Back-to-school in South America: an order calendar for kids' bottles and lunch boxes
Most school years in South America start between February and early March, and the shelves fill weeks before that. Counted back through sea freight and production, the order date falls in the northern autumn — earlier than most buyers expect.
Work back from the first day of school
The calendar runs the other way from the northern one. Most school years in South America start between February and early March — in Argentina, for example, the 2026 school year started between 18 February and 2 March, depending on the province. Ministries publish the next year's calendar towards the end of the year, so check the official date for each market. Mexico is different: its school year starts in late August.
| Step | Time to allow |
|---|---|
| Retail sell-in before school starts | Several weeks — ask your retail customer |
| Customs clearance and distribution | Ask your importer or forwarder |
| Sea freight, China to the east coast of South America | About 5 to 7 weeks, port to port |
| Repeat order on an existing mould | From 7–12 working days; a full 40-foot container of one product takes about 10 working days |
| New colour or new print on an existing mould: sample | About 3 days |
| New mould | About 50 working days, plus sample approval |
For a school start in February or early March, that usually means goods leaving China between late November and mid-December, repeat orders confirmed in November, and any new mould started before September.
Capacity depends on the mould: a typical mould for these products runs about 1,500 pieces a day, more or less with the number of cavities.
What still fits the 2027 season
From November 2026, a new mould will not make the 2027 school year — it would ship after our Chinese New Year closure. What still fits:
- Existing models from our range in your colours: a colour sample takes about 3 days.
- Your print or logo on an existing model: a print sample takes about 3 days. Screen printing and heat transfer are the methods we use most.
- The full season's quantity in one order. Our last shipment before Chinese New Year leaves on 25 January 2027 and production restarts on 20 February, so there is no top-up shipment in the middle of the season.
November and December are our busiest months: school orders for South America, Christmas and the run-up to Chinese New Year all compete for the same machines. Confirm as early as you can — we schedule each order against the workshop's actual load and the delivery date you need.
Minimums for colours, prints and packaging
| Minimum | |
|---|---|
| Each colour or print of a model | 500 pieces |
| Colour boxes, hang cards and labels | 500 pieces |
That makes a mixed assortment practical: several colours or prints of one model, without a new mould.
Brazil: school lunch boxes need INMETRO certification
Brazil treats school supplies as a regulated category. Lunch boxes for school use — merendeira or lancheira — are one of the 24 school articles that need compulsory INMETRO certification under Portaria Inmetro 423/2021, and the conformity seal must appear on the packaging. Bottles and cups are not on that list.
- The importer holds the certification, issued by an accredited certification body.
- Certification takes months, not weeks. Certification bodies advise starting around the middle of the year before the school year it is for.
- Ask the certification body to confirm in writing whether your model falls within the definition.
- Food-contact rules apply separately — see our article on Mercosur food-contact requirements.
We have produced lunch boxes for buyers who certified them under INMETRO. For the 2027 school year, only models that already hold a certificate are realistic.
Prints, characters and licences
Most of the cartoon prints we produce come from our customers' own designs. A licensed character needs the licence holder's permission: send the licence, or the licensee's authorisation, with the artwork. We do not print a licensed character without it.
Labels and retail packaging
We print Portuguese and Spanish labels, colour boxes and hang cards to your artwork; the minimum is 500 pieces. The label requirements are your importer's to confirm, so take the final text from them, and approve a printed proof before production. Our packaging checklist covers dielines and barcodes.
Child safety checks
Every shipment goes through a visual and touch check by our QC staff for sharp edges and burrs. Brazil's INMETRO testing goes further — drop tests and small parts, for example — and is carried out by the certification body's laboratory. If your market requires those tests, plan them into the schedule before shipment.