Partnering for Full Service Processing

The use of a contract manufacturer allows nutritional and functional food companies to focus on new products, marketing and distribution—while leaving the headaches of sourcing raw materials, capacity planning and substantial capital investment to their manufacturing partner. In the area of blending and processing, there are advantages to using a fully integrated contract manufacturer that can offer not only blending services but can take the materials through to a finished product.

There are several areas to consider when selecting a company as an integrated partner in developing new products. Whether a company is a start-up or a seasoned veteran, it can benefit from working with an experienced contract manufacturer. Many marketing and distribution companies may have quality research and development staffs that are able to come up with new and efficacious formulas, but lack the manufacturing experience to know how to look at the product from a manufacturing point of view.

A well-established, quality contract manufacturer will have experience with literally thousands of products. This will enable the firm to look at customers’ projects with comprehensive expertise, including the critical role of blending and processing. An experienced manufacturer will know how to blend different materials to a homogeneous state, as well as what equipment is required to achieve the desired blend. Its team will understand how well a blend will press into a tablet, fit into a capsule or mix in liquid. If the right contract manufacturer is chosen, the time to market for a new product will be reduced along with the cost of doing so.

Another area of consideration is quality. With impending stricter regulations and the ever present eye of consumer “watchdog” groups, marketing and distribution companies must choose a partner they can count on. Start the process by finding a company that is certified GMP (good manufacturing practice) by a third party. Then visit the prospective facility and spend time “kicking the tires”. This should include taking a full tour of the facility, looking at all phases of the operations, especially those that they will be using. If pre-blends are to be purchased, ask as many questions about the blending operations as possible. Overall, the facility should be clean, organized and well laid out.

The client should also look at the company’s standard operating procedures (SOPs). These SOPs should state in detail how materials are received, tested, approved and how all facets of the process are performed. Special attention should be paid to the quality assurance and control documents. A quality company will be able to show the SOP being followed at any time.

Along with taking the tour and checking SOPs, the contract manufacturer’s lab should be a great point of interest. The staff should be experienced and well qualified. Questions to ask include: How incoming raw materials are tested? What the different pieces of equipment do? And, how methods are developed? The lab should be well laid out and clean. Sufficient equipment should be on site to do basic tests such as identity, microbiological and potency. Questions should also be asked about what type of tests are sent out to third party labs and who are those labs. By this point in the process, one should have either a good comfort level with a company’s quality or know it is time to look elsewhere.

Finally, in today’s ever changing business environment, a company should choose a business partner that is truly compatible. Address the following areas: Does the company have the capacity and financial resources to meet your needs? Are their goals similar to those of their customers? Do they have a reputation for honest and ethical business practices? Will they go the extra mile to help a customer achieve its goals? How did you feel spending time in their plant and with their people? In a good business relationship, a great deal of time is spent working with each other, and that time should be enjoyable.

In the ultra-competitive dietary supplements and functional foods environment, it is important that a company use its resources to maximize its returns. By finding an experienced, quality company that is a compatible partner with comprehensive abilities in production and processing, costs can be cut, timelines met and new products brought to market ahead of the competition. A truly synergistic relationship can be formed with the right partner. Success or failure can often hinge on finding the right contract manufacturing partner.

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