Having somebody else make it

Co-packing is the step where you stop being a maker and become a brand, and for a spice business it arrives earlier than in most categories because the process is simple enough to hand over.

What a co-packer is

A food processor with spare capacity who manufactures to your specification for a fee. Many also offer product development, label review and regulatory support, which for a small producer can be worth more than the manufacturing.

Extension food venture centers maintain lists of them, and university food safety programs publish guidance on selecting one, which is a better starting point than a search engine.

What you give up

The freshness argument, partly. Your product is now ground on their schedule in their batch sizes, and the "ground on Tuesday" claim goes with it.

Control of the detail. Grind screen, mixing time and sequence become things you specify rather than things you do, which is exactly why they must be written down properly first.

And margin, in exchange for capacity and for your own time back.

Finding one that will take you

The hard part at small volume. Minimums are usually far above a first-year producer's output, and a co-packer set up for tonnes will not run kilograms.

Look for one already handling dry blending and powders rather than a general food processor, because the equipment and the dust handling are specific. Ask directly about minimum run size before anything else.

Before you commit

Both of you must be registered food facilities and meet the applicable requirements; the brand owner does not escape responsibility by outsourcing the making.

Check that they will use your specified suppliers, or that theirs meet your standard, since sourcing is most of your quality. Ask what happens to your formula, who owns it, and what they do with leftover material.

And run a trial batch and taste it blind against your own before signing anything longer than that trial.

References