Custom Printed Perfume Sample and Discovery Boxes

The buyer pays a small amount for five or six 2 ml vials, finds a favourite, and comes back for the full bottle.

That first parcel is the whole brand experience, so the box has to open well and look considered. A flimsy envelope with loose vials rolling about does the opposite.

Our sample boxes hold each vial in its own slot, with room inside the lid for the scent names and a note. Many brands tuck a voucher towards the full size in there as well.

The white box in the photos holds five 2 ml atomisers in a slotted card platform, with the scent list printed inside the lid.

Discovery boxes are the same thing with more vials, often eight to twelve. Some brands add a 5 ml or 10 ml travel spray in a wider slot at one end.

Single sample boxes exist too. These are small sleeve and tray boxes for one vial, handed out in store or dropped into an order. If your samples are oils rather than sprays, our roll-on and dropper vial boxes are built for the heavier glass.

A 2 ml atomiser from one supplier can be 10 mm across and from another 12 mm.

Slot width is set a fraction over the vial diameter so it grips without crushing. Slot length is set to the vial with its cap on. Typical sizes for full bottles are listed in our common cosmetic box sizes guide.

Each vial drops into a slot and rests on the fold, so it stays upright when the box is tilted.

Flat-laid inserts are the other way. The vial lies in a cut channel, which suits taller 5 ml sprays and keeps the box slimmer for the post.

Both are card inserts and come as an option. Foam is possible on rigid versions, but card is lighter and cheaper to post. Inserts are made to your vial and confirmed on the proof.

It ships flat, folds in seconds and takes a printed lid interior.

Rigid greyboard with a printed wrap suits a set that sells on its own as a gift. The lid lifts off and the insert sits in a tray, which feels heavier in the hand.

Board, rigid and finish options are available on request. When the set grows to full-size bottles, a rigid perfume collection box with a tray is the next step.

List the scents in slot order, left to right, with two or three notes each.

Number the slots on the insert as well, so the list still makes sense once a vial is out. One colour print on the insert is enough for that.

Outside, a matt lamination option with a small foil logo is the usual look for niche houses. Full colour CMYK is available if your brand is bolder. How foil sits on matt and soft touch board is covered in our beauty packaging print finishes guide.

Keep the box slim and lay the vials flat if you can.

The sample box itself is not the outer parcel. It needs a padded envelope or a small mailer around it. For a branded outer, our cosmetic mailer boxes for the post can be made to the sample box size.

• Keep the finished box under about 25 mm deep for letterbox post
• Fill empty slots with a card blank so vials cannot jump across
• Add a tissue layer between the insert and the lid
• Wrap the box in tissue or a sleeve before the mailer
• Print a short welcome line inside so the parcel feels planned

Brands switch vial supplier after the box is made and the new vial falls through or will not fit. Send a physical vial if you can, or exact dimensions.

Another is no numbering. The customer pulls three vials out, loses track, and the scent list inside the lid becomes useless.

The third is a lid with no retention. A plain lid on a folding box opens in the post, so we add a tuck flap or a thumb cut with a friction fit.

The tray slides out of the sleeve and the vial sits in a cut-out, which is a neat way to drop a sample into an order.

These work for in-store sampling as well. A counter stack of printed single sample boxes gets picked up more than a loose vial in a dish.

Sizes are small, about 35 x 35 x 80 mm for a 2 ml vial. Subscription services that send one new scent a month often pair this with our beauty subscription boxes for monthly parcels.

Every quantity is priced per order, from £0.25 per unit, and your written quote sets the final figure.

Faulty print or transit damage is put right with a reprint or a refund, provided you report it with photos inside 10 days. The quote form for sample boxes takes a couple of minutes, or message us on WhatsApp.

1. Post or email us the vial details and how many go in each set.
2. Pick folding or rigid, the print and any foil or lamination option.
3. Our designers lay out the lid, the inside list and the insert for free.
4. Check the free proof, including the slot numbering.
5. Production runs 4–6 business days once you approve.
6. Free tracked delivery follows, 2–3 business days to a UK address.