A new hair accessories brand can have its first branded stock at a US or EU port in about 90 days. That is not a sales promise. It is what the factory calendar allows when four things line up: you start from an existing product body, choose a stock acetate sheet, approve the sample in one round, and pick packaging that matches your order size.
Change any one of those, and the timeline moves. This guide lays out the 90 days stage by stage, using EcoHairFactory’s own scheduling figures, and shows which early decisions protect the date and which ones quietly add weeks.
The 90-Day Plan at a Glance
Our standard schedule from confirmed order to loaded container is 62 days. Add two days to agree the quote and specification at the start, and sea express freight at the end, and the first stock reaches a US or EU port around day 89.
| Days | Stage | What you decide | What the factory does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Quote and specification | Product body, sheet, quantity per design, logo, packaging | Confirms the route (existing or custom) and quotes against it |
| 3–20 | Sampling (18 days) | Nothing new; answer questions quickly | Makes the sample on an existing shape in your chosen colourway |
| 21–25 | Sample approval (5 days) | Approve, or send one consolidated list of changes | Waits; this block belongs to the buyer |
| 26–60 | Production (35 days) | Final packaging artwork and shipping instructions | Cuts, shapes, polishes, assembles and brands the order |
| 61–64 | QC, packing and loading (4 days) | Freight booking and import paperwork | Inspects, packs and loads |
| 65–89 | Sea express (~25 days) | Customs broker and warehouse ready | Hands over shipping documents |
The detailed reasoning behind each block is in our guide to hair accessory lead times. The short version: production is barely a third of the calendar, and the blocks a new brand controls are the ones that slip most often.
Before Day 1: Three Decisions That Set the Clock
1. Existing body or new design
An existing body is a current shape with known dimensions and compatible hardware. Changing its colourway, adding a logo and putting it in your packaging creates a private-label product without new tooling. A new shape is full development: new cutting profile or mould, new sample work, and a higher minimum.
| Choice | Effect on the timeline | Effect on cost and minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Existing acetate clip body, stock sheet | Fits the 90-day plan | From 500 pcs per design; no tooling |
| Custom-pressed sheet colour | Adds 7–10 days before production can start | Custom mill run for the sheet |
| New custom acetate clip shape | Adds development and sample rounds | From 1,000 pcs per design |
| New moulded part | Adds 45+ days of tooling | From about USD 6,000 per mould |
For a first collection, the existing-body route is almost always the better trade. The acetate hair clip MOQ guide explains what each route buys, and the mould cost guide shows how a tool spreads across order quantity.
2. How many designs, at what quantity
Minimums apply per design, not per order. Acetate clips, claws and barrettes start from 500 pieces per existing design; combs and brushes start from 1,000. Three existing clip bodies at 500 each make a 1,500-piece launch. Three new custom bodies would need 3,000.
A tight first range also keeps the calendar short. Each extra design is another sample to approve, another logo placement to check and another packaging version to print. More on how minimums are set in hair accessory MOQ explained.
3. Packaging that matches the order
Packaging is the decision new brands make last and regret most. Boxes are made by a separate supplier on their own schedule, and their minimum is often higher than the product minimum.
| Format | Typical MOQ | Indicative unit cost | Fit for a 500-piece design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid box (tuck-end, drawer, clear PET) | From 1,000 pcs | From USD 0.80 | Poor: 500 unused boxes per design |
| Pouch or bag (canvas, velvet, EVA, PVA) | 500–1,000 pcs | Around USD 0.70 | Good: can match the product quantity |
A 500-piece clip order in a 1,000-piece box carries the cost of 500 boxes nobody will use, roughly USD 0.80 of dead packaging on every unit sold. The packaging MOQ and cost guide covers the formats in detail.
Days 1–25: Sample and Approve
Sampling on an existing shape in your chosen colourway takes about 18 days. What it costs depends on whether anything new has to be developed.
| Sample type | Cost | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Existing stock sample | Free, you pay freight | Feeling material, weight and finish before committing |
| Existing tooling, standard finish | USD 45 per style | A shape we already cut, standard sheet, standard polish |
| New tooling, non-standard material or extra finishing | RMB 500–1,500 (about USD 70–210) | New shape, custom sheet pattern, ink-fill, laser marking or special finish |
Sample charges are per style, not per piece, so a three-colour range of one shape is one charge. Custom sample fees are non-refundable because they pay for development time. Our sampling cost and approval guide lists what to physically check when the sample arrives.
Simple logo customisation is free. A 3D product rendering or a full product design is a paid service, so decide early whether you need one; it is easy to confuse “add our logo” with “design the product for us.” The custom hair clips with logo guide covers placement and methods.
The five days that belong to you
Our schedule allows five days for approval, and this is where launches lose the most time. A sample posted on a Friday reaches most of Europe or the US the following Wednesday. If three people then form opinions one by one and the answer is “can it be slightly warmer,” two weeks pass without a decision the factory can act on.
- Name one person who signs off before the sample ships.
- Agree in advance what you will check: colour against the reference, logo position, spring tension, edges and packaging fit.
- Send every change in one message. A second sample round is the single most common reason a first order runs late.
Existing bodies like these can carry a new colourway and logo without new tooling, which is what keeps a first collection inside the 90-day plan.
Days 26–64: Production, QC and Loading
Standard production takes 35 days. Doubling a design from 500 to 1,000 pieces barely moves that date; what pushes a run toward 45 days is component count and colour changes. Springs, pins and metal plates are bought in, and a non-standard spring has its own lead time.
Every spring is fitted and tension-tested by hand before the clip is packed, then QC, packing and loading take about four days. Use the production weeks for your own work: final packaging artwork, barcodes, shipping instructions and a booked customs broker. A brand that finishes those during production does not lose days at the end.
Days 65–90: Freight Decides the Landing Date
| Method | Transit | Stock lands around | Sensible use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Courier (DHL, FedEx, UPS) | 5–10 days | Day 69–74 | Samples and urgent top-ups |
| Air freight | 12–15 days | Day 76–79 | Launch stock or a season you cannot miss |
| Sea express | About 25 days | Day 89 | The 90-day launch plan |
| Sea standard | 30–40 days | About 14 weeks | Reorders that are not time-critical |
Work backwards from the date stock must be sellable, not from the date production finishes. If your launch date is fixed, choose freight first and let it decide when the order has to be confirmed.
What a Realistic First Order Looks Like
A common first collection is three existing clip bodies in your own colourways with a logo, 500 pieces each, packed in pouches. Using the figures above:
| Item | Quantity | Planning figure |
|---|---|---|
| Product | 3 designs × 500 pcs = 1,500 pcs | Unit price quoted per design |
| Samples | 3 styles | 3 × USD 45 = USD 135 (existing tooling, standard finish) |
| Tooling | None | USD 0 |
| Pouches | 1,500 pcs | Around USD 0.70 each, about USD 1,050 |
| Timeline | One sample round, sea express | About 90 days to port |
Swap one of those bodies for a new custom shape and the same collection needs 1,000 pieces of that design, paid sample development and more calendar time. That is a reasonable second-season move once the first designs have sold through.
Some brands add one simple non-clip item to the first order so the launch has a counter-display piece. A palm-sized handle-free pocket detangling brush in bamboo or beech is a typical choice. Check its minimum separately: wood and bamboo brushes start at 1,000 pieces per colour, not the 500 that applies to existing acetate clip shapes.
What Breaks a 90-Day Launch
- A second sample round: the most common cause of a late first order.
- Custom rigid boxes: a separate supplier, a separate schedule and a 1,000-piece minimum.
- A custom-pressed sheet colour: 7–10 days before production can start.
- A new mould: 45 days or more of tooling plus its cost.
- Splitting a minimum across new shapes: two new shapes at 500 each do not meet a 1,000-piece per-design minimum.
- Slow approval: the only block the buyer fully controls.
What to Send With Your First Enquiry
- The existing body you want to start from, or a drawing if it is a new shape
- Colour or sheet references for each design
- Quantity per design and the colour split
- Logo artwork, preferred method and placement
- Packaging format and whether you need barcodes
- Destination market and the date stock must be sellable
Browse existing bodies in the claw clip and hair clip and barrette catalogues before you write the brief.
Then send it through the contact page. The first useful reply is not only a unit price; it is a confirmed route and a calendar you can plan a launch around.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to launch a hair accessories brand?
With an existing product body, a stock sheet, one sample round and sea express freight, first stock can reach a US or EU port in about 90 days. Standard sea freight extends that to about 14 weeks.
What is the minimum order for a new hair accessories brand?
Acetate clips, claws and barrettes start from 500 pieces per existing design, and combs and brushes from 1,000. A new custom acetate clip shape starts from 1,000 pieces per design.
Do I need to pay for a mould to launch?
Not if you start from an existing body. Tooling applies when a design needs a new moulded part; a steel injection mould starts at about USD 6,000 and adds 45 days or more.
Is logo customisation free?
Simple logo customisation is free. 3D renderings and full product design are paid services.
How can I shorten the timeline?
Start from existing bodies, use stock sheets, choose pouches over custom boxes, approve the sample within five days with one consolidated list of changes, and use air freight if the launch date cannot move.
For seasonal launches, see when to order hair accessories for holiday and spring collections, with a 2027 order calendar.
