Packaging is the part of a private-label programme that everybody underestimates. It is quoted last, designed last, and then blamed first when a shipment slips or a marketplace rejects a label.
Here is the reality from the production side: packaging is manufactured in parallel with your goods, not after them. If artwork is late, the product sits. If the pack-out is wrong, your freight quote is wrong. And if the format is mismatched to the product, you pay for it in damage rates.
This guide covers the four packaging formats we actually run, which products they belong to, what artwork you need to supply, and how to schedule the whole thing inside a 30-day production window.
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The four formats we run
| Format | Product it is used for | Pack-out | Carton / pack dimensions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Printed carton | Dumbbell sets (e.g. UV11101 10 kg black painted cast iron set) | 20 pcs/ctn | 101 × 87 × 98 cm, 11 kg |
| Color card | Latex power bands (UV43101, 208 × 0.45 cm, 10 resistance levels) | 5 pcs/ctn | 40 × 28 × 28 cm |
| PP bag | Sit-up mat (UV61501, PVC + sponge, 30 × 38 × 7 cm) | 50 pcs/bag | 77 × 38 × 32 cm |
| Color poster | Cork + TPE yoga mat (UV21108, 183 × 61 × 1 cm) | 84 pcs/ctn | 52 × 40 × 63 cm |
These are the standard formats for those product types. Custom print turns the same format into your brand’s packaging — that is the private-label packaging part of our OEM service, alongside custom colours and your logo.
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Why the format is tied to the product
The mapping is not arbitrary. Each format solves a different physical problem.
| Format | Solves | Do not use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Printed carton | Heavy, hard, dense products. A 10 kg dumbbell set needs rigid walls, corner protection, and a box that can be stacked and strapped. Twenty sets per carton keeps the unit handling count sane. | The product is light and soft — you would be paying for corrugate you do not need. |
| Color card | Small, light, flexible products that sell on shelf presence. A hanging card gives the resistance band a printable face, keeps the 10 resistance levels organised, and lets a retailer peg it. | The product is heavy or bulky; a card offers no crush protection. |
| PP bag | Bulk-packed soft goods where the retail face matters less than cube efficiency. Fifty sit-up mats per bag keeps the pack-out tight and the freight cheap. | You need individual retail presentation per unit. |
| Color poster | Large-format flat products with a premium material story. Cork + TPE mats (UV21108) ship 84 per carton with a printed poster that carries the brand and the material message. | The product is small enough that a poster is oversized relative to unit value. |
The cost logic follows the same rule as the product: on a $1.13 band (UV43101 indicative FOB wholesale price), packaging is a meaningful share of unit cost. On a $180.47 rubber Olympic set (UV13705 indicative FOB wholesale price), it is a rounding error. Plan your packaging spend where it moves the buyer — on the cheap, visible, competitive SKUs.
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Retail channel vs marketplace channel: choose the format for the destination
| Destination | What the packaging must do | Better-fitting format |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon FBA | Survive inbound handling, carry a scannable barcode, meet prep requirements, and not trigger an oversize or damage claim | PP bag bulk pack (you apply the FNSKU at prep) or printed carton for heavy goods |
| Amazon FBA (heavy/bulky) | Prevent metal-on-metal damage and carton rupture | Printed carton — dumbbell sets at 20 pcs/ctn, 101 × 87 × 98 cm |
| Retail shelf / specialty store | Hang or stand, show the product, communicate resistance levels or material | Color card (bands), color poster (mats) |
| Own website / DTC | Look good in an unboxing, protect in transit | Color card or color poster depending on product |
| Wholesale / distributor | Ship efficiently, stack safely, count easily | PP bag or printed carton |
If you are selling on two channels, say so in your enquiry. A pack-out optimised for retail hanging cards is not automatically optimised for FBA prep.
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Artwork deliverables: what to send
Packaging artwork is a print job, not a graphic design exercise. Send these and you avoid two rounds of revision:
- Dieline — the cut-and-fold layout for your format. Request it for the specific format (carton, color card, pp bag or color poster) before you design.
- Print-ready files — vector artwork, fonts outlined, images at print resolution, with bleed and trim marks.
- Colour specification — Pantone references for brand colours. State whether you expect spot colour or process colour; the answer depends on the print method for your format, so confirm it.
- Barcode — correct symbology, correct numbering, adequate quiet zone, and placed where a scanner will actually reach it. Test-print and scan before approving.
- Content blocks — brand, product name, key spec (weight, size, material, resistance level), quantity, and any required markings.
- Language versions — if you sell in more than one market, decide now whether you run one multilingual box or separate print runs per market. Separate runs mean separate MOQs per version.
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Compliance and markings: what to confirm before printing
We are a factory, not your legal adviser, and packaging compliance is market-specific. But there is a standard list of items to resolve before you send artwork to print, because once a box is printed, a missing marking is a reprint, not a sticker.
| Item | Why it matters | Who owns it |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin marking | Required by most import regimes | You — confirm the exact wording for your market |
| Importer / responsible entity details | Required in several markets | You |
| Material and recycling markings | Increasingly required for packaging waste compliance | You, with our material data |
| Warning and usage text | Particularly relevant for resistance bands under tension and for heavy loaded products | You, ideally with local-language review |
| Weight and dimension claims | Must match the product inside | Both — we supply the spec, you approve the copy |
| Barcode numbering | Must be yours and must be registered | You |
Ask us for the material composition, net and gross weights, and pack-out figures you need for these blocks. Those are facts we can supply; the legal wording is yours to finalise.
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Plan your print run from the pack-out
Packaging is printed to a run length, and the run length is derived from the pack-out. Here is the arithmetic for a first order at MOQ:
| SKU | Pack-out | Units at MOQ | Packaging units needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| UV11101 dumbbell set | 20 pcs/ctn | 1,000 | 50 cartons |
| UV43101 power band | 5 pcs/ctn | 1,000 | 200 color card boxes |
| UV61501 sit-up mat | 50 pcs/bag | 500 | 10 pp bags |
| UV21108 cork + TPE mat | 84 pcs/ctn | 1,004 | 11.95 ≈ 12 cartons |
Two implications buyers miss:
- Small MOQs on high pack-out products produce tiny print runs. 500 sit-up mats at 50 per bag is ten bags. Print economics behave differently at that volume — ask how the unit cost of the print is calculated before you budget.
- Cube is driven by the pack-out, not by the unit. 1,000 dumbbell sets at 101 × 87 × 98 cm per carton is roughly 43.1 m³ of cube across 50 cartons. 1,000 power bands at 40 × 28 × 28 cm is roughly 6.3 m³ across 200 boxes. Your forwarder quotes on that cube — so the packaging decision is also a freight decision.
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Scheduling packaging inside the 30-day window
Lead time is 30 days from order confirmation, FOB Shanghai, with payment at 30% advance + 70% before shipment. Packaging has to be ready when the goods are, which means artwork has to be finished before production starts.
| Stage | Packaging work | Your deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiry | Confirm format per SKU, request dielines | Before quoting |
| Sampling | Approve how the product sits in the standard packaging | During free sampling |
| Artwork | Design to dieline, supply print-ready files with barcode and markings | Before Day 0 |
| Day 0 | Order confirmed, 30% advance paid, artwork locked | Day 0 |
| Days 1–3 | Packaging print ordered in parallel with material prep | — |
| Pre-production | Inspection before production — packaging materials and components verified | Review findings |
| Production | Filling and packing | No changes |
| Post-production | Inspection after production — packing count, print quality, carton condition | Request packing photos |
| Release | Inspection report issued, 70% balance paid, FOB Shanghai handover | Pay balance |
The failure mode is always the same: artwork arrives in week two, print starts in week three, packing slips, and the 30 days become 45. Lock the dieline during sampling — while you still have a free sample in your hand to measure against.
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What to check on the final inspection report
Our QC covers inspection before and after production, and an inspection report is issued for every order. Add these packaging-specific items to your acceptance criteria so the report answers them:
- Pack-out count — 20 pcs/ctn for dumbbell sets, 5 pcs/ctn for power bands, 50 pcs/bag for sit-up mats, 84 pcs/ctn for cork + TPE mats. Wrong count = wrong cartons = wrong freight.
- Print quality — colour consistency against your approved reference, no smearing, no mis-registration.
- Barcode scan — physically scanned, not visually checked.
- Carton condition — corner crush, tape adhesion, strap marks.
- Marking completeness — every content block you specified is actually present.
- Product-in-packaging fit — no deformation, no rattling for metal goods.
- Weight and dimensions — as stated in your PO, so your freight quote holds.
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Packaging choices by product family
| Product family | Standard format | Customisation available |
|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell sets — UV11101 ($10.94), UV11302 ($11.91), UV11402 ($4.53), UV11201 ($12.23), UV11001 ($11.64), UV11104 ($17.42), UV13705 ($180.47), UV10906 ($20.39) — indicative FOB wholesale prices | Printed carton, 20 pcs/ctn, 101 × 87 × 98 cm, 11 kg | Custom print, custom colour, your logo (mould on cast iron / painted finishes) |
| Individual dumbbells — UV10601 cast iron hex 2.5–50 kg, UV10801 rubber hex (rubber / TPU / PEV coating), UV10201, UV10208, UV10108, UV10302 | Confirm per SKU | Custom colour and logo |
| Latex power bands — UV43101 ($1.13), UV43102 ($1.30), loop bands UV42903 ($2.47), UV42904 ($4.67), UV42905 ($4.16), UV42906 ($5.39), tube UV43002 ($1.80), pedal band UV42502 ($3.70) | Color card, 5 pcs/ctn, 40 × 28 × 28 cm | Custom print, 1C printing logo |
| Sit-up mat — UV61501 ($3.44, MOQ 500) | PP bag, 50 pcs/bag, 77 × 38 × 32 cm | Custom print, 1C printing logo |
| Cork + TPE yoga mat — UV21108 ($11.48, MOQ 1,004) | Color poster, 84 pcs/ctn, 52 × 40 × 63 cm | Custom print, 1C printing logo |
| Other yoga mats — TPE UV21001 / UV21002 / UV21003 / UV21007 / UV21009, NBR UV20901 / UV20903, PVC UV20701 / UV20703 / UV20708 / UV20711, EVA UV20801 ($1.48) / UV20802 ($4.03) / UV20803 ($2.62), cork UV21105 ($18.75) / UV21109 ($9.61) | Confirm per SKU | Material, thickness, colour, custom print |
| Kettlebells — UV13101 (1–5 kg, MOQ 500), UV13102 (2–6 kg), UV13301 (2–10 kg), UV13302 / UV13303 (2 / 4 / 6 / 8 kg), UV13201 set (6 lb × 2 + 3 lb × 2), UV12301 / UV12302 vinyl-dipped cast iron 4–32 kg | Confirm per SKU | Custom colour and logo |
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The launch checklist
- [ ] Format confirmed for every SKU in the order
- [ ] Dielines requested and designed against
- [ ] Barcode supplied, printed, and physically scanned on a sample
- [ ] Compliance markings finalised for your destination market
- [ ] Language version decided (one multilingual run vs separate runs)
- [ ] Artwork locked before Day 0
- [ ] Pack-out count written into the PO
- [ ] Packaging items added to your inspection acceptance criteria
- [ ] Freight quoted against the actual carton dimensions and count
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Get your packaging quoted with the product
Do not treat packaging as a follow-up question. When you enquire, tell us the SKU, the quantity, your logo (mould or 1C printing), and the packaging format you want. We will confirm the dieline, the pack-out, the MOQ and the indicative FOB wholesale price in one quote — so the packaging print and the production run are scheduled together inside the same 30-day window.
Samples are free and the sample fee is refunded against your bulk order, so you can approve how your product sits in its packaging before committing. Every order is inspected before and after production, with an inspection report issued, on FOB Shanghai terms at 30% advance + 70% before shipment.
To get started, send an inquiry to lyle@univfitness.com or use the Enquiry button on each product page.
