A Private Label Canned Food Buyer Checklist

Confirm the Pack Format Against Your Shelf

Start from the shelf, not the factory. Fix the tin or jar size, the carton count and whether the format is retail or catering. Mushroom tins run 184G to 800G at retail and 2500G to 2840G for catering. Fruit runs 410G and 820G at retail and 2650G to 3000G for catering.

Fix Cut Style and Packing Medium in Writing

Whole, sliced, cut, strip, pieces and stems, dices, kernels and spears are all different products commercially. So are water, brine, marinade, syrup and juice. Write both into the specification rather than leaving them to be assumed.

Agree the Brix Band on Fruit

Three bands are available at 11 to 14, 14 to 17 and 18 to 22 percent. Decide which one before samples, because a resample costs a season.

Get a Sample Made the Way Production Will Run

Ask for a sample produced to your data or to a reference sample you supply, not a shelf sample of an existing product. The point is to approve what will actually be shipped.

Check the Certification Against Your Technical Audit

We work to FDA, IFS, SKS, STAR-KOSHER, BRC, HACCP, HALAL and FSPCA requirements. Confirm which of these your own technical team requires evidence of before the order, not after.

Understand the Season Before You Set a Launch Date

Mushroom is October to March, yellow peach June to September, pear June to November, apricot May to June and straw mushroom June to July. A launch date that ignores these will slip.

Appoint Your Own Pre Shipment Inspection

Any inspection company you designate can check the goods after production and before shipment. Use it on a first order in particular.

Decide FCL or LCL for the First Shipment

Prices are quoted on a 1 x 20 foot FCL basis. If the listing is new, LCL consolidation keeps the first commitment small while the product is proven.