How to Pick the Right Co-Manufacturing Food Facility for Your Product?

When selecting a contract packager, you are forming a partnership. A contract packaging partner should be capable of completing your project at a competitive cost, in line with your timeline, while ensuring quality assurance and proper food safety. 

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Considerations for co-manufacturing food facilities

Not all co-manufacturing facilities are created equal and it is important to pick a facility that is properly aligned with your business to achieve success. Below are some important considerations to make when choosing a co-manufacturing facility to partner with.

Research the facilities

While this may seem like an obvious first step, it is essential to do your due diligence before committing to doing business with any co-manufacturing facility. There are many factors to consider when researching different co-manufacturing food facilities, some of the most important are: where is the facility located, how long has the facility been in business, what is the facility's size, do they have strong references from other clients that they have worked with? Once these fact finding inquiries have been answer, then you can start narrowing down the search for the right co-manufacturing partner.

Evaluate costs

In all business, cost is an essential consideration. There may be facilities that could do any excellent job of producing your product but are out of your price range, these facilities can be easily eliminated from the decision. Be wary when it comes to facilities that appear too inexpensive as they might be cutting corners in their production process, leading to your product being produced at a lower quality than you would like. When evaluating cost, remember that cost is an important consideration but should not be the sole factor when making your decision.

Conduct site visits 

Once you have a small list of potential co-manufacturers, plan on doing site visits. Companies can appear excellent online but until you are in the facility it is difficult to get the full image of what the manufacturer is truly like. When conducting site visits, take your time and analyze the full scope of the production. Look for staff members doing proper quality checks and ensuring that all proper food safety procedures are being followed. If a facility doesn't demonstrate excellent food safety practices, they should be ruled out of consideration as you don't want your name associated with a product that could be unsafe or a risk to the customer.

Learn about Meritech partners that display hygiene excellence in their facility

Meritech Automated Hygiene Equipment for co-manufacturing food facilities

Three EVO Walls Installation PhotoMeritech's Automated Hygiene equipment is a great addition to co-manufacturing facilities. The Handwashing Stations are clinically validated to remove 99.9% of harmful pathogens and allergens. These stations also act as a strong visual representation of your facility's dedication to food safety, giving co-manufacturing clients confidence in your facility's food safety program.

Learn more about Meritech Automated Hygiene Equipment

 

Topics:co-manufacturing