Anyone filling a product into a bottle, from a juice maker and a sauce producer to a cleaning product start-up, needs plastic bottles that match the liquid, the closure and the budget. Empty bottles are sold by wholesalers in cartons of 50 to 500 and made to order by blow-moulders in runs of several thousand. Tell us the size, the material and how many you need, and suppliers who deliver to your area send you a price. The request is free and carries no obligation.
PET, HDPE and PP: which plastic suits your product
The material decides what the bottle can safely hold. PET is clear and glossy, so it suits water, juice, cold drinks, cooking oil and sauces. It is a poor choice for hot fill above about 65 degrees unless it is heat-set. HDPE is opaque or milky, tough and resists most household chemicals, which is why milk, bleach, shampoo and engine oil are packed in it. PP tolerates higher temperatures and is common for hot-filled sauces and syrups, and for squeezable bottles.
If your product contains solvents, strong essential oils or acids, tell the supplier. Some plastics soften or crack under stress when they meet them.
Neck finishes, caps, pumps and triggers
The bottle and the closure must share a neck finish. It is written as a diameter and a thread, for example 28/410 or 24/410, where 28 is the neck diameter in millimetres. A 28/410 cap will not fit a 24/410 neck, so quote the finish with the bottle.
- Screw caps with a tamper-evident ring for food and drink.
- Flip-top and disc-top caps for shampoo and sauces.
- Lotion pumps and trigger sprayers for cleaners and hair products. Check the dip tube length against the bottle height.
- Child-resistant caps for pesticides, drain cleaner and some medicines.
For creams and serums in small sizes, see our page on cosmetic packaging.
Stock bottles versus custom moulded
Wholesalers keep common sizes in stock: 100 ml, 250 ml, 500 ml, 1 litre, 2 litres and 5 litres. A 500 ml PET bottle is usually the easiest to find and the cheapest per unit, and you can often buy a few cartons rather than a pallet. If your brand needs its own shape, a manufacturer will cut a mould. Expect a tooling cost in the tens of thousands of rand, a minimum run of 5,000 to 10,000 bottles and a lead time of six to ten weeks. Most small producers start with a stock shape and add a printed sleeve or a shrink sleeve for identity.
Getting a fair price and a safe delivery
Bottles are mostly air, so freight can cost as much as the bottles. Ask whether the price includes delivery and how many bottles go in a carton. For food and drink, ask for confirmation that the plastic and the cap are food-grade and made to suit the foodstuffs regulations, and request a certificate if you will sell to shops. Bottles delivered loose in bags can arrive dusty, so ask if they are packed clean and sealed, and plan to rinse or air-blow them before filling. Packing finished product into cardboard boxes with dividers prevents scuffing in transit.
What to include in your request
- Bottle size in ml and plastic type
- Neck finish, for example 28/410
- Cap, pump or trigger style
- What goes inside and whether it is hot filled
- Quantity and delivery address
Plastic Bottles for different businesses
- Online shops and ecommerce: small bottles with pumps or droppers for hair, skin and household products sold online
- Restaurants, takeaways and food producers: PET and PP bottles for juice, sauces, dressings, syrups and cooking oil
- Shops and retail stores: ready-filled bottles for house brands of cleaning and personal care products
- Factories and manufacturers: HDPE drums and bottles for lubricants, detergents, paints and chemicals
- Warehouses, distributors and exporters: bottles sold by the carton and pallet to distributors and fillers
- Households and offices moving: small leak-proof bottles for decanting cleaning liquids and toiletries when relocating
- Farms, packhouses and nurseries: HDPE bottles for dips, foliar feeds and liquid fertiliser, and PET for farm-gate juice
- Cosmetics, candles and health products: PET and HDPE bottles with pumps and flip-tops for shampoo, lotion and oils
Frequently asked questions
Where can I buy empty plastic bottles in small quantities?
What is the minimum order for plastic bottles?
Are plastic bottles safe for juice and sauces?
Can I get my own label or logo on the bottle?
Plastic Bottles by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg