Once a studio decides to move forward with custom grip socks, the next question is usually the hardest to answer without outside guidance: how many pairs to order. Order too few and you risk running out before your next reorder is ready; order too many and you tie up budget in stock that takes months to sell through. This guide compares the three most common starting quantities — 50, 100 and 250 pairs — to help you choose the right entry point for your studio.
Quick comparison
| Quantity | Best suited for |
|---|---|
| 50 pairs | A new studio or a first test run |
| 100 pairs | An active studio, or splitting between two colourways |
| 250 pairs | Regular retail sales and better per-pair margin |
50 pairs: a new studio or a first test
Fifty pairs is the minimum order quantity for custom production, and it is designed as a genuine starting point rather than a token minimum. It suits two situations in particular:
- A studio ordering custom socks for the first time, wanting to see how a branded product performs in retail or in class before committing to a larger volume.
- A brand validating a new design, testing grip performance, colourway and packaging on a limited run before deciding whether to scale it.
At this quantity, the priority is learning — how quickly the socks sell, how members react to the branding, and whether the grip design holds up in regular use — rather than maximising margin. The unit price is higher than at larger volumes, but the capital commitment and the risk of overstock are both minimal. It is the lowest-friction way to move from “we should have branded socks” to actually holding a finished product.
100 pairs: an active studio or two colourways
A hundred pairs suits studios that already have a sense of their retail rhythm, either because they have sold stock socks before or because they ran a 50-pair test and are ready to commit further. This quantity opens two practical approaches:
- A single colourway at higher volume, for a studio confident in one design and ready to stock enough to avoid running out between reorders.
- Two colourways split across the order, for example a core brand colour and a seasonal or limited variant, giving members a choice without doubling the total commitment.
Splitting an order across two designs does mean each colourway is produced as its own smaller batch, so it is worth mentioning this clearly in your brief so the mockup and pricing reflect the split correctly. A hundred pairs is generally the point where studios start treating grip socks as a standing retail line rather than a one-off product.
250 pairs: regular retail sales and better margin
Two hundred fifty pairs suits studios and brands with an established retail rhythm — enough regular turnover that stock will sell through in a predictable window rather than sitting on a shelf. At this volume, the main benefit is economic: unit price improves as quantity increases, since the fixed setup costs of custom knitting, silicone tooling and packaging are spread across more pairs. For a studio that already knows its socks sell reliably, this translates directly into better margin per pair sold.
This quantity also suits:
- Retreats and hotels planning welcome packs across a full season or a series of retreat cohorts.
- Sport and lifestyle brands developing a complete private label line intended for wider distribution rather than a single retail counter.
- Concept stores and boutiques stocking a supplier line they already expect to reorder.
Ordering at this level generally reflects confidence built from a smaller first order or from clear retail history, rather than a starting point for a completely new product.
How to decide
A few questions help narrow down the right quantity for a first or next order:
- Have you sold branded socks before? If not, starting at 50 pairs removes most of the risk while you learn how the product performs.
- Do you want more than one colourway? If so, 100 pairs lets you split the order without each variant dropping below a workable batch size.
- Is retail turnover already predictable? Studios with steady sell-through are usually better served ordering at 250 pairs or above, where the per-pair price improves.
- What is the use case? A welcome pack tied to a fixed guest count should be sized to that count rather than to a generic tier; a retail line intended to grow over several seasons can reasonably start higher.
There is no wrong entry point among these three tiers — the right one simply depends on how much retail history you already have and how confident you are in the design going in. Many studios start at 50 pairs and move up to 100 or 250 on their next order, using the first run as validation for the next commitment.
Getting a volume-based quote
Because unit price changes with quantity, customisation level and packaging, an accurate cost comparison across 50, 100 and 250 pairs is best done with a brief in hand rather than from a general price list. Sharing your logo, target colourways and the quantities you are weighing up makes it possible to return pricing for each tier side by side, so the decision comes down to what fits your studio rather than guesswork. See the current range of styles on the products page and the full customisation options on the customisation page.
Request volume pricing across 50, 100 and 250 pairs: get in touch.