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Option Print · Published 16 June 2026 · Updated 28 August 2026 · 10 min read
FMCG display buying is a repeat process, not a one-off purchase. The same brand runs a launch, a festive push and a category block within a year, often across hundreds of outlets and through several distributors.
That repetition is an advantage if the process is set up properly the first time. This guide sets out the sequence we use with brand and distributor buyers, and what to fix at each stage so the second order is faster than the first.
Before anything else, write down the product facts: pack dimensions, weight of one unit, facings per shelf including the back row, number of shelves, placement and campaign duration. For a range, note the heaviest and tallest variant.
This is the document that makes quotations comparable. Send the same sheet to every manufacturer and the prices you get back describe the same stand.
FMCG campaigns almost never use one display type. Modern trade outlets host floor units; general trade takes counter units and shelf strips; a handful of flagship stores may justify a custom POS build.
Work out the split by format before quoting. Manufacturing a mixed kit together shares print set-up costs and keeps artwork consistent across formats — ordering separately later costs more and risks a visual mismatch.
Ask for a physical sample on any new structure. Load it with the actual product, not with a stand-in. Check shelf clearance, stability when full, stability when half empty, and whether a store person can assemble it without instructions.
This is the cheapest stage to change anything. A revised cut costs a fraction of a revised production run.
Approve artwork on the structural layout, with fold lines and cut edges shown, rather than on a flat visual. Logos crossing creases and type running off a cut edge are caught here or not at all.
Where a signature brand colour is involved, approve a printed sample rather than a screen proof. Board printing is close to a coated proof but not identical.
Confirm the quantity, the split by location and the delivery date together — they are one decision, not three. Production capacity of up to 700 stands a day is what makes a fixed campaign date realistic at FMCG volumes.
Units are checked for print, fit, fold and load before packing. A unit that assembles correctly in the factory usually assembles correctly in store.
Packing is part of the specification, not an afterthought. Ask for per-destination packing and labelling so each distributor or outlet receives a counted set rather than a bulk pallet to sort.
Give us the destination list with PIN codes at quotation stage so freight is quoted on real packed volume rather than estimated.
After deployment, collect two pieces of feedback from the field: did stores assemble and place the units, and did anything fail. Both feed the next order.
A repeat order of an approved structure is faster and cheaper than the first, because the cutting and print set-up already exist. Keep the approved structural drawing and the artwork layout on file — they are the asset the first order bought you.
Distributors carry a different risk: units arrive in bulk and must go onward to many small outlets, often in vehicles not designed for bulky cargo.
Prioritise flat-pack volume, packing strength and simple assembly over everything else, and ask for per-outlet counts. The best display for a distributor is the one that survives two journeys and goes up in two minutes.
It depends on store coverage rather than on a manufacturing minimum. Set-up costs are spread across the run, so cost per unit falls as quantity rises. Send your store count and format split and we will quote against it.
Early enough to include a prototype round if the structure is new. A repeat order of an approved structure moves considerably faster. We commit to a date once structure and quantity are confirmed.
Yes — to one warehouse or to many, packed and labelled per destination so nobody has to sort a mixed consignment.
Working through this for your own product? Send the product size, weight, quantity per shelf, stand quantity and usage period. Share your product details.