Key points

The scope is the law of the Republic of Korea, and every provision cited here was read in the original on the Korean Law Information Center on 20 October 2026. The Cosmetics Act is cited as Act No. 21525, in force 8 October 2026, and the Enforcement Rule of the Cosmetics Act as Ordinance of the Prime Minister No. 2109, in force 2 April 2026. This is not legal advice on a specific matter, and it makes no claim about EVAS commercial terms, facilities or certifications.

Several unlabeled cream jars on a metal tray beside a large beaker of bulk cream and unprinted cartons on linen

AI-generated image.

The short answer: establish what the MOQ applies to

If you are considering a small-batch cosmetics project, the first thing to establish is what quantity the MOQ actually applies to. The number of units of one finished item, the batch that produces the bulk, the order conditions for containers and components, and the conditions for decoration and outer packaging all move on different terms. The whole set of conditions needed to finish one sellable product matters more than the smallest figure printed on a quotation.

There is one more thing. Some items do not shrink when the quantity does, because most statutory duties attach to the type of business, the item and the manufacturing batch number rather than to the production quantity. Below, the four quantity conditions are separated first, and then the items that remain regardless of quantity are set out with the provisions behind them.

1. Turn one MOQ question into four

Finished product: which item is the minimum measured against?

Write down not only the product name but the fill size, fragrance, shade, destination market and packaging configuration. Ask whether different SKUs can be combined or whether each is reviewed separately. Do not assume, for example, that ordering two fragrances in the same line automatically lets the quantities be added together. How many items to launch with is covered separately in a first assortment.

Bulk: how is the manufacturing batch reviewed?

Send the finished-unit quantity together with the fill size, and confirm both the bulk manufacturing condition and the filling condition. The same unit count can sit against a different review once the fill size or the formulation type changes. Do not assume how leftover bulk is handled; leave it as a point to agree. How the batch condition changes depending on whether you start from an existing base or design a new formula is set out in base formula versus custom formulation.

Containers: have you separated stock specifications from custom ones?

Ask separately about an existing stock specification, a stock colour, and a dedicated colour or dedicated tooling. Confirm the components you need, not only the bottle: pump, cap, sealing and so on. Listing which elements can be adjusted while keeping the look you want makes alternatives easier to compare. The checks that confirm a container and a formulation suit each other are in container and formulation compatibility.

Decoration and outer packaging: are there separate conditions?

Confirm the order conditions for labels, direct printing, finishing, folding cartons and set packaging on their own. Minimum order quantity, minimum purchase value and initial setup cost are not the same line item. Ask the quotation to mark which figure is a quantity condition and which is a separate charge. How to bring quotations onto one comparable basis is in comparing quotations.

2. Some things do not get smaller when the quantity does

The items below are not linked to production quantity. Whether you make 100 units or 10,000, the substance of the duty is the same. In small projects, the schedule usually slips not because of quantity but because these items were confirmed late.

Registration and the responsible distribution manager

Article 3(1) of the Cosmetics Act provides that a person who intends to engage in cosmetics manufacturing business or cosmetics responsible distribution business shall each register with the Minister of Food and Drug Safety as prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister, and that the same applies where an important registered matter prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister is changed. Article 3(3) provides that a person who intends to register a cosmetics responsible distribution business shall meet the standards for cosmetics quality control and for post-distribution safety control prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister, and shall appoint a manager able to manage those matters, referred to as the responsible distribution manager.

There is no quantity threshold. Even if you make only a small trial volume, these requirements have to be in place first in order to distribute and sell domestically. The registration procedure and documents are in business registration, and the duties that stay on the brand side are in brand owner duties.

Quality testing by manufacturing batch

Article 5(2) of the Act requires a cosmetics responsible distributor to comply with the matters prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister concerning quality testing methods and the duty to perform them, and Article 12, subparagraph 5 of the Enforcement Rule sets that duty out as thoroughly conducting quality testing for each manufacturing batch number before distribution. The proviso to the same subparagraph provides that quality testing need not be conducted where the cosmetics manufacturer and the cosmetics responsible distributor are the same, or where quality testing has been entrusted to an institution falling under any item of Article 6(2), subparagraph 2 of the Enforcement Rule and a quality test result exists for each manufacturing batch number.

That the unit is the batch number matters in a small project. Halving the quantity does not halve the testing if there is still one batch number, and splitting the same quantity across two runs produces two batch numbers. Which items a release test covers is treated separately in finished-product test reports.

Child-resistant packaging

Article 9(1) of the Act provides that a cosmetics responsible distributor and a customized cosmetics seller shall, when selling cosmetics, use safety containers and packaging so that accidents harming the human body do not occur through children misusing cosmetics, and Article 9(2) delegates the covered items and the container and packaging standards to Ordinance of the Prime Minister.

Article 18(1) of the Enforcement Rule lists the covered items: nail enamel remover and nail polish remover containing acetone (subparagraph 1); products in a liquid state that are not in emulsion form, such as children's oil, containing 10 percent or more hydrocarbons per individual package and with a kinematic viscosity of 21 centistokes or less at 40 degrees Celsius (subparagraph 2); and products in a liquid state containing 5 percent or more methyl salicylate per individual package (subparagraph 3). The proviso to the same paragraph excludes single-use products, spray-container products whose container opening is operated by a pump or a trigger, and compressed spray-container products such as aerosols. Article 18(2) provides that safety containers and packaging shall be such that they are not difficult for an adult to open but are difficult for a child under five years of age to open, and that the specific standards and test methods for the degree of difficulty follow a public notice issued by the Minister of Trade and Industry.

If your formulation falls within that list, the container specification has to be settled alongside it even in a small run. Confirming this condition after the design is fixed sends you back to the container. Which container suits which formulation is covered alongside this in container and formulation compatibility.

Production-volume and ingredient-list reporting

Article 5(5) of the Act provides that a cosmetics responsible distributor shall report to the Minister of Food and Drug Safety, as prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister, the production or import performance of cosmetics and the list of raw materials used in the manufacturing process of cosmetics, and that in such cases the report on the list of raw materials shall be made before the cosmetics are distributed and sold.

Article 13(1) of the Enforcement Rule requires last year's production or import performance to be reported by the end of February each year, as prescribed by public notice, through a cosmetics industry organization established under Article 17 of the Act, such as the Korea Cosmetic Association, including the Korea Pharmaceutical Traders Association organized under Article 67 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. Article 13(2) requires the list of raw materials to be reported before the cosmetics are distributed and sold, and provides that the same applies where a reported list is changed. Article 13(3) provides an exception for a cosmetics responsible distributor who imports after filing a standard customs clearance report as an electronic trade document under the Act on the Facilitation of Electronic Trade.

The provisions contain no minimum quantity. Because the deadline for the raw-material list is before distribution and sale, it has to be closed before a small first shipment leaves, too. Forms and filing bodies are covered in detail in production and ingredient-list reporting.

Preparing and keeping records

Article 11(1), subparagraph 2 of the Enforcement Rule requires a cosmetics manufacturer to prepare and keep the manufacturing control standard document, the product standard document, the manufacturing control record and the quality control record, including in electronic form, and subparagraph 7 of the same paragraph requires the necessary tests, inspections or verifications from the receipt of raw materials and packaging materials to the release of the finished product. Article 12, subparagraph 3 of the Enforcement Rule requires a cosmetics responsible distributor to keep the product standard document and the quality control record received from the manufacturer.

There is one more item on the raw-material side. Article 12, subparagraph 11 of the Enforcement Rule requires that, for a product containing 0.5 percent or more of any of retinol (vitamin A) and its derivatives, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and its derivatives, tocopherol (vitamin E), peroxide compounds, or enzymes, the stability test data for that item be kept for one year from the expiry date of the shelf life of the last product manufactured. The trigger is the content, not the quantity. Checking whether the formulation contains this group early reduces the search for data later. How shelf life and the period after opening are set is covered in shelf life and period after opening.

3. What shortens a label is container volume, not production quantity

This is the point that is most often mixed up in small-batch enquiries. What reduces the particulars on a label is not how many units you make but how much goes into one unit.

Article 10(1) of the Act requires the outer packaging of cosmetics consisting only of primary packaging, and the outer packaging of cosmetics with secondary packaging added to primary packaging, to state the name of the cosmetic; the trade name and address of the business operator; all ingredients used in manufacturing the cosmetic, excluding ingredients prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister such as those contained in small quantities harmless to the human body; the volume or weight of the contents; the manufacturing batch number; the shelf life or the period of use after opening; the price; for functional cosmetics, the words or the designated device for functional cosmetics; precautions for use; and other matters prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister.

The proviso to the same paragraph provides that for packaging prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister, such as packaging of cosmetics with a small content volume, only the name of the cosmetic, the trade name of the cosmetics responsible distributor and the customized cosmetics seller, the price, the manufacturing batch number and the shelf life or the period of use after opening may be stated, and adds that where the period of use after opening is stated, the manufacturing date shall be indicated alongside it.

Which packaging that is appears in Article 19(1) of the Enforcement Rule. Subparagraph 1 is packaging of cosmetics with a content volume of 10 millilitres or less or 10 grams or less, excluding cosmetics that the Minister of Food and Drug Safety designates and announces as requiring special care by the consumer in use. Subparagraph 2 is packaging of cosmetics manufactured or imported for consumers to test or use in advance for the purpose of product selection rather than for sale. The proviso to the same paragraph provides that, in the case of the packaging in subparagraph 2, "price" means an indication such as sample or not for sale.

There is a middle band as well. Article 19(2), subparagraph 3 of the Enforcement Rule allows the statement of ingredients to be omitted, for packaging of cosmetics with a content volume of more than 10 millilitres up to 50 millilitres or a weight of more than 10 grams up to 50 grams and excluding cosmetics announced as requiring special care, other than tar colourants, gold leaf, the types of phosphates contained in shampoo and rinse, fruit acids (AHA), for functional cosmetics the raw material that produces the efficacy, and raw materials for which the Minister of Food and Drug Safety has announced a limit of use.

So a run of 500 units in a 50 millilitre container does not have to carry every ingredient, but those six remain. Conversely, a 100 millilitre container carries the full ingredient list no matter how few units you make. Primary packaging is a separate matter. Article 10(2) of the Act requires the primary packaging of cosmetics with secondary packaging added to state the name of the cosmetic, the trade name of the business operator, the manufacturing batch number and the shelf life or the period of use after opening, with a proviso excluding cosmetics prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister, such as solid soap, where the consumer removes the primary packaging before use. Those four particulars carry no volume-based shortening.

How to secure the printing area is covered in detail in small-package labelling and precautions for use.

4. A smaller run closes some decisions earlier

A small quantity feels easier to change, but the procedure sometimes moves the other way.

Article 4(1) of the Act provides that a cosmetics manufacturer, a cosmetics responsible distributor, or a university or research institute prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister that intends to sell a product recognised as a functional cosmetic shall, for each item, undergo review by the Minister of Food and Drug Safety as to safety and efficacy or submit a report to the Minister, and the second sentence of the same paragraph provides that the same applies where a submitted report or a reviewed matter is changed. Because the unit of review or report is the item, it is not a step that a small quantity removes. And because a change carries the same procedure, planning a functional claim closes the formula earlier. The practice around functional claims is in hair-loss relief claims and SPF and PA labelling.

On the container and decoration side, the setup work closes first. Dedicated tooling, a dedicated colour, print plates and finishing are one-off work independent of quantity, and changing the specification afterwards means doing that work again. Which decision is fixed at which stage is set out in what each development stage locks. How many sample rounds to run and where the formula is locked is covered in comparing samples.

5. Stock packaging is an option to investigate, not a universal promise

Suppliers' own published material confirms that stock packaging is an option worth investigating on a small project. Quadpack's In-Stock page presents in-stock tubes, airless bottles and jars together with a low order quantity, while stating that the service is currently available only to customers in the Americas region. Berlin Packaging's custom decorating FAQs state that the minimum purchase for decorating through a Packaging Consultant is USD 10,000 and that additional setup and decorating fees apply. Both pages were read on 20 October 2026.

Those examples are a reminder that conditions have to be read per supplier, per service and per region. They do not mean that a given supplier's terms are an EVAS production MOQ or are available on the same basis in Korea. One thing is clear, though: the suppliers themselves write minimum order quantity, minimum purchase value and setup cost as separate lines.

If stock containers are proposed, confirm the quantity currently available, whether a further order is possible, alternative specifications, and whether the label or print you want can be applied. The fact that a container already exists does not remove the compatibility check against the bulk, nor the quality-testing and labelling items described above.

6. Separate a low MOQ from a small initial commitment

Quotations have to be compared on the same basis. Try setting the following out on one page, split into what is included and what is charged separately.

A low quantity on one line can still leave residual stock of another component or an initial setup charge. Conversely, where there is room to simplify a specification, that alternative can be compared. Which option is better has to be judged against an actual quotation and a sales plan; the word "small" on its own does not settle total cost or lead time.

7. A short request you can send with your inquiry

Copy the following and fill in whatever you already have.

Product category and fill size / destination markets and channels / target quantity per item / formulation direction to review first / preferred container and the specifications that can be adjusted / decoration and outer packaging configuration / any plan to make a functional claim / target launch timing / conditions that must be kept

It helps to add: "Please tell us the production scope you can review under these conditions, what the MOQ applies to, what the cost includes, and which specifications have to be fixed first." If a figure cannot be fixed yet, mark clearly which items are still undecided.

If the product direction is still loose, start with how to write a product brief and compare development directions in the formula library. The library holds development concepts, not confirmed formulas or a ready-to-ship stock list.

8. What this article did not verify

Frequently asked questions

Can I find the EVAS minimum production quantity in this article?

No. This is a pre-review guide and it does not state a confirmed MOQ, unit price or lead time. Whether a project can be produced, and in what quantity, is agreed after the project conditions are confirmed: the item, the formulation, the container and packaging, and the review items required.

Can quantities for different products be added together?

Do not assume they can. Write out the items, formulations, fill sizes and components, and confirm which conditions can actually be shared.

If the quantity goes down, do the tests and documents go down too?

Separate what falls and what does not. The quality testing in Article 12, subparagraph 5 of the Enforcement Rule is keyed to the manufacturing batch number; the label particulars in Article 10 of the Act are keyed to the item and the content volume; and the reporting in Article 5(5) of the Act sets no quantity threshold at all.

Does a small container let me omit the ingredient list?

The trigger is content volume. Packaging of 10 millilitres (10 grams) or less under Article 19(1), subparagraph 1 of the Enforcement Rule falls within the shortening allowed by the proviso to Article 10(1) of the Act, and packaging of more than 10 millilitres (10 grams) up to 50 millilitres (50 grams) under Article 19(2), subparagraph 3 may omit the statement of ingredients other than the six listed there. Both cases exclude cosmetics announced by the Minister of Food and Drug Safety as requiring special care in use.

Does using a standard container reduce the checks required?

It can reduce custom specifications, but it does not stand in for compatibility between the bulk and the container or for the quality and labelling review required. Which items have to be checked is set by the product and the market it is sold in.

Can I settle the container design first and look for a manufacturer afterwards?

It is better to review the formulation, container, filling and packaging conditions together before fixing anything. Fixing only the appearance can force a specification back open once the review comes in, and if the item falls within the child-resistant packaging list, the container itself goes back on the table.

Bring the whole product brief together

EVAS connects product planning, design, research, manufacturing, logistics and brand content in house. Start with the development and production process, then send your product direction and the conditions you can adjust through a development inquiry. The scope and terms of an individual project are confirmed in consultation. If you are weighing finished-product sourcing alongside own-brand development, the route comparison is a useful starting point.

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