co-packer Questions to ask a Copacker

AJ Drew

AJ Drew

Wife and I want a vanity hot sauce fall of 2016.  Just in time to send as gifts for good customers that holiday season.  Found a place within an hour of our farm.

http://www.bottleyoursauce.com

Asked for a meeting.  Other than the obvious things like cost to produce, cost to warehouse, and the most important can we source our own produce from our own farm what should I ask?

 
 
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bottling capacity per batch
 
who's doing the test batches and in what quantity?  If you do your own 1-2 gallon test batches, scaling up may be incremental.  A co-packer I've talked with wants to do 8-10m gallon test batches, but I already make 8-10 gallon batches, I don't need a test batch, I just want to go straight to production, but he seemed to not get that. 
 
How many bottles are you wanting to make?
 
Who supplies all the bottles? labels? shrink wraps?
 
Since this is a hobby sauce, will they make a sauce that isn't PA appproved?  I guess as long as it's not for sale, they shouldn't have a problem with it. ~~~
 
 
 
Sounds like a great project, Have Fun with it!
 
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Approved in PA?

Via email learned minimum is 600 bottles.  If I do it, some are going to have to be sold.  I dont have 600 customers that I could afford to send a holiday gift to.  Maybe some day.
 
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By vanity/holiday do you mean a limited sauce where you don't care if it is not your own recipe and the novelty is more important? Because you might go the private label route when the sauce is already made by a company and they put your sticker on it. Like what someone might do for a wedding, and put their names on it, and put on the table at the wedding as gifts to the guests. Or a novelty sauce like an Obama sauce, etc.
 
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Original idea was to be able to give gifts from the farm.  Copacker is good with me sourcing the peppers but has a 600 unit minimum.  So pulling away from the idea of just doing it for holiday gifts because that is a lot of bottles.

Have seen the funny label ones.  Naw, want it to be our peppers.
 
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I meant to send this via PM but yer box must be full AJ.
 
Hey AJ - 
 
I agree with THP about making the hot sauce at your place.  If you need help with recipe/cook down instructions I can provide you with such.  I can also hook you up with my bottle vendor and a label template that you can print at home or office max if needed.  Figure out how many bottles you want to do - they come in cases of 12.  Once you have the amount of bottles you want we can scale a recipe to fit your needs/preferences.  
 
If you want.  Let me know.  :)
 
Merry Christmas.
 
~ D
 
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You guys are so very supportive.  You have given me a hybrid idea.  Now thinking I should do at home, mark as gift, and use good customers and friends as test folk.  Best part, I have enough peppers frozen that I could get started really soon.  If I went the copacker route I would have to wait for a new crop cause not enough to make 600 bottles.
 
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Here's the thing - your project doesn't require a copacker since you're not going to sell it, and since only people you know will get it.

Typically the questions you'd ask are:
1. Scalability - what size kettles do they have, batch minimums and maximums
2. Experience with and licensure for hot packed acidified.
3. Terms
4. Sourcing (e.g. Do you need to procure ingredients, bottles, etc or do they

For a project like yours you'll pay a super premium to make gifts for friends and family.

I'm with THP - cut out the middle man and make them yourself. Lots of good recipes on the hot sauce forum, and some basics too for food safety (hold time/temps, hot fill & invert, etc)

Good iuck!
:cheers:
 
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Lucky Dog Hot Sauce said:
Here's the thing - your project doesn't require a copacker since you're not going to sell it, and since only people you know will get it.

Typically the questions you'd ask are:
1. Scalability - what size kettles do they have, batch minimums and maximums
2. Experience with and licensure for hot packed acidified.
3. Terms
4. Sourcing (e.g. Do you need to procure ingredients, bottles, etc or do they

For a project like yours you'll pay a super premium to make gifts for friends and family.

I'm with THP - cut out the middle man and make them yourself. Lots of good recipes on the hot sauce forum, and some basics too for food safety (hold time/temps, hot fill & invert, etc)

Good iuck!
:cheers:
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Im going to agree that if you are not selling this doing it yourself is the least expensive, especially if you have your own products to source. Freund Container, U-Line, and SKS Bottling Co. have great deals on woozy bottles and a ton of other products for canning or spice blends. You can make your own labels and print them at your local staples or office depot. I find for these types of projects its the most economical and you have a base for your next idea. 
 
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