Which cotton towels pack format should a distributor stock for pharmacy, baby stores and e-commerce?

Carry two formats, not four: a large soft pack for shelf, a travel pack for the pharmacy counter, and a multi-pack only after a marketplace listing proves repeat velocity. Pack format is not a packaging detail — it sets the retail price point, the shelf depth a retailer will grant you, the carton configuration and therefore the container fill. Distributors who list four formats in the first order usually end up with four slow movers and no volume price break.

As a category, cotton towels and dry wipes share one substrate: a dry, water-activated sheet. Retailers list the same sheet as baby towels in one account and as dry wipes in the next, which is why pack format rather than product specification usually decides the listing. And the channel decides which format earns its space: pharmacy wants small and hygienic, baby stores want visible and generous, e-commerce wants a shipping-efficient bundle. Getting the mapping right is worth more than a percentage point on the invoice.

What pack formats does a cotton towel line actually ship in?

Four formats cover the category: soft pack, box, travel pack and multi-pack. Each one changes the price point and the carton count far more than it changes the product inside.

• Soft pack — a flexible film pack with a pull-out opening, typically 80 to 120 sheets. Best shelf presence and the lowest cost per sheet.
• Box — a rigid or semi-rigid carton, often 100 to 200 sheets. Sells on perceived quality and gifts well.
• Travel pack — 10 to 20 sheets in a flat sachet. Impulse purchase, counter placement, low cash outlay for the shopper.
• Multi-pack — two to six soft packs shrink-wrapped together. Built for marketplaces and for warehouse-club style volume.

Every one of these can carry the same 200 by 210 mm sheet, which is why format is a commercial decision first and a manufacturing one second. The identical sheet is sold as baby towels on a gift-facing pack and as dry wipes on a clinical one, so artwork does more selling work here than the substrate does.

Which pack format belongs on a pharmacy counter?

The travel pack, supported by a box. Pharmacy shoppers buy on a specific need and a small basket, so a 10 to 20 sheet sachet converts far better at the counter than a 100-sheet pack, and it produces the add-on sale that pharmacy buyers care about.

The box earns its place beside it as a gifting and hygiene purchase, particularly in markets where a boxed cotton product reads as a considered gift. Keep both to one or two SKUs. Pharmacy shelf space is shallow, and a distributor who asks for four facings in a 30 cm counter section is asking the buyer to make a decision they will avoid.

Which format should a baby store put on shelf?

The large soft pack, with a travel pack as a trial size. Baby stores sell to parents who already know the product and buy in household quantities, so the highest cash margin per facing comes from the biggest pack that still fits the shelf.

The trial pack earns its space only if the store is willing to place it near the till or inside a newborn bundle. Used that way it is a sampling tool that recruits a repeat buyer; left on a shelf next to the large pack it simply cannibalises the large pack at a worse margin per slot.

Which format earns its place in e-commerce listings?

The multi-pack, because shipping cost per unit is the dominant variable online. A single soft pack carries the same pick, pack and last-mile cost as a three-pack, so the three-pack converts better at almost every price point once the platform fee is included.

Two practical rules apply. Keep the multi-pack carton dimension inside the platform's oversized-shipment threshold, and make sure the shrink-wrap carries its own barcode so the warehouse does not have to break the bundle to scan it. Listings that require manual handling lose the margin the bundle was created to protect.

How does pack format change carton configuration and container fill?

It changes both, and often by enough to matter more than the FOB price. A soft pack compresses under load, a box does not, and a travel pack is mostly air relative to its value. Loading a 20GP with boxes instead of soft packs can cut the piece count inside the container by a fifth or more.

That is a conversation to have before the quotation, not after. Ask for the carton configuration of each format — packs per carton, cartons per layer, layers per pallet — and calculate the container yourself. Diaper cartons are usually quoted at roughly 48,000 pieces per 20GP; cotton towels land somewhere else entirely because the format drives the volume, so never assume the diaper number carries across.

Does pack format change the MOQ conversation?

Yes, because MOQ is set per SKU. Four formats means four minimum quantities, and a first order split four ways rarely reaches the volume that earns a better price break on any of them. Consolidating to two formats is often the single fastest way to reach a workable minimum without increasing your total spend.

If a retailer insists on a format you do not want to carry, quote it as a special order with its own minimum rather than absorbing it into the standard range. That keeps the core range clean and puts the cost of complexity where it belongs.

How do you test a second format without doubling your inventory?

Test it in one account, for one quarter, with one facing. Pick the account that gives you the cleanest sell-out data, agree a review date in advance, and define the pass mark before the stock ships — typically repeat orders within eight weeks, not first-order volume.

Then hold the decision to that pass mark. Formats that fail the test are usually failing because the channel was wrong, not because the product was, and the fix is to move the format to a different channel rather than to discount it. Distributors who skip this step end up with a warehouse full of a format that three accounts asked for once. If you want to run the test on a single pallet rather than a container, start from the application page and the distributor onboarding guide, which sets out how a first order is usually structured.

Frequently asked questions

The four questions below come up in almost every format review with a new account.

Sources and further reading

• EDANA, nonwovens industry statistics and dry wipe substrate guidance (2025): edana.org
• GS1 Thailand, barcode and carton identification requirements for retail listing (accessed 2026): gs1th.org
• Statista, baby care retail and e-commerce channel data for Southeast Asia (2025–2026): statista.com

Bottom line: pick the format from the channel, not from the production line. Two formats executed well will out-earn four formats spread thin, and the carton configuration behind each one is part of the price you are negotiating. All quantities, sheet counts and minimums quoted here are planning ranges — formal terms are confirmed per SKU against your specification.