Sampling Trial Production and Approval Before You Commit
Nobody should book a container against a product they have not held. This is the sequence that takes a buyer from an enquiry to an approved shipment without committing to volume too...
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The Short Version
Nobody should book a container against a product they have not held. This is the sequence that takes a buyer from an enquiry to an approved shipment without committing to volume too early.
Stage by Stage
Each step names the problem first, then what we do about it.
Enquiry
A quote without the importing country and product data is a guess, and guesses waste both sides' time.
Send the importing country and the product data with your enquiry. Price is then built around your actual requirement rather than a generic offer.
Sample
Buyers cannot judge firmness, colour and drained weight from a photograph.
We produce to a sample you provide or to your data sheet, so what you assess is made the way the production run will be made.
Line Trial
An ingredient can pass a tasting and still fail on the buyer's own line.
Trial quantities can be produced to the agreed specification so a manufacturer can run the ingredient through the real process before booking volume.
Season Booking
Approval arrives after the harvest window has closed and the order waits a year.
We plan approval against the raw material calendar: mushroom October to March, yellow peach June to September, pear June to November, apricot May to June and straw mushroom June to July.
Production
The approved sample and the shipped goods are not always the same thing.
The agreed specification governs the run, with metal detection on the line, sterilisation after seaming and double X-ray scanning of every unit.
Pre Shipment Inspection
Buyers discover problems at the destination port when nothing can be done.
Any inspection company you designate inspects the goods after production and before shipment, so issues are found while the container is still here.
First Order
A first order at full container volume is a large bet on a new supplier.
Prices are quoted on a 1 x 20 foot FCL basis, and LCL consolidation lets a first order stay small while the line is proven.
Sampling and Approval Questions
What information should I send with an enquiry?
Give the importing country and the product data. With those we can quote against your requirement rather than sending a generic price list.
Can you produce a sample to our specification?
Yes. We produce according to samples given by customers or to related data supplied by them.
When should approval be finished?
Before the raw material season for that crop opens. Mushroom runs October to March and the fruit crops run between May and November.
Who inspects the goods before shipment?
Any inspection company you designate. We cooperate with third-party inspection after production and before shipment.
Do we have to start with a full container?
No. LCL service is available so a first order can be smaller while you build the listing.
Start With Sampling and Approval
Send the importing country and the product data and we will tell you what is possible this season and what has to wait for the next one.