Minimum order quantity: how to set one for your wholesale range

Updated 3 November 2026 · DELLI

A minimum order quantity (MOQ) is the smallest order a supplier will accept, set in units, cases or order value. For a wholesale brand, the simplest way to set one is to work out what it costs to pick, pack and deliver one trade order, then decide what share of the order value you're prepared to spend on that. This guide gives you the minimum order quantity formula, worked examples for chilli sauce, dog treats, candles and skincare, and wording you can put on your price list and trade terms.

1. Minimum order quantity meaning: the four ways to set one

A minimum order quantity is a floor on order size. Below it, the order costs you more to fulfil than it's worth, or it's too small to put your range on a shelf properly. You can express it in four ways:

The term works in both directions. Your jar, label or wax supplier has its own MOQ, which decides how much packaging you have to buy at once. The MOQ in this guide is the one you set for the shops that buy from you.

A minimum order is also different from a free delivery threshold. The minimum is the smallest order you'll accept. A free delivery threshold is a higher figure above which you pay the delivery. You can use both: a £120 minimum, with free delivery over £250.

2. The minimum order quantity formula

Two numbers set your minimum: what one order costs you to send out, and how much of each order you're willing to spend on that.

Step 1: cost to fulfil one order

Add up what a typical trade order costs to get out of the door and to the shop:

• Courier or delivery. Use the price for the size and weight of a typical small order, not your largest.
• Packaging. Outer box, void fill, tape, any extra protection for glass or wax.
• Packing time. Minutes per order multiplied by what that time costs, even if it's your own time.
• Admin. Logging the order, confirming it and booking the courier, if it takes a meaningful amount of time.

Step 2: the share you'll spend on fulfilment

This comes from your margin. If you keep 40% of the trade price after making the product, spending 10% of the order on getting it to the shop leaves 30%. Spending 25% leaves 15%, which won't cover much else. Pick a share that leaves enough margin for the rest of the business, and write it down so you use the same figure each time you review the minimum. Our guide to wholesale and retail pricing shows how to work out the margin you start from.

Step 3: convert to cases and round

Divide the minimum value by your case price and round up, so the minimum is something a buyer can order without leftovers. Then round the value to a figure that reads cleanly on a price list.

3. Minimum order quantity examples across categories

The same formula gives different answers for different products, because heavy glass, fragile wax and small tubes cost different amounts to send. Here it is applied to four fictional brands, using their own costs.

Ember & Wick's candles need double boxing and void fill, so its cost per order is the highest and it accepts a slightly larger share, 12%, rather than push the minimum above what a gift shop will order. Kindred Skin's tubes and bottles are light, so its cost per order is low. Because its range is mixed, it sets the minimum by value and rounds £105 down to £100, accepting 8.4%. A rule of 6 per product keeps each line on the shelf in a proper facing.

4. How to set a minimum order that shops will meet

The formula gives you a starting figure. These choices decide whether it works in practice.

First orders and reorders

A higher first-order minimum gets enough of your range onto the shelf to sell. A lower reorder minimum makes it easy for a shop to top up one or two lines before they run out. Wildfire could ask for 6 cases on a first order and 3 cases on a reorder, and charge for delivery on reorders under 6 cases. A low reorder minimum means a shop can top up one line without waiting until it needs a full order. Our guide to wholesale reorders covers how to time the nudge.

Cafés and weekly customers

A café taking bread, cakes or sauces every week orders less each time than a shop stocking up for a month. If you deliver on a regular run, base its minimum on the cost of one stop on that run, not on a courier parcel.

A hard minimum or a small-order charge

A hard minimum turns small orders away. A small-order charge accepts them and recovers the cost: for example, orders under £150 pay £10 towards delivery. The charge suits brands whose stockists include small shops that would never reach the minimum but reorder steadily. Whichever you choose, apply it the same way to every stockist, and agree any exceptions in writing.

When to review it

Recalculate when courier prices change, when you change packaging, or when your trade prices move. A minimum set two years ago on cheaper postage may no longer cover the order. Check also how many orders arrive only a little above the minimum: if most do, the minimum is shaping how shops order, so changing it will change their order sizes too.

5. How to word your minimum on a price list and in your terms

State the minimum the same way everywhere a buyer sees it: your price list, your order form, your trade terms and your order confirmation. Put the number first and say what counts towards it.

On a price list

Put the line at the top of the price list, next to your case sizes, rather than in small print at the bottom, so buyers see it before they start choosing.

In your trade terms

When an order comes in under the minimum

Reply quickly, give the gap in plain numbers, and offer a way to reach it. Here is an email you can adapt:

Checking every incoming order against your minimum is one of the steps in our guide to wholesale order management.

Questions about minimum order quantities

← All DELLI AI articles