China is where most of the world's promotional merchandise is actually made — pens, tote bags, drinkware, USB sticks, apparel, tech gadgets. To source it, go to Yiwu (the year-round small-commodity and gift city) or Canton Fair Phase 2 (gifts and premiums). The decisive variables are the branding method (which drives minimum order quantity and setup cost) and the artwork/proof loop. Budget 3–5 weeks of lead time per branded run, and never order anything carrying a logo you don't own the rights to.
Where to source promotional products in China
Two venues cover almost every promotional-product buyer, and they solve different problems.
Yiwu — the world's gift and small-commodity hub
The Yiwu International Trade City (Futian Market) is the single densest place on earth for promotional goods: 75,000+ stalls covering 26 major product categories with over 2.1 million SKUs, according to Global Sources. Gift and premium buyers gravitate to District 1 (toys, festival crafts, jewelry) and District 3 (pens, stationery, cosmetics, office supplies) — the classic promotional-item aisles. Yiwu is open most working days year-round, and its low minimum order quantities (MOQ — the smallest quantity a supplier will produce) make it ideal when you want variety and modest volumes. See our Yiwu market guide for the district map and logistics.
Canton Fair Phase 2 — gifts and premiums
If you want factories rather than wholesalers, the Canton Fair Phase 2 is the promotional-products phase. Its remit is consumer goods, gifts and premiums, festival products, home décor, kitchenware and clocks/watches. In 2026 Phase 2 runs 23–27 April (spring) and 23–27 October (autumn), per the official Canton Fair site and SourcingYuan's phase breakdown. Phase 3 (textiles, apparel, footwear, office supplies) matters if your item is a branded T-shirt or cap. Factories at Canton generally carry higher MOQs but do in-house branding and OEM/private-label work properly.
The practical split: Yiwu to fill a mixed cart of gifts at low MOQ; Canton Fair Phase 2 for a factory relationship on one hero branded item at volume. Many buyers do both in one trip.
Branding methods, and why they set your MOQ
"Custom-branded" means your logo or artwork is applied to a stock or semi-custom product. The decoration method is the biggest single driver of MOQ, setup cost and unit price — pick it before you negotiate, because a supplier's quote is meaningless until they know how you want it branded.
| Branding method | Best for | Typical MOQ | Setup cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen / silk print | Tote bags, T-shirts, mugs, bold 1–3 colour logos | 100–500 | ~$20–50 per screen/colour |
| Pad print | Pens, small hard curved surfaces, single colour | 100–300 | Low, per-colour plate |
| Embroidery | Caps, polos, jackets, bags (premium feel) | 50–200 | ~$50–150 digitizing (one-off) |
| Laser engraving | Metal drinkware, pens, USB, tech — permanent mark | 100–500 | Low–medium (file setup) |
| Dye sublimation | Full-colour photo/gradient on polyester, mugs, mousepads | 50–300 | Per-design, no screens |
| Full-colour digital / UV | Complex artwork, gradients, short runs | 50–250 | Low, no screens |
| Debossing / embossing | Leather, PU notebooks, premium goods | 100–500 | Die/mould cost |
Ranges are indicative — actual MOQs shift with the base product, factory, and season. Setup figures follow decorator guidance from Crestline and Quality Logo Products; Chinese factory MOQs at Yiwu/Canton tend to sit at the higher end of Western promo MOQs because they run production lines, not one-off decoration.
How to read the table
- Screen print is the workhorse for flat soft goods and simple logos — cheap per unit at volume, but each ink colour needs its own screen, so a 4-colour logo means 4 setups.
- Pad print is what puts your logo on a pen. Great for single colour on curved hard surfaces; multi-colour needs separate passes.
- Embroidery reads as premium on apparel and caps. The one-off digitizing (converting your logo into a stitch file) is the setup; after that, added colours are usually free, but very fine detail and small text don't stitch well.
- Laser engraving gives a permanent, no-ink mark on metal and hard plastics — no colour, just the etched material, which is exactly the upmarket look wanted on steel bottles and pens.
- Sublimation and full-colour digital are the only methods that reproduce photos and gradients cleanly; sublimation needs polyester or a coated surface to bond.
Artwork and proofing — where orders go wrong
Getting the file and the proof right is where most promotional orders slip. Do this before you pay a deposit:
- Send vector artwork. Supply your logo as vector (.ai, .eps, .pdf, or high-res .svg), not a screenshot. Screen, pad and laser all need clean paths; a low-res JPEG forces the factory to redraw it, and quality drifts.
- Specify Pantone (PMS) colours. "Blue" is not a spec. Give exact Pantone Matching System codes so the ink matches your brand across reorders.
- Get a pre-production sample or digital proof and sign it off in writing. A pre-production sample (PPS) — one finished, branded unit — is the single best defence against a bad bulk run. At minimum insist on a photographed proof of logo position and size, and approve it over email/WeChat before mass production starts.
- Confirm imprint area and placement in mm. Booth samples lie about scale; state the print dimensions and position explicitly.
Lead times and quantities
Plan the calendar backwards from when you need stock in hand.
| Stage | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Quote + artwork exchange | 2–5 days |
| Pre-production sample | 5–10 days |
| Mass production after sign-off | 10–20 days |
| Sea freight China → EU/US | 30–45 days |
| Air freight (rush) | 5–10 days |
A branded sea-freight order realistically takes 6–10 weeks door to door; a rush air job can compress to 2–3 weeks at much higher cost. Add a buffer around Chinese New Year — in 2026 the Yiwu market is closed roughly 13–28 February (Golden Shiny) and factories wind down for weeks either side, so any promo campaign for Q1 must be produced before late January.
Because promotional runs are usually mixed SKUs at modest volume, they rarely fill a container neatly. Work out your CBM (cubic metres) and whether you ship LCL (less than container load) or FCL (full container load) with our CBM / container-fill calculator, and price the true delivered cost — unit + branding + freight + duty — with the landed-cost calculator.
The IP trap — don't order counterfeits
This is the one mistake that turns a bargain into a legal problem. It is tempting, in a Yiwu aisle, to point at a branded phone case, a "Disney" plush, or a football-club scarf and ask for 500. Don't. Ordering goods carrying a trademark, character or design you don't own the rights to is importing counterfeits.
- Chinese customs seize counterfeits on export and can act on their own initiative (ex officio) when goods resemble a registered brand without authorization, per China IP Law Update.
- Your own customs seize and destroy them on import, with the importer bearing storage and destruction costs and exposure to penalties — US CBP, for example, routinely seizes counterfeit shipments and issues fines (Great Lakes Customs Law).
Only apply logos and designs you own or are licensed to use. If a supplier offers to print a third-party brand "no problem," that is a red flag about how they treat IP generally. For genuine custom work, you supply your artwork and license — the factory decorates a blank product, which is entirely legitimate.
FAQ
What is the minimum order to get products with my logo in China?
It depends on the branding method, not the product alone. Embroidery and sublimation can start around 50 units; screen print, pad print and laser engraving typically run 100–500. Yiwu and Canton factories sit at the higher end because they run production lines. Always ask MOQ and setup cost together — a low unit price with a high screen-setup fee can be worse than the reverse on small runs.
Yiwu or Canton Fair for promotional products?
Yiwu for a mix of gifts and premiums at low MOQ, sourceable any working week from 75,000+ stalls. Canton Fair Phase 2 (23–27 April and 23–27 October 2026) for factories that do proper OEM branding at volume on a hero item. Many buyers do both: Yiwu to fill a varied cart, Canton for one relationship-driven branded product. See our Yiwu market guide.
How long does a custom-branded order take from China?
Budget 6–10 weeks door to door by sea: a few days for quotes and artwork, 5–10 days for a pre-production sample, 10–20 days production after you sign off, then 30–45 days ocean freight. Air freight can compress the shipping leg to under two weeks at higher cost. Add weeks of buffer around Chinese New Year, when factories and the Yiwu market close.
What artwork do I need to send the supplier?
Vector artwork (.ai, .eps, .pdf) rather than a screenshot, plus exact Pantone (PMS) colour codes and the imprint dimensions and placement in millimetres. Then insist on a pre-production sample or at least a written/photographed proof, and approve it before mass production. This one loop prevents the most common promotional-order failures: wrong colour, wrong scale, blurry logo.
Is it legal to order branded products at Yiwu?
Applying your own logo to a blank product is fully legal — that is what custom sourcing is. Ordering goods bearing someone else's trademark, cartoon character or club crest without a licence is buying counterfeits, which Chinese customs can seize on export and your customs will seize and destroy on import, with fines. Never order third-party-branded goods, however cheap or available.
From the aisle to the branded order
Sourcing promo products means comparing the same pen or tote across a dozen stalls, each with a different price, MOQ and branding quote — impossible to hold in your head after a day on the floor. Fairloop captures each product in under 15 seconds (photo, quoted price, MOQ, supplier, branding note), offline, then lets you compare, compute container fill and landed cost, and issue a purchase order back at the hotel. See pricing — 99 USD/year, 24-hour free trial. For getting the goods home, read our Yiwu sourcing logistics guide.