What should you look for in a co-packing partner for shelf-stable Italian foods?
Look for the certifications your retailers require, such as SQF. Check that the partner runs the formats and fill methods your product needs. Ask about experience with products like yours, clear minimums and lead times, and help with formulation if you need it. Ask to see current certificates, and agree on specifications and pricing in writing before the first run. San Gennaro Foods co-packs from an SQF-certified plant in Kent, Washington.
Which certifications matter in a co-packer?
Start with food safety. Many retailers ask for a certification recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative, and SQF is one of them. Then match the plant to your label claims. If you plan to sell organic, the plant must hold organic certification. If you claim non-GMO, kosher or gluten free, the plant needs the controls and certificates to back that claim.
Can the co-packer run your format?
Shelf-stable Italian foods come in jars, pouches, bottles, rolls and tubes. Ask which fills and packages the plant runs today, and what it would need to add for you. Ask about secondary packaging too: kits, shippers and display units for the store floor. A plant that already runs your format needs less setup before the first run.
Will the co-packer help develop the product?
Some brands arrive with a finished recipe. Others need help scaling a kitchen recipe to a production run, or matching a process to a shelf life. Ask whether the partner offers product and process development, and who owns the formula at the end. Put the answer in the agreement before any development work starts.
What about minimums, lead times and pricing?
Ask for minimum run sizes, lead times for the first run and for repeat runs, and how pricing is quoted. Get the answers in writing. A partner that is clear about these at the start is easier to work with later. Compare two or three partners on the same terms before you choose one.
How do you protect your recipe with a co-packer?
Ask for a nondisclosure agreement before you share a formula. Ask who else runs products on the same line, and how the plant keeps each customer's formulas and ingredients separate. Agree in writing who owns the recipe, the specifications and any packaging artwork. Keep your own copy of every specification you send.
What does San Gennaro Foods offer as a co-packer?
San Gennaro Foods co-packs and private-labels from its SQF-certified plant in Kent, Washington. Its services include pouching, liquid fill, bottling, custom blending, kit assembly, shippers, POP displays, promotional packaging, and product and process development. The plant is also organic certified, Non-GMO verified, and a gluten free and allergen free facility. See the Co-packing and private label page.
San Gennaro has worked with companies of every size, from startups to large national corporations. It cannot take every project. To start, send the co-packing inquiry form.