Sourcing packaging from China, delivered DDP to Japan.
A Japanese procurement team asks a Chinese supplier the same things first: will the boxes arrive without defects or crushed corners, is every order inspected before it ships, will production match the sample, how long it all takes, what the landed price includes, which language we work in, and what the minimum really is. Here are our answers, with the figures we work to, and one landed price with Japanese import clearance and consumption tax handled.
What a Japanese brand needs before ordering packaging from China: real minimums, samples in about 1–2 weeks, pre-shipment inspection and DDP to Japan.
Six steps from quote to shipment
Every new specification follows the same six steps, and the figures are the ones our product pages state.
- Quote: send dimensions, quantity, finishes and the delivery address in Japan, and we return a DDP price.
- Sample: we make a presentation-quality sample in 5–7 working days and send it by express courier, so allow about 1–2 weeks door to door. A vial kit with the insert cut to your own vials takes 7–10 days to make, so allow longer. The sample cost is credited against your first approved production order.
- Colour proof: send Pantone references rather than screenshots, and we hold a physical colour proof before bulk.
- Production: 15–20 working days after artwork approval, or 25–30 with complex finishing.
- Pre-shipment inspection: the run is checked against the approved sample — dimensions, colour, registration, finishing, assembly, packing — before the export cartons are sealed.
- Shipment: the export cartons are packed to survive the container, not the showroom, and the goods travel DDP to your address.
One landed price, cleared and tax-paid
We quote DDP to your address in Japan: one price, with production, freight, Japanese import clearance and Japanese consumption tax handled in it, so the price on the quote is the price at your door.
We do not publish duty or consumption-tax rates: under DDP they are inside the one price you are quoted, and the commercial invoice carries the HS code.
Express for samples, sea for the run
Samples travel by express courier. Production usually moves by sea: the leg from eastern China to Japan is short compared with our European and North American lanes, but transit still depends on the sailing, the port and whether the cargo is a full container or consolidated, so we do not promise days on a page. We arrange the sea leg and the delivery to your address inside the DDP price — tell us the date the goods must arrive and the quote is built back from it.
Embossed and foil-stamped surfaces travel better in a full container than consolidated with other shippers’ cargo, so for finished rigid boxes the FCL and LCL decision is a quality decision as well as a cost one — raise it when you ask for the quote.
Minimums, as each product page states them
There is no single minimum order quantity. The number follows the setup your job needs — a cutting die, printing plates, foil and embossing dies, makeready sheets — paid once, whichever quantity you order, so each added finish carries its own setup.
The figures below are the starting points each product page states, not quotes: standard cartons and labels begin at 1,000 units, premium gift boxes with complex finishing at 500–1,000, and the digital label line supports very short runs for launches and shade extensions. Ask for pricing at two or three quantities to see where your cost breakpoints fall.
Rigid gift boxes — typically 500–1,000 units
Cosmetic labels — from 1,000 units
Paper tubes — quoted to your spec
Folding cartons — from 1,000 units
English and Chinese, in writing
We work in English and Chinese by email and WhatsApp (WeChat on request by email), and reply within one business day, in China business hours (UTC+8, one hour behind Japan). Quotes and correspondence are in English or Chinese; the Japanese pages of this site describe what we make.
For supplier registration: Yuan Packaging is the trading name of 淮安市羽安包装印刷有限公司 (Huai’an Shi Yu’an Baozhuang Yinshua Youxian Gongsi), No. 85 Songjiang Road, Huaiyin District, Huai’an, Jiangsu 223300, China, certified to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015.
Frequently asked questions
Do you quote DDP to Japan?
Yes. A DDP quote to your address in Japan is one landed price, with Japanese import clearance and consumption tax handled in it. We do not publish duty or tax rates; they are built into the DDP price.
How long does a sample take to reach Japan?
A presentation-quality sample takes 5–7 working days to make and then goes by express courier, so allow about 1–2 weeks door to door. A vial kit with the insert cut to your own vials takes 7–10 days to make, so allow longer. The cost is credited against your first approved production order.
What is the minimum order quantity?
It follows the product page: rigid gift boxes with complex finishing are typically 500–1,000 units; standard labels start at 1,000 units, with a digital line for very short launch runs; folding cartons start at 1,000 units; and paper tubes are quoted to your specification because the tooling is diameter-specific.
How long does production take?
For most products, 15–20 working days after artwork approval; rigid boxes and paper tubes with complex finishing take 25–30 working days. Sea freight to Japan is short, but we do not promise transit days on a page: tell us the date the goods need to land and we plan back from it.
Is every order inspected before it ships, and will it match the sample?
The approved sample is the standard the run is inspected against: dimensions, colour and registration, finishing, assembly, packing quality and shipment readiness are checked before the export cartons are sealed. Colour is proofed physically before bulk.
Can we work in Japanese?
Correspondence is in English or Chinese, by email or WhatsApp (WeChat on request by email), with a reply within one business day. The Japanese pages of this site describe what we make.
Send a specification and we will send a DDP price.
Dimensions, quantity, finishes, the delivery address in Japan and the date it needs to land. Use the quote form, email info@yuanpackaging.com, or message us on WhatsApp, in English or Chinese. For WeChat, ask by email.
Start an enquiry · Rigid boxes · Cosmetic labels · Paper tubes · Folding cartons · Importing to Europe