. Where the leftover parts go after the run.

Test them like our own

Client-supplied bottles, pumps and caps go through the same compatibility, leak and transit tests as ours, with your final formula. Neck size and pump fit are the most common problem: a pump from one supplier and a bottle from another may not seal. Finding it at the sample stage costs days; finding it on the filling line costs the run.

Packaging yes, juice no

We accept client packaging. We do not accept client juice for filling, whether or not the brand has registered the product. We cannot verify what is in a juice made elsewhere: testing only finds what you know to look for. In China there have been cases where a filling factory ran a brand’s own mixture that contained a banned ingredient. The factory’s legal representative and quality manager were banned from the industry and the factory was closed.

So the juice is always mixed in our plant, from oil supplied with documents by a fragrance house. If you have a scent you like, the fragrance house can supply it to us as an oil, with its IFRA certificate and safety data sheet.

Questions buyers ask

What loss rate should we plan for?

It depends on the component, the finish and the run size. We assess your actual components and give you the rate in writing before you order.

Do you test our bottles before filling?

Yes. Client components go through the same compatibility and leak tests as our own, using your final formula. A pump that does not fit the neck is found at the sample stage.

Why will you not fill juice we send you?

We cannot know what is in it. Testing finds what you look for, not what you do not know to look for. The product is made in our plant, so the risk is ours.

Last updated . Reviewed by Tang Guoqiang, OEM/ODM Sales Manager at YFF Cosmetics.

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