MOQ Is a Capital Allocation Decision
Minimum order quantity isn't just a supplier requirement — it's a business decision about where to deploy capital. Every dollar locked up in packaging inventory is a dollar not spent on flower, marketing, or payroll. The goal is to find the volume tier that minimizes per-unit cost while keeping inventory turnover under 12 months.
Here's how MOQ works across the major packaging categories:
MOQ by Product Category
Pop-Top Tubes (PET)
Michigan local stock: 100K minimum. This is the lowest entry point for tubes. At $0.048–$0.050/unit, a 100K order costs $4,800–$5,000. Ships in 2–7 business days from Michigan.
Custom orders: 250K minimum. Custom colors, sizes, or printing start at 250K. Per-unit price drops to $0.042–$0.048. Lead time is 4–8 weeks sea freight or 7–12 days air.
For a single dispensary doing 200 pre-rolls/week: 100K tubes lasts 9–10 months. That's the right starting order — enough volume for decent pricing, reasonable cash outlay, and under 12-month turnover.
Pre-Roll Cones
Standard cones: 250K minimum. At $0.046/unit, a 250K order is $11,500. For a dispensary producing 300 pre-rolls/week, that's a 16-month supply — slightly longer than ideal. Consider splitting the order with another operator to hit volume pricing while keeping inventory lean.
Custom printed cones: 250K minimum. Same MOQ but with your logo, strain name, or brand printed directly on the cone paper. The per-unit premium for custom printing is typically $0.005–$0.01/unit at 250K.
For processors producing 2,000+ pre-rolls/week: Order at the 500K or 1M tier. At 500K, per-unit pricing drops another 8–12%. Your supply lasts 5–10 months — ideal turnover for a production operation.
Glass Tubes
Minimum: 10K units. Glass has the lowest MOQ in the catalog because the per-unit cost is higher ($0.30–$0.80/unit). A 10K order of glass tubes costs $3,000–$8,000 depending on size and closure type.
For premium SKUs: Most operators start with 10K glass tubes for their flagship pre-roll. That's enough for 500–1,000 premium pre-roll units (assuming some are multi-packed). Reorder every 3–6 months.
PET Jars (CR Lids)
Standard jars: 100K minimum. PET jars with CR lids run $0.12–$0.18/unit depending on size. A 100K order costs $12,000–$18,000.
Custom logo CR lids: 250K minimum. Custom-molded lids with your logo debossed start at 250K. This is a bigger commitment but the branded closure is a significant shelf differentiator.
UV Glass Jars
Minimum: 5K units. UV glass jars start at 5K MOQ for standard sizes (100ml–500ml). At $0.80–$2.50/unit depending on size, a 5K order costs $4,000–$12,500. These are premium containers for flower operators positioning above $40/eighth retail.
How to Calculate Your Ideal Order Quantity
Use this formula:
Weekly production × 40 weeks = target order quantity
Why 40 weeks? It gives you a 9–10 month supply — enough to qualify for volume pricing without tying up capital for over a year. The remaining 12 weeks of the year are covered by your next order, which you place at month 7 to account for lead time.
Example: You produce 300 pre-rolls per week. 300 × 40 = 120,000 tubes. Round up to the nearest volume tier: 250K (to hit the better per-unit price). That 250K order lasts you 16 months at current production, but the per-unit savings at 250K vs 100K more than offsets the longer inventory hold.
The decision matrix: If the per-unit savings from the higher tier × total units exceeds your cost of capital on the extra inventory, order the higher tier. If it doesn't, stay at the lower tier and reorder more frequently.
Co-Op Orders: Splitting Volume with Other Operators
If you can't hit 250K on your own, coordinate with nearby operators. We see this regularly in Michigan — three dispensaries in Genesee County each need 80K tubes, so they place a combined 250K order. Each operator gets their own specs, their own delivery, and the volume-tier pricing.
This works because:
- Per-unit cost drops 15–25% at 250K vs 100K
- Each operator's individual order is still manageable
- We handle the split shipping — one invoice to each operator
- No coordination headaches on your end after the initial setup
When to Reorder
Don't wait until you're out. Factor in lead times:
- Michigan local stock: Reorder when you have 4 weeks of inventory remaining
- Air freight (custom): Reorder at 8 weeks of remaining inventory
- Sea freight (custom): Reorder at 12 weeks of remaining inventory
The most common packaging emergency we see is operators who wait too long to reorder custom cones. Sea freight takes 4–8 weeks. If you run out mid-production, you're either paying air freight premium ($0.01–$0.02/unit more) or scrambling for local stock at a higher per-unit price.
Get a Custom MOQ Recommendation
Tell us your weekly production volume, product mix, and how many locations you're supplying. We'll calculate the optimal order quantity for each packaging format — including timing for reorders and volume tier breakpoints.
