When I launched my beauty brand, I thought custom packaging was the gold standard but I didn't have the money to invest in it. The truth? You don’t have to start there.

Here’s why:

• Custom packaging is pricey. Think thousands of dollars and thousands of units (usually 5,000+ per bottle, jar, or tube). Great if you know you’ll sell through them… but a heavy investment if you’re just starting out.

• Stock packaging is flexible. You can order as few as 1 piece, often with simple logo decoration or even just a label. That’s how I started — and plenty of successful brands still run with stock bottles and labels today. (Fun fact: Marie Veronique, a cult-favorite skincare brand that does great numbers, only recently started doing custom printing and still uses labels on a number of products - she has a mix!)

• It depends on your strategy. If you’re launching a product with many shades (like lip gloss), investing in custom packaging might make sense. If you’re testing the waters, stock packaging + labels can be your best friend.

I used to feel insecure about labels, like I wasn’t a “real” brand until I had fancy printed packaging. But here’s what I learned: compare leads to despair. What matters most is getting your product into people’s hands — not how your bottle compares to someone else’s.

My advice? Respect your budget. Start lean, prove your concept, and then upgrade if and when it makes sense for your business.  That's what I did and it worked well for me.

👉 I go much deeper into packaging decisions (and all the moving parts of building a beauty brand) inside the Beauty Brand Growth Roadmap.

But for now, I’d love to know: are you leaning stock, custom, or somewhere in between?