Thursday, February 27, 2014

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Minimum Orders

Q.  On your website you state that you don’t have a minimum amount that customers have to order.  Did I read that correctly? 

Two Pallets of SauceYes, you did. 

At FoodProductLaunch.com we have no minimum when it comes to your initial order.  I’ll say it again - No minimum.  You don’t have to do anything but get your low-acid canned product through our Research and Development (R&D) process.  If you decide that you want to run a small batch (let’s say 10 gallons), then we’ll do that for you as well. 

I bet you’re wondering why.

Well, as I’ve stated on the website, we’ve been where you are right now - at the precipice of a new adventure. When I say we’ve been there as well – the above picture is proof.  That’s two pallets of pasta sauce getting ready for me to drive it back home. 

TWO PALLETS!!! 125 CASES!!  1500 JARS OF SAUCE! Are you kidding me?  What the heck was I supposed to do with 2 pallets of sauce? 

Prior to that order, the only thing that I had gotten from my co-packer was a 16 ounce sample for me to approve.   It wasn’t even in a pasta sauce jar.  Sheesh.

All I had was a concept of having the best sauce in the world and no real plan to get it into retail shops. I thought I knew somewhat, but I was a babe in the woods. I’m sure you’re in the same boat.

I’ve thought about this a lot in the past few years. And I had a few questions.

  • Wouldn’t it have been awesome to have gotten at least a small sample (a case or so) of my sauce in whatever packaging it would end up being in?
    • It will be awesome to provide a small sample of your product.  We’ll be happy to do that for you.
  • Wouldn’t it have been better for me to purchase 10 cases or so of my sauce – a total of approximately 120 jars instead of 1500 – so that I could market my wares?
    • It’ll be a lot better to give you the option of purchasing a smaller order so you can spend your cash on better things than a massive inventory – like marketing and sales.  This is so when the time comes, you will need inventory.
  • Why do other co-packers have a requirement for such big minimum orders? 
    • I honestly don’t know.  I suspect the answer falls somewhere between “it’s our standard because it’s more cost effective” and “we really don’t want to work with new recipes and customers.”

At FoodProductLaunch.com we’re here to help you through the Research and Development process for your low-acid food product and provide you samples and examples of your finished product. 

We’re happy to do that for you!

TJ Gallivan

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