7 Truths about working with Co-packers that no one tells you about
If you’re building a CPG brand, there’s a moment that feels like a rite of passage and maybe the scariest decision you’ll make: moving from making your product in-house to hiring a co-packer.
It’s exciting — and terrifying. Because while a great co-packer can help you scale faster than you ever could on your own, a bad one can wreck your margins, burn your cash, and torpedo your launch before you even hit the shelf.
After more than a decade working with co-packers — some incredible, some catastrophic — here are the 7 hard truths I wish someone had told me at the beginning:
1. They Don’t Care About Your Brand as Much as You Do
And that’s not a dig — it’s reality. Their job is to manufacture products, not to nurture your vision. They’re running dozens of lines for dozens of brands. If you expect them to treat your product like their baby, you’ll be disappointed.
👉 Your job is to make them care by being the squeaky wheel, showing up often, and building a relationship that makes you more than just a PO number.
2. Communication Breaks Everything — or Saves Everything
Most co-packer disasters I’ve seen weren’t about quality or capacity — they were about assumptions. You assumed they’d flag spec changes. They assumed you’d update the labels. You thought they’d tell you about a yield issue before the run… they didn’t.
👉 Solve this with weekly touchpoints, detailed run sheets, and a paper trail for everything. “I thought” is the most expensive phrase in manufacturing.
3. You’re Always the Small Fish (Until You’re Not)
Even if you’re doing $5M+ in revenue, you’re probably tiny compared to their biggest client. That means when capacity gets tight, you’re the one who gets bumped.
👉 Hedge that risk: diversify your manufacturing base early, negotiate clear lead times in writing, commit to annual volume - even if it’s small, and treat your production slots like gold.
4. Quality Control Is Your Responsibility Too
Here’s a truth founders hate: once the truck leaves their dock, the co-packer’s job is technically done. If the product shows up wrong and you didn’t have a robust QA process in place, you’re the one who eats it. Trust me.
👉 Send someone to the floor during first runs, implement spec sheets with photos and tolerances, and never assume “they know what you meant.”
5. Pricing Is a Starting Point, Not a Destination
That first quote they send? It’s rarely the final word. Yields change, labor spikes, freight fluctuates, and suddenly your cost of goods is 15% higher.
👉 Build margin buffers into your model and revisit your costing quarterly. Don’t assume your first price is your forever price. And constantly ask about efficiencies and economies you can partner on to fight against those sneaky increases.
6. Their Pain Points Are Your Problems Too
If your co-packer has staffing issues, ingredient shortages, or a new audit coming up, guess what? Those are now your problems. You can’t scale if they can’t produce.
👉 The best founders I know stay close to the ground: they visit the plant, know the operators by name, and have backup plans ready when (not if) things go sideways.
7. It’s a Partnership — But You’re the One Accountable
Co-packers are partners, but they’re not co-founders. They won’t lose sleep over your retail launch or your cash flow. That’s on you.
👉 Treat the relationship like a marriage: communicate constantly, set clear expectations, and never abdicate responsibility. Because when something goes wrong, retailers and consumers don’t blame the co-packer — they blame you.
Final Thought:
Working with co-packers is one of the hardest and most important parts of scaling a CPG brand. It’s messy. It’s frustrating. But if you learn how to navigate the relationship with eyes wide open, it can also unlock growth you could never achieve on your own.
