Packaging is often left until the formula is approved, and then it reopens the formula. A pump that cannot move a thick cream, a jar that exposes a sensitive formula to air every time it is opened, a box with no room for the importer’s details: each sends the project back a step. Container, box and label are decisions that belong in the brief, because the factory tests the formula in the container and prints the label for the market.
💬 Sunsho Trade manages own-brand cosmetics made in Japan for brands outside Japan, from brief to shipment, with a GMP-certified partner factory in Japan. Tell us your product and target market and we will propose containers the factory can fill and test.
Choose the container from the formula, not from the shelf
Start from how the formula behaves and how the customer will use it, then pick the container type; a container chosen for looks alone may not dispense the formula, protect it, or pass compatibility testing.
Every container type has a job it does well and a set of questions it raises. The table below is the conversation we have with the factory when a brief arrives. It does not replace the factory’s judgement on a specific formula, but it shows which questions to ask before you fall in love with a mock-up.
| Container | Typical use | What to check | Question to ask the factory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottle with cap or dropper | Toners, lotions, oils, some serums | Whether the opening suits the viscosity; dropper material against the formula | Has this bottle and dropper been tested with a similar formula? |
| Pump bottle | Lotions, cleansers, shampoos, gels | Whether the pump moves the viscosity; dose per stroke; residue left in the bottle | Which pumps on the factory’s line suit this texture? |
| Airless pump | Creams and serums the factory considers sensitive to air | Dispensing of thick textures; compatibility of the inner parts; filling method | Does the line fill this airless type, and what does it change in testing? |
| Tube | Creams, gels, cleansers, sunscreens | Tube material and layers against oils and fragrance; sealing method | Which tube materials has the factory filled with this kind of base? |
| Jar | Rich creams, balms, masks | Finger contact each use; air exposure; the demands this puts on the preservative system | Does the preservative-efficacy test need to reflect jar use? |
| Spray or mist | Mists, some toners and hair products | Spray pattern; and alcohol or propellant content, which affects shipping | What will the safety data sheet say about transport? |
Two rows deserve a note. A jar is opened and touched every day, so the formula’s preservative system has to cope with that use; this is part of the preservative-efficacy testing described in stability and compatibility testing. A mist with a high alcohol content, or any aerosol, may be classed as dangerous goods for transport, which changes how it ships. That screening is covered in the export and shipping flow.
Who supplies the containers
There are three models: the factory sources the containers from its own suppliers, you supply your own, or the two are mixed; each model moves responsibility for specification, delivery and defects to a different party.
The factory sources. The factory buys containers it already knows from its regular suppliers. This is the simplest route: the factory knows how those containers run on its filling line and how they behave with similar formulas. Your choice is narrower, but compatibility questions have often been answered before.
You supply. You buy containers elsewhere, perhaps a design you use across your range, and deliver them to the factory. You then carry the work the factory would otherwise do: sending a specification and drawings, delivering enough units for testing first and for production later, delivering them on time and clean, and replacing defective lots. The factory will usually want samples of your container early, because it must test the formula in it and check it on the filling line.
Mixed. A common pattern is a factory-sourced bottle with your own printed decoration, or your own outer box with a factory-sourced container. Write down who supplies each component and who approves it, so nothing falls between the two.
Whichever model you choose, container makers set their own minimum order quantities and their own production times for printed or custom-coloured parts. We do not quote these, because they vary by supplier and decoration. Ask early, because a container can take longer to arrive than the formula takes to approve.
The outer box, leaflets and what goes where
Decide early whether the product has an outer box, because the box changes where the legally required information can sit and how much room you have for several languages.
A small container may not have room for everything a label must carry. An outer box gives you that room, and a leaflet inside the box can carry directions and precautions at length. Without a box, everything has to fit on the container itself, often in small type.
If you also intend to sell in Japan, Article 61 of the PMD Act (Japan’s Act on Securing Quality, Efficacy and Safety of Products Including Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices) lists items to be shown on the immediate container or wrapping, among them the name and address of the marketing authorisation holder, the product name, the batch number or code, the ingredient names, and an expiry date where one is required. Confirm the full list against the current text before you rely on it. Selling in Japan itself also requires a Japanese notification and a licensed marketing authorisation holder; see the licences you need to sell cosmetics in Japan.
For products made only for export, the label requirements are those of your destination market. Your importer files the destination notification and should tell you which items must appear, in which language, and whether a sticker applied after arrival is allowed. Ask for that list in writing before artwork starts.
Checked against the published texts of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and JETRO on 17 October 2026.
💬 Not sure whether your container has room for every market’s text? Send us the container size and your target markets and we will map the label panels with you.
Plan the label space for several languages
Map every item each market needs onto each panel of the container and box before design starts, and reserve fixed spaces for the batch code, the date and any importer sticker.
A multi-market label fails in predictable ways: the ingredient list grows when it is converted to a second naming system, a translation runs longer than the original, or there is no flat area left for the batch code. Planning the panels first avoids each of these.
- List every item per market. Product name, function, directions, precautions, ingredient list, net content, batch code, date if required, importer’s name and address, country of origin, and anything else your importer names.
- Decide what is shared. Items that read the same in every market, such as the ingredient list in INCI names, can often be printed once. Items in a language belong in a separate block per language.
- Size the ingredient list from the final formula. Japanese labelling names and INCI names are separate systems, and the converted list has to be checked rather than assumed. The method is in full-ingredient labelling and INCI names. Leave room for the longest version.
- Reserve a printing area. The batch code, and the date where one is required, are usually added at filling by inkjet or embossing. That needs a flat, clear area on a surface the coding equipment can reach. Ask the factory where it codes on your container type.
- Leave a blank area for the importer. If your importer applies a local sticker after arrival, leave a clear space where it will not cover required text.
One more point about labels for export. If a product is made with labels designed for export, the work counts as manufacturing in Japan and needs an export manufacturing notification filed before manufacture starts. The factory side handles this, but it means the export label must be final before production is scheduled. The sequence is set out in the export and shipping flow.
Print proofs and approval
Approve the artwork in stages, first as a digital proof checked against the final text, then as a physical proof on the real material, and record each approval with a version number.
Most packaging errors are text errors, not colour errors. A proof checked against an old ingredient list, or a translation updated after the proof was approved, reaches the market unchanged. A simple routine prevents this.
- One master text file. Keep every label text, per language, in one file with a version number. Artwork is built from it and checked against it.
- Digital proof. Check every word, every symbol and the ingredient list order against the master text. Check that required items sit on the panel where your importer said they must be.
- Physical proof. Colour, legibility of small type, and how the print looks on the actual material. A colour that reads well on screen can disappear on a frosted bottle or a metallic tube.
- One approver. Name one person on your side who signs off. Comments from several people go to that person first.
- Lock the version. Once approved, the version number goes on the production order. Any later change starts a new proof cycle.
If you change the container after formula approval, the factory may need to repeat part of the compatibility testing. If you change the box after printing, someone pays for unused printed stock. Agree that rule before the first print run, as part of who owns what in the project.
How we manage packaging
We put the container, box and label plan into the brief, coordinate supply with the factory, check proofs against the master text, and keep the version record.
Sunsho Trade is a Japanese-managed trading company in Ho Chi Minh City. For own-brand cosmetics made with a GMP-certified partner factory in Japan, we manage packaging alongside the formula: proposing containers the factory can fill and test, tracking who supplies each component, mapping label panels for each market with your importer’s requirements, and checking every proof before it goes to print. The full sequence, from brief to shipment, is laid out in the Japan cosmetics OEM guide.
💬 Ready to plan your packaging? See how our Japan cosmetics OEM service works, browse the Japan cosmetics OEM guide, or send us your container idea.
Frequently asked questions
1. Can I use my own containers with a Japanese factory?
Yes, if the factory accepts them for its filling line. You then supply the specification and drawings, deliver units early for testing and later for production, and replace defective lots. The factory tests the formula in your container before production.
2. Why does the container affect the formula?
The formula is in contact with the container for its whole life. Materials, seals and pump parts can interact with oils, fragrance or other ingredients, and some containers expose the formula to air or fingers. The factory tests the formula in the chosen container for this reason.
3. Does the box have to carry the same information as the container?
That depends on your destination market’s rules. Your importer should tell you which items must appear on the container itself and which may appear only on the box. If you also sell in Japan, Article 61 of the PMD Act sets items for the immediate container or wrapping.
4. Can one label serve several countries?
Often, if it is planned as a multi-market label from the start. Shared items such as an INCI ingredient list can be printed once, with a separate block for each language. Each market’s required items have to be checked with the importer for that market.
5. When should packaging be final?
Before production is scheduled. The factory tests the formula in the final container, and labels designed for export must be final before the export manufacturing notification is filed and manufacture starts. Changes after that point mean new proofs and possibly new testing.