Minimum Order Quantity in kids clothing : Biggest Pain For starting a new business !

Gozi in Nov 15 20250 comments

Starting a kids-clothing brand sounds exciting — until you face the biggest hurdle every beginner meets: Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ).

For many first-time entrepreneurs, MOQ feels confusing, frustrating, and even discouraging. In this blog, we break it down in the simplest way so you truly understand why MOQs exist, why they matter, and how you can still start small.

Who We Are

We are Gozi Lifestyle Pvt. Ltd., a kids-clothing manufacturer from Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu — India’s knitwear capital.
We make high-quality kidswear (including t-shirts, cotton pants, pajama sets, co-ord sets) for ages 1 to 8 years, and we sell our clothes on Myntra, Amazon and our own website. We also supply bulk/wholesale kids-clothing to many retailers across India.

And here’s the best part: If you want to start a new kids-clothing brand or retail shop and want to begin with small quantities, we can work with lower MOQs and still ensure good margins for you.

This blog will help you understand the manufacturing side, especially why MOQ exists and how it affects your business planning.

Why MOQs Exist in the Kids-Clothing Industry

MOQs aren’t just arbitrary numbers. They come from real production realities:

Fabric mills have minimum dyeing batches.
Knitting machines produce fabric in rolls, not tiny pieces.
Stitching units need consistent workflow and machine setups.
Cutting and pattern-making require setup time that doesn’t reduce much with a very small order.

In simple terms: Producing a very small number of pieces is actually more expensive (per piece) than producing a bigger batch.

Why MOQs Hurt New Brands & Small Entrepreneurs

New entrepreneurs often want to start with:

20 pieces
50 pieces
Or even just 1 size in 1 colour

But manufacturers struggle because:

The cost of setting up machines remains the same.
A small quantity means higher cost per piece.
The fabric used is still in large batch quantities, regardless of your piece count.

So small brands feel stuck — they want to test designs but are forced into ordering large amounts.

Kidswear Has More Sizes — Which Makes MOQs Even Harder

Unlike adult clothing, kidswear often spans many sizes (1-2 years, 2-3 years, 3-4 years, 4-5 years, 5-6 years, 6-7 years, 7-8 years).

Even if you order 100 pieces, when you split across 7 sizes, it's hardly ~14 pieces per size. That makes style variety and inventory risk much higher.

Fabric Dyeing & Printing Processes Force Higher MOQs

Fabric dyeing plants don’t typically handle tiny lots like 10 kg or 20 kg — their machines require minimum lots, often 100 kg+ per colour.
Similarly, printing units have screen charges and setup costs which remain high whether you order 30 pieces or 300 pieces.
So even if you want 30 pieces, the fabric required is still large — which pushes up MOQ.

Why Manufacturers Cannot Produce Very Low Quantities

There are many hidden costs when you place an order:

Pattern-making
Sampling rounds
Cutting markers
Machine setup
Worker allocation
Finishing and quality control

Doing all this for 20–30 pieces is simply not cost-effective for a factory. That’s why they say “MOQ”.

How MOQs Affect Design Variety for Small Brands

Every new brand wants:

10 designs
3 colours each
7 sizes

But with MOQ it becomes: 10 × 3 × 7 × MOQ = huge inventory and investment.
This is why many small brands start with fewer designs, fewer colours, simpler silhouettes.

Here’s a real-life example: On our own site we have a popular Cotton Pants collection for kids. Even though we retail a wide variety, for wholesale we advise starting with 2-3 colours and simpler cuts to minimise risk. Gozi+1

The Hidden Costs Behind MOQs Most New Entrepreneurs Don’t Realise

Behind the scenes, factories deal with:

Fabric wastage
Cutting wastage
Leftover colours (which can’t always be reused)
Idle labours (waiting for orders)
Efficiency loss for small batches
Rejections and size-set approvals

These costs multiply when the quantity is very low, which is why MOQs feel “locked in”.

How Bigger Brands Easily Meet MOQs — And Why Small Brands Struggle

Bigger brands benefit from:

Predictable sales
Repeated orders
Bulk planning
Standardised fits and fabrics

Small brands on the other hand:

Are experimenting with designs
Have no long-history sales data
Have to invest more for same cost per piece

So the gap widens.

What Startups Can Do to Reduce MOQ Burden

Here are some smart tactics:

Choose evergreen designs (e.g., classic t-shirts, cotton joggers) — for example our T-Shirt range is built for everyday use and works well for test batches. Gozi
Stick to fewer colours.
Use common fabrics that run throughout the year.
Keep the print simple (less setup cost).
Launch with 3-4 designs, not 10-15.
Avoid very trendy or seasonal designs in the beginning.

How Gozi Helps New Brands Start With Lower MOQs

We understand the struggle. That’s why at Gozi we offer:

Lower MOQs for startups willing to grow gradually.
Readily available fabrics & common colour runs.
Good margins for retailers.
Faster turnaround time.
Guidance on which designs will sell better.
Support in scaling up once sales grow.

We aim to assist new brands and retailers to enter the kids-wear market without burning cash on huge inventory.

Our Future Plan: Bringing Down MOQs Even More With Consistent Production

As our production capacity and workflows improve, our aim is to:

Run continuous production cycles
Stock common fabrics and base colours that reduce setup overhead
Reduce overheads and pass savings to you
Provide even lower MOQs
Support small retailers and new entrepreneurs across India

We believe the kids-wear market is growing rapidly — and we want you to grow with us.

Want to Start a Kids Clothing Brand With Low MOQ?

If you want to start slow, test the market, or try a few designs before committing big — we are the right partner for you.
Get in touch with us, and we’ll guide you through: