How to find ingredient and packaging suppliers

So, you’ve designed and created an amazing product. It’s been taste tested by everyone from your closest friends and family to the local shop owner. Now you’re ready to take it to market and see if consumers love it just as much as you do – spoiler alert, if you’ve carried out sufficient testing then they will!

But, there’s one very big difference between creating a food or beverage product in your home, and creating it for hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of consumers. And that difference is volume. We’ll be addressing the question of how to scale-up your manufacturing at a later date, but for now we’re going to look at the very important, often overlooked, matter of finding suppliers for ingredients and packaging.

How to find ingredients and packaging suppliers​

Finding ingredients and packaging suppliers, you can rely on and trust, is a fundamental part of growing your brand. It’s also something you need to consider and research sooner, rather than later, as it will take time to get right, and you’ll need to have contracts in place on day one of production.

But where do you start? As with most things these days, the internet is your best starting point.

“When starting from scratch, for us it was as simple as surfing the web,” Ella McKay, founder of chocolate brand Fatso, told FoodNavigator. “Finding companies that seemed to have what we were looking for, picking up the phone and simply having a chat.”

Conversations, either over the phone or in person, will help to establish a relationship from the beginning and will help to give you an understanding of who you would be working with and how they approach their business and yours.

“For us, we wanted to find suppliers that we could build relationships with, so these phone conversations were really important to establish exactly who we might be getting into bed with,” says McKay. “Were their ethics airtight? Could they answer even the most specific question about where an ingredient or product has come from or how it had been made? What were their credentials etc.?”

And don’t settle for the first supplier you find, there are hundreds out there, so find the right one for you.

“Call as many people as you can,” Rachel Kettlewell, founder of preserve brand, Fearne & Rosie, told FoodNavigator.

And when you do find a suitable supplier, make sure you research them thoroughly.

“Take the time to conduct due diligence,” adds Kettlewell.

Don’t be afraid to ask for proof that the company will deliver on its promises. At the end of the day, it will be supplying the ingredients or packaging materials, which make up your product, so you have every right to make sure you’re investing in quality.

“Always try and find a reference before working with a new supplier,” says Kettlewell.

And always try before you buy.

“Make sure you get samples before committing," adds Fatso’s McKay.

And don't be disheartened if you face challenges in recruiting suppliers. It can sometimes be difficult to get the larger suppliers to work with you, when you’re new to the industry and your brand is unknown.

“When you are so small it can be difficult to convince suppliers that you are worth their time,” agrees Fearne & Rosie’s Kettlewell.

But you can work around this by communicating your vision and aspirations for the brand.

“Involving suppliers in your journey and explaining where you want to go and why that is important can help to build trust and encourage them to invest their time in you,” she adds.

How to build successful relationships with your suppliers​

When you’ve found the suppliers, you want to work with, you then need to manage that relationship. Here, communication is key.

“Be really clear on your expectations for quality and timings,” says Fatso’s McKay. “Never assume a product is going to be as described or an order is on its way once you’ve agreed to go ahead. Outline your timelines and keep checking in prior to receiving the order.”

But even when you’ve signed the contract, you can still look around at what other suppliers are doing and the prices they’re offering.

“I would always try and get a comparison from another supplier in the early days to ensure you’re choosing the best product for the right price,” says McKay.

However, you should also be prepared for teething problems at the start. It’s unlikely everything will go exactly to plan from day one, so allow for that and don’t let it get you down or destroy your working relationship.

“Things go wrong, and accidents and mistakes happen all the time,” says Fearne & Rosie’s Kettlewell.

What’s more these unforeseen incidents could lead to positive changes.

“As business leaders and founders we can sometimes think that we know best for our product. And while that can be true, it’s really important to remember suppliers and manufacturers likely have far more experience than us – use their knowledge as an opportunity to learn and adapt,” she adds. “This is also an opportunity to learn about best practices.”

And factoring in extra time for unforeseen issues or changes, at the beginning, will help to mitigate any delays they may have caused.

“No one likes working under unfair time pressures so do all that you can to allow time buffers within projects - you’ll be grateful that you have,” she agrees.

How to negotiate the right price with your suppliers​

This is a tricky one to calculate as it depends upon a number of factors. However, the basic rule is that you need to make a profit, so work from there.

It’s also important to remember that, if you want to develop a lasting relationship with your suppliers, then you need to make the price viable for all parties.

“It’s important to build honest supply chains with fair margins for all,” says Fearne & Rosie’s Kettlewell. “That takes time to build, and collaboration from field to fork, but I believe in transparency and collaboration across supply chain to ensure a fair price for all, including the end consumer.”

That’s not to say you can’t negotiate on price.

“​You don’t ask, you don’t get,” says Fatso’s McKay. “Manage your expectations - as a start-up, you’re unlikely to be able to achieve volume for the best price, or have a credit history or references to secure good terms, but by establishing that relationship and asking the question, you’ll often find people are willing to help out. Especially if they understand the ambition and potential future for them. Just make sure you pay on time and don’t do anything to jeopardise their trust in you.”

Remember, reaching the stage where you’re ready to start sourcing suppliers is an exciting step for you and your business. It shows you’re ready to enter the market and consumers will finally get to try your product, so enjoy the ride.

Good luck!