ODM — Bring a Brief, Not a Tech Pack
You know what you want to sell. You do not have a design team, patterns or a specification. We develop all three and manufacture the result under your brand.
- 20
- pieces per design
- Minimum order
- 15–20
- working days
- Bulk lead time
- 7–10
- working days
- Sampling
- 4
- export markets
- Shipping to
What ODM actually means
ODM — original design manufacturing — means we do the design work as well as the making. You supply a brief and your brand; we develop the concept, the pattern, the specification and the sample, and then produce it.
It is the right model for most new brands, and for established ones entering a category they have not made before. Developing a technical garment from scratch needs pattern-making, fit knowledge and fabric experience that is expensive to hire and slow to build. Under ODM you rent ours.
The honest trade-off is design ownership. Because the base design originates with us, we retain it — your colourways, branding and any bespoke adaptations are yours, but the underlying block is not exclusive to you unless we agree that separately. If exclusivity matters to your positioning, say so at the brief stage and we will structure it accordingly rather than leave it ambiguous.
Is This You?
Four situations this model fits. If none of them sound like you, one of the others probably does.
You have no tech pack
You know the product you want to sell but have nothing documented. That is normal and it is exactly what this model is for.
You are launching a brand
You have branding, a market and a plan — but no design team and no patterns. We supply the middle.
You are entering a new category
You sell streetwear and want to add performance teamwear. Different construction entirely; our block, your brand.
You want speed over uniqueness
Adapting a proven block is considerably faster than developing one from nothing.
Who Supplies What
The clearest way to tell whether this model is yours. If the left column looks like things you do not have, look at ODM instead.
You supply
- A brief — what the garment is, who it is for, roughly what it should cost
- Your brand: logo, colours, labels
- Reference images or competitor products you like
- Target price point and quantity
- Any market-specific fit requirements
- Feedback at each sampling round
We supply
- Design concepts and digital mock-ups
- Pattern development and grading
- Fabric recommendation and sourcing
- A full tech pack, produced for your approval
- Sampling through to pre-production
- Manufacturing, decoration, inspection and dispatch
How It Works
- 1
Brief
A conversation, not a form. What are you selling, to whom, at what price, and what have you seen that you like.
- 2
Concept & mock-up
We come back with design concepts and digital mock-ups of each garment before any pattern work starts.
- 3
Tech pack
Once a direction is agreed we document it properly — measurements, construction, materials. You approve it and it is yours to keep.
- 4
Sampling
Fit sample first, then a pre-production sample in 7–10 working days.
- 5
Bulk production
Full run in 15–20 working days against the approved sample.
- 6
Dispatch
Packed under your labels to your specification and shipped.
Commercial Terms
The questions serious buyers ask before any others.
| Term | Position |
|---|---|
| Minimum order | 20 pieces per design |
| Design development | Included — no separate design fee |
| Sampling lead time | 7–10 working days |
| Bulk lead time | 15–20 working days |
| Design ownership | We retain the base design; your adaptations and branding are yours. |
| Exclusivity | Available by agreement — raise it at brief stage |
| Branding on garment | Yours only — no Addahar marks anywhere |
Choosing a model
ODM vs the alternatives
These four are constantly confused, and the confusion usually favours the supplier. Here is the plain version.
- vs OEM
- OEM assumes you already have the design and the tech pack. ODM assumes you do not. Same factory, same line, same quality — the difference is who does the design work and, consequently, who owns the base design.
- vs Private label
- Private label is about labels, not design origin. An ODM order is normally private label too — your labels go in a garment we designed. They are complementary, not alternatives.
- vs White label
- White label is an existing product rebranded, with no development at all — fastest and cheapest, but identical to what anyone else can buy. ODM adapts a block to your brief, so the result is distinctive to you.
ODM FAQs
Do you charge a design fee?
Design development is included in an ODM order rather than billed separately. Worth confirming with us for an unusually complex range, since a full multi-garment collection is a different scale of work to adapting one jersey.
Who owns the design you create?
We retain the underlying base design; your branding, colourways and bespoke adaptations are yours. If you need the design to be exclusively yours, that is arrangeable but it needs agreeing at brief stage rather than assumed — ask us and we will be specific.
Do we get the tech pack?
Yes. We produce it for your approval and you keep it. That matters: it means you have a documented specification for the product you are selling, rather than a garment nobody can reproduce if the relationship ends.
How is this different from just buying blanks?
A blank is a finished garment made for everyone. ODM adapts a block to your brief — your fit, your fabric, your colour blocking, your labels. It costs more and takes longer, and it produces a product that is actually yours to sell.
What if we do not like the first concepts?
That is what the concept stage is for. We revise before any pattern work or sampling begins, because changing a drawing is free and changing a sample is not.
Can we move to OEM later?
Yes, and many brands do. Once you have the tech pack and have hired or grown a design function, subsequent ranges can run as OEM with you driving the design. The tech pack we produced is the bridge.
What is the minimum order?
20 pieces per design. Deliberately low for a first run, because the point of ODM is often to test a product before committing serious money to it.
How long does the whole process take?
From brief to delivered bulk, allow around six to eight weeks for a straightforward range — concept and tech pack, then sampling, then production. Complex ranges or several sampling rounds extend it.
Think ODM is the right fit?
Tell us what you have — a tech pack, a sketch, or just an idea — and we will confirm which model actually suits it.