Most founders compare manufacturers on price per unit, because it is the one number every quote contains. It is also the number that tells you least. A quote can be cheap because the facility is efficient, or because the formula is underdosed, the testing is thin, or nobody has costed the compliance work you are about to need.
These are the questions worth asking instead. We answer them for ourselves at the end, so you can see what we think a straight answer looks like.
What the facility is registered for
Ask for FDA establishment registration and current GMP certification, and ask who audits them and how often. Registration is not a quality badge on its own. It means the facility has told the FDA it exists and is subject to inspection. GMP certification from a recognised third-party auditor is the part that carries weight.
If the manufacturer works across several facilities, ask which one your product will run in. The answer should be specific. A network is an advantage when it means your product goes to the plant configured for your format and volume. It is a problem when nobody can tell you where the run is happening.
What gets tested and by whom
There are two separate questions here and they often get merged. Raw materials should be tested on receipt, because that is where heavy metal and adulteration problems enter. Finished goods should be tested before release, because that is what proves the panel on your label matches the powder in the pack.
Ask for certificates of analysis on both. Ask what the testing covers: identity, potency, microbial contamination, and heavy metals at minimum. Ask whether it is done in house or by an independent lab, and be more comfortable with the second answer.
One practical test of a manufacturer: ask for a sample COA from a previous run with the client details removed. A manufacturer that produces one in a day has the paperwork under control. A manufacturer that takes three weeks and sends something that does not look quite right has just told you something important.
Can they trace a batch
If a customer complains about a specific pouch six months from now, can the manufacturer tell you which raw material lots went into it, when it ran, and what the release testing showed? Batch traceability is unglamorous and it is the single thing you will be most grateful for if anything ever goes wrong.
This matters more than it used to. Retail buyers ask about it during onboarding, and it comes up in any insurance conversation about product liability.
How many sample rounds are included
Two or three is normal. One suggests either an unusually confident manufacturer or one that has not costed the iteration you are certainly going to want. Zero means you are approving a formula you have never tasted.
Taste is the reason people repurchase an electrolyte powder, and it is very hard to judge from a specification sheet. Mixability is the same. A formula that clumps in cold water will generate returns no matter how good the mineral profile is. Insist on physical samples, mixed the way your customer will mix them.
What happens when you scale
Ask what changes between your first run and a run ten times the size. The honest answer is usually that some things do. A larger batch may run on different equipment, and a formula sometimes needs minor adjustment to behave the same way at volume.
What you are listening for is whether they have thought about it. A manufacturer who says nothing changes at any volume either has not scaled anybody, or is not telling you about the requalification you will discover later.
Who owns the formula
Get this in writing before any development work starts. With white label you are using the manufacturer's existing formulation and it stays theirs, which is fine and is what makes it cheap and fast. With private label you are modifying their base formula, so the base usually stays theirs too.
Custom formulation is where ownership should transfer to you. If a manufacturer wants to develop a formula from scratch on your budget and keep the intellectual property, that is worth knowing on day one rather than when you want to move production.
What the compliance work includes
Ask specifically who produces the supplement facts panel, who reviews your marketing claims, and who is responsible if a label is wrong. In the United States that means DSHEA and FDA labelling rules. In Canada it means Health Canada's Natural Health Product framework and an NPN.
Selling into both countries is cheaper than most founders expect, but only if the product is designed for both from the start. Retrofitting a bilingual label onto a finished US-only SKU usually means a new print run.
Our answers
Every facility in our partner network is GMP-certified and FDA-registered, audited by third parties on a recurring schedule, and located in British Columbia, Ontario, California, Utah, Texas, or Georgia. We tell you which one your product runs in.
Formulations are tested by an independent lab for purity, potency, and label accuracy before a run is released, and you receive the certificates of analysis. You get two to three rounds of bench-top samples before anything is scheduled. First runs take six to twelve weeks depending on tier, reorders take four to six weeks, and minimums are 1,000 units for jars, tubs, and pouches or 20,000 for stick packs.
Custom formulas belong to you. White-label and private-label base formulations stay ours, and we say so before you start rather than after.
The full capability reference, including regulatory coverage and the documentation you receive, is on our manufacturing page. If you would rather just ask, send us the format and volume you have in mind.
