In Canada, a single label from a freelancer runs about $500 to $2,000, a single retail package from a design studio $3,000 to $8,000, a product line of four to eight SKUs $8,000 to $25,000, and big agency packaging programs start around $30,000. Those are market ranges for design only. Printing, dielines, photography and regulatory review sit on top. This post covers what moves a project within those ranges, what the fee excludes, the difference between a project price and an hourly estimate, and how we price package design in Vancouver.
Market ranges for package design in Canada (2026)
| Scope | Typical range (design only) |
|---|---|
| Single label, freelancer | $500 – $2,000 |
| Single retail package, studio | $3,000 – $8,000 |
| Product line of 4 to 8 SKUs, studio | $8,000 – $25,000 |
| Large agency packaging program | $30,000 and up |
What the design fee does not include
- Printing. The printer quotes the run separately, and on most projects the print run costs more than the design.
- Dielines and structural engineering. The printer or manufacturer supplies the dieline and engineers any custom structure. A studio designs onto it.
- Photography and illustration. Product photography, lifestyle shots and custom illustration are their own line, either arranged through the studio or booked by you.
- Regulatory review. A labelling consultant checks your ingredient list, Nutrition Facts data and claims. Designers place the content; they don’t certify it.
- Barcode registration. GTINs come from GS1 Canada on a subscription, and you register them yourself.
- Stock images and font licences where the project needs them.
What drives the price
- Number of SKUs and sizes. The first package carries the structure, hierarchy and concept work. Each additional flavour or size is a dieline swap with its own content, at a fraction of the first.
- Custom structure vs stock. A label on a stock jar is a single face. A custom carton has six panels and a dieline to work to, and a shipper or display tray adds more pieces.
- Photography and illustration. A type-driven design costs less to produce than one that needs a photo shoot or a commissioned illustration.
- Regulatory complexity. Food, cannabis, natural health products and anything bilingual carry more mandatory content and more placement rules than a candle label does.
- Retailer requirements. Costco display trays and pallet graphics, grocery case labelling and distributor specs add pieces to the job.
- Rounds of revision. Two rounds on a settled brief stay cheap; five rounds while the product name keeps changing add up fast.
- Renders and mockups. 3D renders for sign-off and for your sales deck are a small add-on to the scope, and they tend to pay for themselves at the proof stage.
Project price or hourly estimate?
Most studios in Canada, ours included, now quote a project price: one number for an agreed scope, settled before the work starts. A few still bill by the hour against an estimate, which means the final invoice can land above or below the number you were given. Packaging projects change shape more than most: a new size, a claim that has to come off, a printer switch that brings a new dieline. Each of those is a scope change, and a good studio prices the change before doing the work rather than folding it into a bigger final bill. Whichever model you’re given, compare what is included rather than the number alone: concepts, revision rounds, the SKUs and formats covered, renders and mockups, press-ready file formats, ownership of final files, and how scope changes are handled.
How we price package design in Vancouver
We price package design as a project: one number for the scope we agree on, so you know the cost before we start. A label on a stock container sits at the small end. A custom structure, a product family of several SKUs, or retailer pieces like display trays and shippers make it a larger project. Reuse across a family brings the per-SKU cost down. That is how Salt Spring Coffee’s bags, pods and Costco trays have stayed consistent across more than a hundred jobs, and how Sugarplum Desserts’ BFF Snack Bar multipacks share one system across flavours. Brave Face’s reusable mask packaging in stonepaper sat at the other end of the scale, a single structure designed once. Every project follows the 4D workflow, so you see mockups and renders before anything prints, and if the scope moves mid-project we price the change before we do the work.
Want a number for your product?
Send us a note with the product, the number of SKUs, the format you’re leaning toward and where it will sell (or fill out our request form). We’ll come back with a project price and an outline of what’s in it, and tell you whether a label or a full package makes sense at your budget.
Still Have Questions?
How long does packaging design take?
Packaging design for a single product typically takes around four to eight weeks from brief to press-ready files. A product line with several SKUs may take eight to sixteen weeks. Printing typically adds another two to six weeks after files are approved, depending on the printer and production requirements.
However, like your product flavours, packaging timelines come in a few varieties, so treat these ranges as a general guide rather than a fixed schedule. The number of SKUs, design complexity, turnaround on approvals and printer availability all influence how long your packaging takes to reach the shelf.
Design is also only part of the process: receiving the printer’s dieline, finalizing ingredient lists, completing regulatory reviews and arranging photography all take time. Want to help keep things moving? Timely feedback, content and approvals make a big difference.
Can I design a label instead of a full package to save money?
Yes, a label on a stock container is the cheapest route to a shelf-ready product, at about $500 to $2,000 from a freelancer or a small studio. A stock jar, bottle, pouch or box with a well-designed label is how many food and beverage brands launch. Move to a custom structure when the product needs shelf presence or protection that a stock container cannot give.
How much does it cost to add a new flavour or size to existing packaging?
Adding a new flavour or size to existing packaging costs a fraction of the first package, because the structure, hierarchy and brand elements are already settled. The work is a dieline swap with new content: product name, colour coding, ingredient list, Nutrition Facts table and barcode. At Eggbeater each added SKU is a small add-on with its own fixed price, plus a proof check with the printer.
What if my printer changes the dieline after the design is done?
A dieline change after the design is done means the artwork has to be re-flowed onto the new template. A small shift in panel size is a quick adjustment. A different structure, such as a move from a folding carton to a pouch, is closer to a new design. Confirm the dieline and the printer before design starts, and ask for the dieline as a vector file with bleed and glue areas marked.
Do I need a professional packaging designer, or can I use a template?
A packaging template can work for a farmers’ market label or a first small batch, and it starts to fail when the product goes into retail. Retail packaging has to meet Canadian labelling rules, carry a scannable GS1 barcode in the right place and print correctly on the printer’s stock, and templates rarely handle those three. A packaging designer also builds the system so the second and third SKUs match the first.
Is 3D rendering included in packaging design cost?
3D renders and mockups are usually a separate line in a packaging design proposal, and they are worth asking for. A render shows the package from all sides before the print run, which catches problems a flat dieline hides, and it gives you an image for sales decks and retailer listings before product photography exists. Eggbeater produces renders at the mockup stage of the 4D workflow, and they are included in the project price when they are part of the agreed scope.
…and if you’ve still got questions, let us know!
