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Guide

FIND A
CO-PACKER.

Reference

Write the specification first, then where facilities are, what to ask, and what to put on the agreement.

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Guide

HOW TO FIND
A CO-PACKER.

A co-packer makes or packs your product to your specification in their facility. Finding one is a specification problem before it is a search problem: a co-packer quotes against a written spec, and a brand that arrives with a sample and a feeling gets either no quote or the wrong one. This is how to get from the sample to the run.

What to know
Write the specification first
The formula or bill of materials, the packaging and its dimensions, the unit and case sizes, the shelf life you need, the certifications the buyer requires, and the volume you can actually commit to. A co-packer decides in minutes whether a job fits their line. Without the spec they cannot decide, and they will quote the version of your product that fits their line rather than yours.
  • Formula or bill of materials, with tolerances
  • Packaging: format, size, closure, label
  • Volume: the first run and the honest annual number
  • Certifications the channel requires: organic, kosher, gluten-free, GMP
Where co-packers are
Industry directories by category, the trade show for your category (co-packers exhibit), your ingredient and packaging suppliers, who know which facilities run what, and GRAJ's manufacturer role, where a facility lists its capabilities, minimums and lead times.
  • Category trade shows and their exhibitor lists
  • Ingredient and packaging suppliers, who know the facilities
  • Manufacturer profiles on GRAJ with capabilities and minimums
What to ask on the first call
Minimum run, lead time, what certifications the facility holds, whether they run anything allergenic on the same line, who supplies ingredients, and what a trial run costs. Ask for two current clients and call them. A co-packer that will not name a client is telling you something.
  • Minimum run size and lead time
  • Certifications held, and allergen segregation
  • Who buys the ingredients and packaging: you or them
  • Trial run cost and what it includes
Put the terms on the agreement, not in email
Who owns the formula, what exclusivity was agreed, how quality is checked and by whom, what happens to your packaging and ingredients if you leave. Every dispute between a brand and a co-packer is one of those four, and each is cheap to write down before the first run and expensive after.
  • Formula and IP ownership, in writing
  • Exclusivity, if any, with a term
  • Quality standard and who inspects
  • Exit: your materials, your molds, your labels
Where to go next
MAKE IT FOR OTHERS
What this role does on GRAJ, and how to start doing it.
Open
GUIDE: MAKE IT FOR OTHERS
The guide for this role, step by step.
Read it
WORKING WITH A MANUFACTURER.
The gap between a sample you love and a production run you can sell is where most first product launches fail.
Read it
MAKE IT WHEN IT SELLS.
Traditional manufacturing asks you to guess demand months ahead and pay for the guess.
Read it
FOOD SAFETY AND LABELING.
Food carries obligations that attach before a single unit sells: facility registration, traceability, and a label that is legally a specification rather than packaging design.
Read it
CERTIFICATIONS AND WHAT THEY UNLOCK.
A certification is a third party attesting to something a buyer cannot verify themselves.
Read it
MARKETS
The cities and regions on GRAJ, and who is in each.
Open
GRAJ

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