Co-packer minimum order quantities: what to expect and how to compare them

Why co-packers set minimums

Every run has fixed costs: setup, changeover between products, cleaning and sanitation, lab checks, and paperwork. A co-packer spreads those costs over the run. Below a certain size, the run costs them more than it earns. Big, fast lines need bigger runs to justify a changeover; smaller plants built for short runs can take smaller ones. In general, larger co-packers only take larger runs, and smaller co-packers offer smaller production runs.

Minimums can also come from your inputs. Printed packaging, specialty ingredients, and custom closures often have their own minimums, and those can set the real floor for your run.

Published examples by product type

Most co-packers don't publish a minimum. The ones that do vary widely. Examples from published sources:

• Sauces and condiments: small-batch plants publish minimums from a few dozen gallons per flavor; larger plants run hundreds or thousands of gallons, or full production days.
• Canned and bottled beverages: industry trackers commonly cite 2,000 to 5,000 cases per SKU as a typical floor for aluminum cans, while some small-batch plants publish minimums of a few hundred cases or a single pallet.
• Dry blends and seasonings: small-batch blenders publish minimums starting from tens of pounds; larger blenders start in the hundreds of pounds or much higher.
• Bars, cookies and snacks: published minimums run from a few hundred or a few thousand units at small plants to tens of thousands of units per SKU at larger ones.

Treat these as context, not quotes. Ask each plant for its own number.

Sources: Kensington Food (sauce) · The Spice Guy (sauce) · HotBox Philly (sauce) · Small Batch Co-Pack (sauce) · a co-packer matching service: co-packer minimums · FindYourCopacker: minimum order quantities (beverage) · Ingredients Corporation of America (dry blends) · Grover Processing (dry blends) · Small Batch Co-Pack (dry blends) · Utica Specialty Foods (bars, snacks) · Spud House (snacks)

How to compare minimums stated in different units

Convert every minimum to finished units of your product before you compare:

• Gallons to bottles: one U.S. gallon is 128 fluid ounces. A 40-gallon minimum is 5,120 ounces, or about 1,024 five-ounce bottles before fill loss.
• Cases to units: multiply by units per case (25 cases of 12 is 300 units).
• Pounds to packages: divide by your net weight per package, after any loss.
• Barrels to cases (beverage): one U.S. beer barrel is 31 gallons.
• Pallets: ask how many cases per pallet for your package.

Then ask: is the minimum per SKU, per flavor, per run, per order, or per year? A 1,000-unit minimum per run across three flavors is very different from 1,000 units per flavor.

What to ask about minimums

• What's your minimum, in which unit, and per SKU, run, or year?
• Is it your standard minimum, or a first-run exception? Does it apply to reorders?
• Can several flavors or SKUs share a run day to meet the minimum?
• What's the price per unit at your minimum and at a larger run? (The gap shows the real cost of starting small.)
• Do my packaging or ingredient minimums push the run size higher?
• Is there a small-run or pilot fee instead of a higher minimum?

Ways to work with lower minimums

• Pick plants built for small runs. Small-batch co-packers, university pilot plants, and shared-use or incubator kitchens exist for exactly this.
• Use stock packaging plus labels instead of printed packaging with large minimums.
• Limit SKUs at launch. Fewer flavors means each one can meet a minimum.
• Combine flavors in one run day, if the plant allows it.
• Commit to an annual volume in exchange for smaller individual runs, if your forecast supports it.
• Supply your own ingredients or packaging (tolling) if the plant's sourcing minimums are the barrier.

How PostRequest helps

Tell us your product, package and the run size you can actually sell. Our agents contact co-packers that fit, ask each for its minimum in your units along with price, lead time and terms, and line up the replies. Plants see your product, not your name or company, until you choose to connect. During early access, a person on our team reviews every comparison before it reaches you.