How We Build a Private-Label Play Mat, Step by Step

A common message we receive goes something like this: "We are launching a new brand. We want custom play mats. We have not decided the specification yet." It is often written apologetically, as if not knowing the exact thickness is a failure to prepare.

It is not. An undecided specification is the easiest kind of project for a factory, because we can steer you towards the version that is both good and cheap to make, instead of quoting the version you invented on your own.

Here is how a private-label project actually runs with us, start to finish.

Step 1 — Four pieces of information

To give you a useful first answer we need approximately this much:

• Rough size, or simply a photo of a product you like
• Rough quantity for a first trial order
• The destination market
• Any design, colour direction or reference image

If you have all four, we can usually respond with a recommended specification and indicative pricing quickly. If you have two of the four, send those.

Step 2 — We propose a specification

This is where working with a factory rather than a trading company pays. We make the foam ourselves, so we know which thicknesses run efficiently on our lines and which ones create waste. We will tell you when a small change saves real money, and equally when a change you want costs nothing and you should just take it.

Typical decisions at this stage: roll type or foldable, single-sided or reversible printing, thickness, surface film, edge finish, and packaging format.

Step 3 — Samples

We dispatch samples by international courier with a tracking number. For qualified importers, samples themselves are free.

This is the step buyers most often rush, and it is the one that decides whether you are happy in eighteen months. Be specific in your feedback. "The surface is slightly too glossy for our market", "the fold line should be softer", "this grey reads green under shop lighting" are all things we can fix. "Looks fine" is not feedback we can act on.

Step 4 — Revised samples and packaging

We revise, you confirm. In parallel we work on packaging, which for retail is at least as important as the product. If you have a designer, we provide dielines. If you do not, we can propose a format based on what sells in comparable channels.

Step 5 — Proforma invoice and production

Once the specification and packaging are locked, we issue a proforma invoice with FOB terms. Production is scheduled against our line availability, and we tell you the container loading date honestly rather than optimistically. If a date slips, you hear it from us before you have to ask.

Step 6 — Shipment

We confirm the loading date, then the vessel and schedule, and share the packing list, invoice and container schedule for your review before departure.

What we can customise

• Reversible printing with different designs on each side
• Custom sizes, thicknesses, colours and patterns
• Roll-type or foldable constructions
• Private-label packaging
• Non-adhesive versions where the application requires it
• Trial orders for initial market testing, from 200 pieces per item

About that MOQ

We publish our minimum order quantity of 200 pieces per item deliberately. New brands frequently assume a Korean manufacturer will insist on tens of thousands of units and never send the first email. We would rather start small with someone who intends to grow.

Where to start

If your specification is not decided, that is fine. Send your basic idea or a reference product and we will recommend suitable options based on what we have actually manufactured for other markets.

Chang-Hoon Lee
Director of Marketing, QONE Corporation
Email: chl@qone.kr
Web: qone.kr