A conditioner carton exists to protect a bottle, hold a shelf face and carry the ingredient copy. Its dimensions are almost entirely dictated by the bottle, so the useful answer is not a size chart. It is a measuring sequence that accounts for the parts of a bottle people forget: the cap, the pump collar, and the seam where the label overlaps.
Measure the bottle, not the fill volume
Fill volume tells you nothing about carton size. Two 8 oz conditioners can have wildly different footprints depending on whether the bottle is a tall cylinder or a flat oval. Measure the physical object.
- Height: from the base to the top of the closure in its shipped position. A disc cap sits low, a pump sits high, and a locked down pump sits somewhere between the two. Measure the version that ships.
- Width and depth: for a round bottle, the diameter at the widest point, usually the shoulder or the label seam. For an oval or flat bottle, measure both the major and the minor axis separately.
- Label allowance: a wrap label with an overlap adds a fraction of a millimetre, and a shrink sleeve adds more. Measure the labelled bottle if you have one.
Add about 1 to 2 mm of clearance per side so the bottle drops in cleanly on a packing line without a fight. Then state the number as internal length x width x depth and confirm on the quote that it is internal, not external.
Let the shelf set the upper limit
If the product goes to bricks and mortar retail, the shelf is a real constraint. Gondola shelving is commonly supplied in 13, 16, 19 and 22 inch depths, which is the published range most fixture suppliers work to. A carton designed without reference to the destination shelf can end up over deep, which costs you facings, or under deep, which wastes the space you paid for. Ask your buyer for the planogram depth and the facing width before you finalise, and treat those figures as industry-typical starting points rather than rules.
Carton style and board
| Style | Suits | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Straight tuck end | Most bottled haircare on shelf | Both tucks fold the same direction, so the back panel stays clean for the ingredient block |
| Reverse tuck end | Cost sensitive runs | Nests more efficiently on the sheet, which can reduce board waste |
| Auto bottom | Heavier bottles and glass | The base is pre glued and locks under weight, faster to set up by hand |
Board is specified in points, where one point is one thousandth of an inch. Heavier board resists the bulge you get from a tight fitting bottle. If the carton is going into a humid bathroom aisle display, mention that, because coating choice matters there.
Ordering, minimum and lead time
Minimum order is 100 boxes. Pricing starts from about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes and is confirmed in writing on your quote once board, size, colours and finish are set. The die, the plates, design support, US shipping and a digital proof are included, which is why a carton built to your exact bottle costs no more to tool than a near standard one.
Turnaround is quoted per product in three lanes: rush (expedited production plus air freight, premium about 7 to 25% depending on the job), standard by air, and cost saver by sea. The floor is from about 7 business days, plus 2 to 5 days for delivery, and specialty imported items can run up to about 12 weeks. We produce in West Chicago in the US and in Guangzhou in China.
Send the bottle's height, its widest width and the cap type, and we will confirm the internal carton size and the board on a written quote at /quote/. To order the format itself, see custom hair conditioner boxes.
