How to Know How Many Lip Balms to Order

Ordering custom lip balms for your business, event, or client gifts can feel a bit like guessing how many cookies to bake for a party—too few and you’ll run out early, too many and you’ll have extras sitting around. The sweet spot is all about balancing your needs, your budget, and a little planning ahead.

1. Start With Your Purpose

First, ask yourself: Why am I ordering these lip balms?

• Client or Patient Gifts: Most dental offices order quarterly — about 300–500 lip balms at a time — which keeps them stocked without overbuying.

• Retail Sales: Look at your past sales data. If you sell 50 lip balms per month, ordering 150 gives you a 3-month cushion.

• Events: Estimate the number of attendees, and add 10–15% more for unexpected demand or to keep on hand for follow-ups.

2. Plan Around a 2-Week Turnaround

At Farmer’s Body, our average production time is about 2 weeks from proof approval to shipping. That means you don’t want to order only what you need today—you’ll want to stay ahead of the curve. A good rule of thumb is to reorder when you still have about 25–30% of your stock left so you can glide right into your next batch without gaps.

3. Remember the 25-Tube Per Flavor Minimum

Our minimum order quantity is 25 tubes per flavor. That means if you want to offer multiple flavors, each one will need to meet that threshold.

4. Consider Shelf Life & Storage

Farmer’s Body lip balms are 100% natural and typically last 12–18 months when stored in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. This makes quarterly ordering both safe and convenient.

5. Build in Extras for Promotions & Surprises

If you run seasonal promotions, give thank-you gifts, or want to wow a VIP client with a surprise, you’ll be glad you ordered extra.

6. Quick Estimation Formula

Here’s a practical way to calculate your order:

Example (dental office):
Staffing: 1 doctor and 2 hygienists, 4-day week

• Doctor: 15 patients/day × 4 days = 60 patients/week

• Hygienists: 8 patients/day × 4 days × 2 = 64 patients/week

• Total visits: 124 per week

Not every patient gets a balm — let’s say 25% do (cleanings, new patients, special gifts):
124 × 0.25 = 31 balms/week

3-month supply (12 weeks): 31 × 12 = 372 tubes
Add 10% buffer: ≈ 410 tubes

Split across 3–4 flavors, that’s 100–150 tubes per flavor — right in line with most practices’ quarterly orders.

7. Typical Order Ranges

Most practices find quarterly ordering works best. Here’s what that usually looks like:

• Small practice (1 dentist, 1 hygienist): ~300 tubes per quarter

• Mid-size practice (1 dentist, 2 hygienists): ~500 tubes per quarter

• Large practice (2+ hygienists or multiple doctors): ~1,000 tubes per quarter

8. Lip Balm Order Estimation Chart (Quarterly Supply)

This simplified chart shows what a typical quarterly order looks like for different practice sizes, rounded to what most offices actually buy.

9. How Often Should I Re-Order?

Most practices find a quarterly rhythm works best:

• Order ~300–500 tubes every 3 months

• Reorder when you’re down to ~75–100 tubes left

• This gives you plenty of time to cover Farmer’s Body’s 2-week turnaround

If you give balms more selectively (just at hygiene visits, or only for new patients), you may stretch to ordering twice a year instead.

The Bottom Line

Most practices don’t need to overthink it: a 3-month supply of around 300 tubes for a small office, 500 for medium, and 1,000 for large is the sweet spot. Adjust up or down based on your patient flow, distribution habits, and how often you like to change flavors.

At Farmer’s Body, we’ll happily help you estimate your perfect order size — just share your practice size and how you like to gift balms, and we’ll create a custom recommendation so you’re never caught empty-handed.