Eye Patch OEM & Private Label Manufacturing

It is a cast sheet, not a fabric mask

The single most useful question to ask any eye patch supplier is whether the patch is cast or cut. A hydrogel patch starts as a liquid — water, glycerin and a gelling agent such as carrageenan, sodium polyacrylate or PVA — poured into a tray, gelled, partially dried, then die-cut into a crescent or full-eye shape. The dried sheet is what gives the product its body: it holds its own weight on a vertical face, does not drip, and releases serum slowly over 20–30 minutes.

A supplier who buys ready-made sheets and only fills sachets will describe the product in terms of ingredients and packaging. A supplier who casts in-house will talk about gel strength, drying loss and die tolerance — because those are the variables that decide whether batch 3 looks like batch 1.

The specification that governs everything else

Swipe the table →

Thickness and serum load are the two numbers worth negotiating hardest. A 0.6 mm sheet at 1.8 g reads as a "daily" product and ships cheaply; a 1.2 mm sheet at 2.6 g feels clinical and photographs better for premium listings, but adds roughly 18–25% to unit cost once you account for gel solids, sachet foil and carton weight.

Where the cost actually sits

Brands often assume the serum is the expensive part. In practice a hydrogel eye patch breaks down roughly as: gel sheet 20–30%, serum 15–25%, primary packaging 25–35%, labour and QC 10–15%, export packing and freight 5–10%. That is why switching from a printed folding carton to a plain sachet can move the landed price more than downgrading an active ingredient — and why we quote packaging and formula together rather than separately.

Swipe the table →

What changes when you switch substrate

Hydrogel to bio-cellulose roughly doubles material cost and shortens practical shelf life, because the fibre mat is thicker and harder to seal without trapping air. In exchange you get the drape that premium brands photograph. Plan for a stability run before committing — bio-cellulose is the substrate most likely to show edge lift at month 18.

Hydrogel to silicone removes the serum entirely, which changes the regulatory story as well as the cost. A reusable silicone patch is closer to an accessory than a cosmetic in several markets, and the claim set shifts from "hydrating" to "helps smooth the look of fine lines while you sleep".

Collagen-stamped gel is the only substrate that takes an embossed logo without printing. If your launch plan depends on the patch being recognisable in an unboxing video, this is usually worth the medium-tier cost.

Swipe the table →

The three customisations that actually sell

Shape is the cheapest differentiator and the one buyers notice first. A butterfly or extended-coverage die reads as a different product on a shelf even at the same formula cost.

Colour carries more weight online than in store. Gold and pearl effects photograph well under ring lighting; black hydrogel signals "clinical" and tends to convert better in markets where the category is already crowded.

Embossed logo is the only element that survives a repost. Printed logos sit on the sachet and disappear once the buyer unboxes; an embossed patch appears in every user photo.

What we discourage

We push back on bespoke dies for first orders under 10,000 pairs. The tooling is real money, and a brand testing a new shape rarely repeats it. Start from the closest standard die, validate the concept, then invest in tooling once the reorder is confirmed.

Swipe the table →

Sampling

Library-formula samples are charged at cost and credited against the bulk order. Bespoke development carries a separate formulation fee, also credited once production passes 10,000 pairs. We do not refund sampling if the project is cancelled — the cost is real and pretending otherwise only moves it into the unit price.

What accelerates a quote

Quotes take one to two working days when the enquiry includes: quantity, substrate preference, serum load, packaging structure, target market and required ship date. Without packaging structure we can only quote a range, because primary packaging is 25–35% of unit cost.

Payment and terms

Standard terms are 30% deposit with balance against bill of lading, or a letter of credit for first orders above USD 50,000. Repeat customers move to net-30 after three completed shipments.

The five checkpoints

1. 1Incoming raw materials — COA per lot for gelling agents, humectants and actives; identity check against retained samples.
2. 2Gel preparation — pH, viscosity and solids content recorded before casting. This is where batch-to-batch colour and firmness drift originates.
3. 3Filling — serum weight checked hourly against the declared load, with an automatic reject for underweight sachets.
4. 4Sealing — seal strength pull-tested each shift plus dye penetration on a sample per lot.
5. 5Finished goods — appearance, microbial limits, net content and label verification before release.

Documents available with each shipment

Swipe the table →

Claims discipline

We will not print a claim we cannot support. "Depuffing" and "brightening" are consumer-facing narratives that need either an ingredient at a defensible level or a substantiation file. If your market requires clinical data for a specific wording, tell us at brief stage — retrofitting a claim after artwork approval is the most common cause of a delayed first shipment.

1. 1Is the gel cast in-house or bought in? Ask what drying loss they target. A trader cannot answer; a caster will name a percentage and explain how it is controlled.
2. 2Can you send three samples from different production dates? Batch-to-batch consistency is the most common failure mode, and one sample never reveals it.
3. 3Do you have stability data on this exact formula? A formula sheet is not stability data. Ask for the accelerated result and the real-time timepoint reached.
4. 4Is the MOQ quoted in pairs or in sachets? A "3,000 unit" MOQ that means 3,000 sachets of one pair is a different commitment from 3,000 pairs packed in fives.
5. 5Is the logo printed on the patch or on the sachet? Both are valid; only one appears in user-generated content. Know which you are buying.
6. 6When does the lead time start? From deposit and signed artwork, or from PO? The gap is typically two to three weeks.
7. 7Can I see a redacted batch record? This is the single most revealing request. A factory with real in-process QC can produce one; an assembler cannot.

Red flags worth taking seriously

• A quote well below the market band, with no explanation of which cost was removed.
• Willingness to print any claim you ask for, with no question about substantiation.
• No retained samples offered, or refusal to hold them past shipment.
• Tooling quoted without a die line drawing.
• Lead time quoted shorter than the substrate's realistic casting and drying cycle.

Building a full range

This page covers one category only. Brands assembling a complete line usually pair it with Sheet Mask OEM and Anti-Wrinkle Patch OEM. MOQ, lead times and material options for every category we run sit on the OEM/ODM service page.