I have been canning jars of vegetable blends that I would like to
sell.  I want to know what steps would be involved.  That is to say,
how many hands would the product pass through from farm to store
shelves?

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 08 Jun 2003 19:39 PDT

Using what marketing method? Obviously you could market your product
yourself and stock local stores personally, thus eliminating anyone
else should you decide to go this route. How many people are involved
will depend largely upon your own business plan.

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

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Clarification of Question by taylor123-ga on 09 Jun 2003 04:59 PDT

I would like to get the work out of my kitchen entirely.  I have no
idea how baby food, for example, ends up in jars.  Where is the food
blended/cooked?  Do the bottlers do it?  If not, how does the cooked
product wend its way to the bottler? Do I pay the bottlers for the
jars used or are they acquired elsewhere?  Do bottlers provide a
labeling service or are labels made elsewhere?  If made elsewhere, I'm
guessing that the labels go to the bottler, not the other way around. 
Assuming Paul Newman does not make and market his salad dressing
himself, for example, what path has it taken on its way to store
shelves.  (I am sure that it is painfully obvious that I am the
smallest of companies, but do not know how much bearing that would
have on your answer.  While I would find it interesting to if and how
the size of the company would change the process, I am primarily
interested in my own situation.)

Hi taylor123,

It's hard for me to get a sense of just how basic the information you
need should be, but I've given it my best shot here.

I do hope you understand (and please forgive me if you are already
aware of this), that you can't just mix up recipes in your kitchen,
have them bottled, then sell them. If you use your own kitchen (and
for many products you may not), there are licensing and health
inspection requirements that would apply to your products. There are
also strict labeling regulations and insurance requirements. It's a
complicated business to sell food you make at your house.

However, as I'm sure you DO know, there are ways to do it. 


Based on the price of your question, I'll provide you with a few
resources that will give you a general idea of how to move your
product from kitchen to consumer.


To hand-walk your product through the system of regulations,
processing, packaging, labeling, storing, marketing, processing
orders, and distribution,  is a huge task – one that would probably
not leave you any time in your kitchen to do the part of the job you
love the most – making the product.

So, what most small home-based companies do is hire one company, often
a COPACKER to do all the legwork for them.

Copackers are companies that manufacture and package foods for other
companies to sell -- from nationally-known brands to private labels. 
Copackers can provide entrepreneurs with a variety of services in
addition to manufacturing and packaging products. They can often help
in the formulation of the product.

Some of the ways that a copacker can save you time and effort are --

---   Already have processing lines in place 
---   handle manufacturing, packaging, and labeling 
---   have the proper regulatory certifications
---   have access to lines of credit for purchasing supplies and
ingredients, insurance, food industry contacts and sources to get the
job done efficiently.
---  familiar with quality parameters, food safety requirements, and
shipping needs.
---  have the proper facilities for receiving and storing ingredients
and can arrange storage of finished product.

Some copackers offer other services for entrepreneurs such as –
        -- product stability testing
        -- nutritional labeling
        -- formulation assistance
        -- ingredient substitution
        -- other product development services
        -- suggestions on packaging and labeling


Copackers can also direct you to professionals who can assist you in
the design and marketing of your product.


This publication explains the role of a copacker to food entrepreneurs
and explains how to select one for your product.

Choosing and Using a Copacker
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/foodsci/ext/pubs/copackers.PDF



If you wanted to take some of these tasks into your own hands, this
excellent article gives a great overview on how to do everything from
produce your product, to having it packaged, and marketing it. Note
that although it references Massachusetts law, the general information
would apply to whatever state or country you live in.


THE MASSACHUSETTS FOOD PROCESSORS RESOURCE MANUAL 

A practical guide for specialty food and start-up food processors
published by the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture


http://www.state.ma.us/dfa/markets/specfood/food_processor_resource_manual.htm

=======================
OTHER RESOURCES 
========================

SO YOU WANT TO BE A FOOD MANUFACTURER . . .
http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/pubs/pdfs/fs813.pdf


FOOD MARKETING AND PROCESSING – VEGETABLES
http://www.foodmap.unl.edu/index.asp


DO'S AND DON'TS FOR FOOD PROCESSOR
http://www.ag.state.co.us/mkt/do_dont.htm


ADVENTURES IN COPACKING
http://www.elliottsamazing.com/btlg.html





So that should give you a good overview of the steps it takes to get
your vegetables from your kitchen to the consumers. If anything I've
said isn't clear, or if any links don't work, please feel free to ask
for clarification.

Thanks so much for your question –

-K~

search terms

selling food from home
USDA canning regulations
USDA food selling home
copacker

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Request for Answer Clarification by taylor123-ga on 09 Jun 2003 11:26 PDT

That's fabulous--just what I wanted!  It is only the information that
you elaborated on this is relevent.  It is pet food that I have in
mind.  Here in Massachusetts there are no pet food regulations and as
I understand it, there are currently few federal guidelines.  Thinking
that the process would be the same, it didn't occur to me to mention
it was pet food.  Am I correct in my assumption that said copackers
would handle pet food as well?

---

Clarification of Answer by knowledge_seeker-ga on 09 Jun 2003 13:35 PDT

Hi again ,


lol!! Pet food! My mind didn't even go there!


Ok, to answer your question, yes .. the copackers would do pet foods
the same way.

For example –

" D&D Commodities Ltd. is a leader in the formulation, packaging and
marketing of private label and exclusive brand products for caged
birds, small animals, wild birds and wildlife. We can offer our
expertise and advice on formula design, forecasting consumer demand,
developing packaging and meeting labeling requirements, as well as
training, support materials and point-of-sale (POS)."

http://www.ddcommodities.com/private_label/index.asp

AND –

" To develop this [dog food] product, NuFood sought the help of the
Guelph Food Technology Centre ..."They assisted in sourcing packaging
and a co-packer for us.""

No More Finicky Fido: Innovative and Healthful Food for Dogs
http://www.gftc.ca/newslett/97-04/nufood.htm



Another interesting article – talks about copackers: 


TO MARKET, TO MARKET: RETAIL SALES OF YOUR HOUSE SPECIALTY
http://www.restaurant.org/business/magarticle.cfm?ArticleID=496


And a good resource if you are making organic pet food (there are a
couple of manufacturers and labelers on the list):

ORGANIC FOOD: ORGANIC PRODUCE, ORGANIC MEAT, ORGANIC COFFEE FROM
ORGANIC FARMS
http://www.greenpeople.org/organicfood.htm


It occurs to me that another search term you may want to follow up
with is "private label" used in combination with terms like 
"packager" "copacker" "dog food" "pet food" etc. And also try "custom
manufacturer" and "labeler"

So, now that I'm on the same page you are, does that clarify things
for you? Hope so! :-)

Good luck in your venture!

-K~

K-seeker was wonderful!  Most helpful and pleasant!  Top-notch service