Industry Guide
OEM/ODM Guide: How to Start Your Private Label Sportswear Brand
Every month we speak with new founders who want to launch an activewear line — and every month we see the same questions come up: Where do I start? What do I need to prepare? How long does it really take? This guide walks through the full OEM/ODM journey as we run it, from the first enquiry to your first shipment.
Step 1 – Define your brief and budget
Before contacting any manufacturer, get specific. Decide your target customer, your core categories (leggings, tees, jackets?), your price positioning, and your launch timeline. A focused brief of five to ten styles beats an ambitious thirty-style programme almost every time: it concentrates your budget, shortens sampling cycles, and gets you to market faster.
Step 2 – Prepare your tech pack
A tech pack is the blueprint of your garment: flat sketches, measurements with tolerances, fabric and trim specifications, print artwork, and labelling requirements. If you do not have one, an experienced OEM partner can help build it from reference garments or photos — this is where the OEM/ODM distinction matters. OEM means we manufacture to your design; ODM means we develop the design with you from our own pattern library. Most successful first launches combine both.
“The brands that launch fastest are not the ones with the biggest budgets. They are the ones that arrive with a clear brief and trust their manufacturer’s engineering advice.” — Merchandising Director, Shangpinwu
Step 3 – Sampling and iteration
Expect one to two sampling rounds. First samples arrive in roughly 15–20 working days; fit sessions and corrections follow. Budget honestly for this stage — rushing sampling is the most expensive mistake in private label, because every defect repeated across a bulk run costs far more than the sample round that would have caught it.
Step 4 – Bulk production and shipment
Once the pre-production sample is approved, bulk lead times run 30–45 days depending on fabric availability. Clarify payment terms, inspection rights, and packaging requirements up front — a professional supplier will put all of it in the purchase contract without hesitation.
Ready to start? Send us your brief or tech pack and receive a detailed quotation, sampling plan, and timeline within two working days.