How to Start a Scrubs Brand: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide
Custom Uniforms team · · 4 min read
To start a scrubs brand, you need a clear customer, a small and focused first range, a manufacturer who can make it to your specification under your label, and a plan for reordering what sells. The design and sourcing side is more manageable than most people expect if you take it one step at a time. This guide covers the manufacturing decisions, from first idea to first reorder.
Step 1: Decide who your scrubs are for
“Healthcare workers” is too wide a customer to design for. Narrow it down. A brand for nursing students needs durable, affordable basics in college colours. A brand for dental and aesthetic clinics may focus on a cleaner, more tailored look. A brand for veterinary staff needs practical pockets and fabrics that cope with frequent washing.
Write one paragraph describing your customer: where they work, how long their shifts are, what they dislike about their current scrubs and how they buy. Every later decision should go back to that paragraph.
Step 2: Keep the first range small
New brands often try to launch with too many styles and colours. Each one adds sampling time, set-up and stock to hold. A focused first range might be:
- One or two tops, for example a V-neck and a mandarin collar.
- One or two trousers, for example a straight leg and a jogger.
- Three to five colours you are confident in.
- A size range that covers most of your customers.
You can add styles once you know what sells. A small range also makes your first order easier to fund.
Step 3: Work out your specification
Before you talk to a manufacturer, put your decisions on paper:
| Area | What to decide |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Composition, weight, stretch, feel |
| Colours | Physical references or Pantone codes |
| Styles | Neckline, sleeve, hem, trouser cut, waistband |
| Features | Pockets, pen slots, loops, side slits |
| Sizing | Size chart with measurements for each size |
| Branding | Logo embroidery, brand label, size label, care label |
| Packing | Folding, polybags, carton labels |
This document is the start of a tech pack. Our guide on what a tech pack is explains how to turn it into something a factory can work from.
Step 4: Choose a manufacturer and request quotes
Look for a manufacturer that makes scrubs to order, can sew your own labels into the garments, will make a sample before bulk, and accepts order sizes that suit a new brand. Send the same specification to each one so the quotes can be compared fairly.
When you read a quote, check that it states the minimum order per style and colour, the sample charge if any, the lead time, payment terms, and shipping if you are outside the manufacturer’s country. Our guide to minimum order quantities in uniform manufacturing explains why minimums exist and how to plan around them.
Step 5: Sample, test and refine
The sample is where your brand becomes real. When it arrives:
- Wear it for a full working day, or ask someone in your target customer group to.
- Wash it several times at the temperature your customers will use.
- Check colour in daylight against your reference.
- Check every label for spelling, fibre content and care wording.
- Try more than one size if you can.
Send all changes together in one written list. It is normal to need a second sample for a new style.
Step 6: Get your labels right
Your brand label and size labels carry your identity. Your care label carries information your customers rely on, and its content is the brand owner’s responsibility. Requirements differ between markets, so confirm what applies where you sell before you send the label artwork to production.
Step 7: Plan stock and reorders
Your first order is a test. Track which colours and sizes sell, and which do not. When you reorder, the aim is for the new batch to match the first one exactly: same fabric, same colour, same fit. Ask your manufacturer what they keep on record between orders, and keep your own copy of the approved specification and sample.
Leave enough time between reorder and sell-out. Running out of your most popular size is one of the easiest ways to lose a customer to another brand.
How we help new scrubs brands
At our unit in Konni, Pathanamthitta, Kerala, we make scrubs and lab coats to order in custom colours, fabrics and sizes, and sew your own brand, size and care labels into each garment. Logo embroidery is available. A sample can be made before bulk production, and any sample charge is stated in the quote.
Small bulk orders are welcome, and minimum order and lead time are confirmed in each quote. We keep records of fabric, colour, style and size breakdown so reorders match the first batch. Brands in India and international bulk buyers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UK and the US can work with us.
Read about our private label service, then send us your specification for a quote.