Guide
What drives a co-packing price, and why we publish none
Updated
We publish no rates on this site, and the reason is specific rather than cautious: a per-unit figure found on a website gets quoted back at a packer as though it were a benchmark, by somebody who does not yet know their own volume.
Why no figures
Contract packing prices are set per packer, per format, per volume and per specification. No authority publishes them and there is no meaningful average, because the same product costs wildly different amounts at a thousand units and at a million.
A range invented here would anchor a brand on a number describing nobody, and would be used in a negotiation as though it meant something. What is publishable is what the price is made of.
The seven drivers
Run length, which is the largest single factor because setup and changeover are fixed costs spread across the run. Format complexity, since some formats run fast and some do not. Ingredient supply, and who carries it.
Shelf life, which drives process and testing. Certification and audit requirements. Labelling and artwork complexity, particularly variants. And storage, which is a real cost that is frequently quoted separately and forgotten in the comparison.
Minimum order quantity is a different question
MOQ is not about price, it is about whether a packer will take the work at all. It exists because a changeover costs the same whether the run is short or long.
That is why the honest answer to a small first run is to find a packer whose MOQ fits, rather than to negotiate a large packer down. A short run on a big line is expensive for both sides and the relationship rarely survives it.
Comparing quotes properly
Get every quote on the same specification, and make sure each states the same things: what is included, what is charged separately, storage, minimum quantities, lead time and payment terms.
Three quotes on three different assumptions are not comparable, and the cheapest of them is usually the one that assumed least.