Almost every brand founder hits the same sentence early on: the minimum order is… For someone who wants to test the market with 50 hoodies, a minimum of hundreds of kilos or hundreds of pieces looks like a wall. In reality, MOQs (minimum order quantities) have clear technical reasons and can be managed with some planning.
Why minimums exist
Every production stage has a fixed start-up cost regardless of quantity:
- fabric: one dye lot means a dye bath, a recipe, machine time and lab control; a bath for 20 kg costs almost as much as one for 200 kg;
- sewing: setting up machines, cutting the first lay and getting operators used to a new style takes the same time for 30 pieces as for 300;
- printing: screens for screen printing, or file and press preparation, are paid for once;
- labels and packaging: their makers work with minimum print runs.
The minimum is simply the point at which the fixed cost becomes bearable for both sides.
The minimums you will meet
A debut collection usually runs into four kinds of minimum:
- Made-to-order fabric: a minimum per colour and per article, in kilos.
- Sewing: a minimum per style or per order, sometimes per colour.
- Printing or embroidery: a minimum per design, or a fixed set-up charge.
- Trims: woven labels, care labels, bags and boxes.
Don't treat them separately. The most restrictive one actually dictates the size of your first run.
Strategies for working with MOQs
Buy fabric from stock
The simplest way round a fabric minimum is to choose colours a stockist already holds and sells by the roll. You pay only for what you use and keep your own exclusive colour for when volumes justify it.
Spread one fabric across several styles
A 150 kg minimum per colour looks big for one style, but not for a range. Let's assume a 220 g/m² french terry and indicative consumption of 0.45 kg for a sweatshirt and 0.35 kg for a jogger. A set of 150 sweatshirts and 150 joggers uses 150 × 0.45 + 150 × 0.35 = 67.5 + 52.5 = 120 kg. The remaining 30 kg covers shorts, the allowance and samples. The same minimum becomes a coordinated set rather than a mountain of identical hoodies.
Limit colours, not styles
One core colour in three styles is far easier to produce than three colours in one style. Bring variety through print or embroidery, which have lower minimums than dyeing.
Negotiate honestly
Some suppliers accept quantities below minimum for a surcharge; others can add your order to a planned dye lot in a standard colour. Ask openly. Show your plan for two or three seasons: a supplier will accept a small first order more readily when it can see continuity.
Plan reorders from day one
If you know a core style will be repeated, buy fabric for two runs at once and start the second sewing lot when you see how the first one sells.
Mistakes to avoid
- Ordering the minimum just because it is the minimum, with no sales plan for the whole quantity.
- Splitting a fabric minimum with another brand without a written agreement on colour, lot and payment.
- Forgetting that the workshop and the printer have minimums of their own, which may be higher than the fabric's.
A fabric for a coordinated set
For a spring–autumn sweatshirt and jogger set, a 220 g/m² french terry is the right weight: substantial enough for the top, supple enough for trousers. Our denim blue french terry in 220 g, in combed cotton, polyester and elastane, suits the strategy above: you can buy it from stock with no minimum for the first run and use it for both top and bottom. Other weights are in the french terry family.
When you want your own colour, made-to-order production starts from 150 kg per colour per article, in any of the 220 shades on our colour card. Send us a quote request with your style plan and we will tell you how the quantity could be split.
Frequently asked questions
What if I can't sell the full minimum quantity?
Then don't order your own colour yet. Work with stock fabric until sales show that a style or colour justifies the minimum. If you do order, plan extra styles in the same fabric from the start, so the quantity is spread across several products that can actually sell.
Is it a good idea to share a minimum order with another brand?
It can work if both brands want exactly the same article and colour, but it carries risks: who pays, who is responsible for the lot, what happens if one pulls out. Put it in writing and let one company place the order and invoice the other.
Does a minimum apply per size or per style?
For fabric, the minimum is usually per article and colour, whatever the sizes. Workshops typically apply theirs per style or per order, and sizes can be split freely within it. Ask explicitly, because some workshops also set a minimum per colour.
