How to find and vet a co-packer
The co-packer you choose sets much of your cost of goods, your minimums, your lead times and your product quality. This guide takes you from a written spec to a signed agreement, so you compare offers on the same basis and know what to put in writing.
Updated
Write your spec before you call anyone
A co-packer can only quote what you describe. Put your product in a short written spec before the first call, so every facility answers the same question and you can compare their answers.
Be honest about where the formula stands. A kitchen recipe, a formula a food scientist has scaled, and a product already made elsewhere need different help, and some facilities only take production-ready formulas.
Volumes matter as much as the recipe. A facility built for long runs may not want your first order, and a small one may not keep up if a retail account takes off. Give your expected first run and a realistic view of the year after it.
- Formula status: kitchen recipe, scaled formula, or a product already in production elsewhere.
- Process: how the product is made, such as baking, hot fill, cold fill, freezing or blending, and any step that controls safety or shelf life.
- Packaging: the container, closure, label or film, case pack and any outer pack, and who will buy each one.
- Volumes: your first run per SKU and your expected volume over the next year.
- Certifications and claims: organic, kosher, gluten-free, Non-GMO Project or any other claim you plan to make, and any food-safety audit your retail customers require.
- Allergens: every allergen in your formula, and any you need kept out of the facility or off your line.
- Shelf life and storage: your target shelf life, and whether the product ships ambient, chilled or frozen.
Send the same spec to every co-packer you approach, or their quotes will not be comparable.
Know which kind of partner you need
The words overlap. Co-packer, co-manufacturer and contract manufacturer are often used for the same thing: a facility that makes or packs your product under contract. What matters is the service in the agreement. Some providers only package a product you supply; others make it from your formula.
A private-label supplier is different. It sells you an existing product to put your brand on, rather than making a formula you own. That can be faster, but you usually cannot take the product to another manufacturer.
In a tolling arrangement, you supply some or all of the ingredients and packaging and pay the co-packer for conversion. In a turnkey arrangement, the co-packer buys the materials too and quotes one price per finished unit. Tolling gives you more control over suppliers and cost, but you carry the purchasing, the minimums and the inventory of every input.
Where to look
Start with a directory that lets you filter by what you actually need: product type, process, packaging format and certifications. The Vaaha directory lists co-packers with their capabilities, so you can rule facilities in or out before you call.
Referrals are often the best leads. Ask your ingredient and packaging suppliers which facilities they ship to, ask food scientists and consultants who they work with, and ask founders a little further along in a similar category.
Trade associations for your category or state, and university food science or extension programs, often keep lists of local processors and can tell you who takes small runs.
Look for a match on process and packaging first. A facility that already runs your format on its line will usually be faster and cheaper to start with than one that has to add equipment for you.
Questions for the first call
The first call is about fit, not price. You want to know whether the facility can make your product, in your packaging, at your volumes, without a safety or allergen conflict. Send your spec ahead so the call can go straight to the gaps.
Take notes the same way for every facility. If an answer is vague, ask for it in writing with the quote.
- Do you run this process and this packaging format on your line today, and for what kinds of products?
- What are your minimums per SKU and per run, and can you do a smaller first run at a higher price?
- What is your lead time from purchase order to finished goods, and how far ahead do you schedule?
- Which allergens are handled in the facility and on the line we would use, and how do you manage changeover and cleaning?
- Which certifications and food-safety audits do you hold, and can you share the current certificates and audit results?
- Is your quote tolling or turnkey, and what does it include and exclude?
- What do you charge for setup, changeovers, testing, storage and product development?
- How do you handle yield loss, rejected batches, and product that fails your quality checks or ours?
- Can we visit the facility and attend the first run?
Compare quotes on cost per accepted unit
Two quotes with similar headline fees can end up far apart once setup, minimums, yield and materials are counted. The number to compare is what the run costs you divided by the units that pass quality and can be sold.
Check the billing basis in each quote. Some bill only on accepted units; others bill every unit attempted, or a minimum, whatever comes out good. Put every quote on the same specification and the same run size, and then add materials, testing and inbound freight to each so you are comparing finished, landed units.
Worked example
Two conversion quotes on the same run
- Quote A: $0.10 per unit attempted plus a $200 setup charge. You run 10,000 units and 9,500 pass quality.
- You pay 10,000 × $0.10 = $1,000, plus $200 = $1,200. Cost per accepted unit = $1,200 ÷ 9,500 = about $0.126.
- Quote B: $0.11 per accepted unit plus a $100 setup charge, on the same run with 9,500 accepted units.
- You pay 9,500 × $0.11 = $1,045, plus $100 = $1,145. Cost per accepted unit = $1,145 ÷ 9,500 = about $0.121.
- Quote B has the higher headline fee but costs $55 less for the run. Both figures leave out materials and freight; if one quote is turnkey and the other tolling, add your materials to the tolling quote before you compare.
Weigh minimums against shelf life and cash
A lower unit price usually comes with a larger minimum. That trade only works if you can sell the run while it is still in date and still have the cash you need for marketing and trade spend.
Work out your usable selling time, not just total shelf life. Subtract production, transit and quality release, and the remaining shelf life your retail customers require at delivery. Then check the run against a slower-sales case as well as your base forecast.
Remember the other minimums. Your ingredient suppliers, label printer and container supplier each have one, and each is its own cash commitment before you sell anything.
Worked example
Lower minimum or lower unit price
- Option A: 5,000 units at $2.00 each costs $10,000.
- Option B: 20,000 units at $1.40 each costs $28,000.
- You expect to sell 1,000 units a month, so Option A is 5 months of stock and Option B is 20 months.
- The product has a 12-month total shelf life, so Option B cannot sell through in date, and your customers’ remaining shelf-life requirement shortens the window further.
- Option A also commits $18,000 less cash, before storage, freight and packaging minimums.
Run a pilot before you commit
A pilot run tells you whether your formula behaves the same on production equipment as it did in the kitchen or the lab. Taste, texture, fill weight and yield can all change when you scale up.
Use the pilot to test what the quote assumed: the yield, the packaging running cleanly on the line, the label applying correctly, and the time the run actually takes. Send pilot product for shelf-life testing under the storage conditions you plan to use.
Agree before the pilot what it costs, who pays for materials, whether the product can be sold, and what happens if it fails your acceptance criteria.
Attend the pilot in person if you can; you will learn more in one run than in weeks of email.
Put the important terms in the contract
A purchase order and a price sheet are not enough. The agreement should say who owns what, what counts as an acceptable product, and who pays when something goes wrong. Have a lawyer review it before you sign.
Ownership is set by the contract, not by who wrote the recipe. If the co-packer helped develop or adjust the formula, spell out who owns the result and whether you can take it to another manufacturer later.
- Formula ownership and confidentiality: you own your formula and any changes made for you, and the co-packer may not use it for anyone else.
- Specifications: the written product and packaging specs the co-packer must meet, and how changes to them are approved.
- Acceptance: how each lot is tested and accepted, the yield and overrun or underrun tolerance, and who pays for a rejected batch.
- Records and traceability: lot codes, batch records and certificates of analysis you can see on request.
- Recalls and complaints: who handles complaints, who decides on a recall, who pays for it, and the insurance each side carries.
- Unused materials: who owns leftover ingredients and packaging, how long they are stored, what storage costs, and what happens when they expire or the agreement ends.
- Pricing and changes: how prices can change, with how much notice, and what happens to orders already placed.
- Exit: notice periods, and the return of your materials, tooling and documents if you move production.
Your co-packer checklist
Work through these in order. Each step narrows the list before you spend money on the next one.
- Write a short spec covering formula status, process, packaging, volumes, certifications, allergens and shelf life.
- Decide whether you need a co-packer making your formula or a private-label product, and whether you want tolling or turnkey.
- Build a list from the directory, referrals, trade associations and university programs, filtered on process and packaging.
- Send the same spec to each, and hold first calls focused on fit.
- Request written quotes on the same specification and run size, and compare cost per accepted unit with materials and freight added.
- Check each quote’s minimums against your usable selling time and your cash.
- Visit your top choice and run a pilot with agreed acceptance criteria.
- Sign an agreement that covers formula ownership, specs, acceptance, recalls and unused materials before the first full run.
Common questions
- How do I find a co-packer for my food product?
- Write a short spec of your product, process, packaging and volumes, then look for facilities that already run your format. Use a co-packer directory, referrals from ingredient and packaging suppliers, and lists kept by trade associations and university food science programs.
- How much does a co-packer cost?
- It depends on your product, process, packaging and run size, so get written quotes for your exact spec. Compare them on cost per accepted unit, including setup, testing, materials and freight, rather than on the headline fee.
- What is the difference between a co-packer and a contract manufacturer?
- The terms are often used for the same thing. What matters is the service in the agreement: some providers only pack a product you supply, others make it from your formula.
- Do I own my recipe if a co-packer makes it?
- Only if the contract says so. Spell out formula ownership, confidentiality and your right to move production before you share your formula or sign.