Your production partner holds your brand in their hands. If they miss a date, your launch slips. If quality drifts, customers notice. If their pricing jumps, your margins disappear. Choosing a manufacturer is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make as a product founder.
I’ve worked with wine producers for Love Cork Screw and with outside partners for The Lampley’s home goods, including moving our candle fulfillment to a new partner. Here’s how I think about finding the right one.
Know what you need before you start calling
You’ll get better answers if you can describe your product clearly. Before you reach out, write down:
- Your product and format (bottle size, can, candle size, and so on)
- Your first order quantity and what you expect in year one
- Your target cost per unit
- Any must-haves: certifications, specific ingredients, packaging requirements
- Your timeline to launch
If you don’t know some of these yet, that’s fine. Say so. A good partner will help you figure it out.
Where to find manufacturers and co-packers
- Industry associations and trade shows. Beverage and wine trade events are full of producers looking for brands.
- Referrals from other founders. Ask brand owners who they use, and who they left and why.
- Brokers. In wine, a broker can connect you with producers who have wine available or capacity to make it.
- Your packaging suppliers. They often know which producers are good to work with.
In the wine world, the partner might be a custom crush winery, a producer that sells finished wine, or a private label specialist. I explain those options in how to break into the wine industry without owning a vineyard.
Questions to ask every potential partner
- What is your minimum order quantity, and how does pricing change at higher volumes?
- What’s your typical lead time from order to finished product?
- Who else do you produce for? Can I speak with one or two of them?
- What happens if a batch doesn’t meet the agreed specifications?
- Who owns the formula or blend: me or you?
- What certifications and inspections do you maintain?
- How do you handle storage and shipping after production?
- What are all the fees beyond the per-unit price, like setup, storage, rush fees or changeovers?
Write the answers down and compare them side by side. The lowest per-unit price is not always the lowest total cost.
Taste and test before you commit
Never approve a full production run without approving a sample first. For wine, that means tasting the actual wine that will go into your bottle, not just something similar. For other products, that means a finished, packaged sample. Test it with real customers if you can.
Keep an approved reference sample so you can compare future batches against it.
Red flags to watch for
- They won’t share references or let you visit
- Pricing is vague, or fees keep appearing after the quote
- They pressure you to order much more than you need
- Communication is slow before you’ve even signed
- They’re unclear about who owns your formula or blend
- They’ve had recent quality problems they can’t explain
Slow answers before you’re a customer usually mean slower answers after.
Get the agreement in writing
Your contract should cover price, minimums, lead times, quality standards, what happens with defective product, ownership of formulas and packaging, confidentiality, payment terms and how either side can end the relationship. Have an attorney review it. It’s much easier to negotiate these terms at the start than in the middle of a problem.
Start small and build trust
Your first run should be big enough to get a fair price and small enough that a problem won’t sink you. Use it to test how the partner communicates, handles changes and delivers on time. As trust grows, you can commit to larger runs and negotiate better terms.
Plan for growth and for backup
A partner that’s perfect for 500 cases may not be able to handle 10,000. Ask about capacity early. And even if you’re happy, know who your second option would be. Supply problems happen, and having a backup plan protects your shelf space and your relationships with buyers.
Treat it like a partnership
The best production relationships are two-way. Share your sales forecasts so they can plan. Pay on time. Give clear feedback. When your partner knows your brand is growing and professional, you become a priority when capacity is tight.
The bottom line
The right manufacturer is reliable, transparent about costs, protective of quality and able to grow with you. Take your time choosing, get everything in writing, and start with a run you can afford to learn from.
Before you place your first order, make sure your budget accounts for the hidden costs of starting a beverage business.
Want the full playbook?
This post is one piece of what I teach inside The Lampley Learning. The Wine Business Blueprint walks you through it module by module, with a quiz and a downloadable resource in every lesson, and Founder members get a 1:1 strategy session with me. See the membership plans.
Getting your product ready for store shelves? Download my free Retail-Ready Checklist: the 10 things retailers expect before they stock a product.