What a Brand Should Prepare Before Contacting an OEM/ODM Manufacturer

OEM and ODM: agree the split before anything else

In a nutrition project, OEM usually means the brand brings a reasonably defined product and the manufacturer organises production against conditions both sides have confirmed. ODM usually goes further: the manufacturer also takes part in developing the formula, the dosage format or the product concept. Real projects contain both kinds of work, so the abbreviations cannot do the job of a responsibility split in the contract.

On the first call, it pays to write down the answers to a handful of ownership questions:

• Who supplies the formula — the brand, the manufacturer, or a shared development?
• Who purchases the raw materials, and against whose specification?
• Who owns and approves the label artwork?
• Who owns the packaging design files, and what happens to them if the project ends?
• Which testing is arranged by the manufacturer, and which by the brand or a third-party laboratory?
• How is ownership of the formula and of any development output agreed?

Even when you start from a format the factory already runs, it is worth confirming how far it can be adjusted, whether anything is exclusive to you, and what change process applies later.

ATXA's public project flow — requirement discussion, proposal review, sample confirmation and batch production — is described on the manufacturing page. The list below is a way for a buyer to organise a brief. It is not a universal entry requirement for every factory.

Six categories of information a factory can assess

Market and channel. Name each country or region you intend to sell in, the channels, the product category you expect and the target consumer group. When you sell in more than one market, list them one by one: another market's paperwork is not evidence that a product is acceptable in yours. Audience positioning informs development conversations; it does not by itself support a suitability or benefit claim.

Positioning and use occasion. Describe the use occasion the product is designed around — portability, mixing into a drink, swallowing, or a fixed daily quantity. Competitor products can be a useful reference for taste, format and packaging, but they are not permission to copy a formula, a name or a claim.

Dosage format and specification. List the formats you are considering, the target fill per unit and the pack count. If the choice is still open, list the candidates and the constraints that rule them out, and let the factory assess. A guessed number here is worse than an honest "not decided yet".

Formula and raw materials. If you have a formula, send the version, the composition and the specification requirements for the materials you intend to use. If you do not, send the direction of travel: the actives you want to work with and the ones you want to avoid. Keep three fields apart — the trade name of a material, the amount of that material added to the product, and the target content of the active in the finished product. They are different numbers with different units.

Quantity, packaging and timing. Separate the trial quantity, the expected first order and the longer-term forecast. Describe the primary and secondary packaging, the artwork you hold, and the date you want the product on shelf. That date is not the factory delivery date: allow time for documentation, packaging materials, testing and freight.

Acceptance and delivery documents. Agree early which tests will be run, by which method, against which acceptance criteria, how samples will be approved, and which records will be handed over with the shipment. "Quality acceptable" is not a specification. Conditions added at goods-in time, once a large order is already running, are the most common source of dispute.

Mark each line: confirmed, for assessment, or to be agreed

More paperwork is not automatically better. What a factory can actually use is a brief in which every requirement carries a status:

• Confirmed — settled and documented on your side, so the factory can quote against it.
• For factory assessment — an open question the factory needs to answer with a feasibility view.
• To be agreed — needs a decision from both sides, with a date attached.

When comparing quotes, check that they cover the same formula version, the same material specifications, the same fill and pack count, the same packaging, the same testing and the same tax and freight assumptions. Two quotes at the same unit price can cover different scopes; a lower total can simply mean something is missing. Ask each factory to list what is excluded from the price and what triggers an additional charge.

Treat a projected annual volume as a forecast, not a commitment. Minimum order quantity, sampling cost, material purchasing conditions and timing can all change with the shape of the project, and the binding figures are the ones confirmed in writing by both sides. ATXA's own public guidance is that minimums are calculated per project rather than site-wide, so treat any MOQ you are given as specific to that project — see the procurement FAQ.

"Sample approved" approves a version, not the future

Give every sample round a unique version number, and against that version record the formula, the appearance, the taste or swallowing experience, the packaging, the test results and the open items. Specific feedback is actionable: "fill weight per stick needs adjustment" can be worked on; "it needs more polishing" cannot.

Sensory approval does not mean that stability, packaging compatibility or the requirements for releasing a production batch have been completed. Before moving to a production run, put the required verifications, the final specification, the change process and the way to report problems into a document both sides have signed.

If a material supplier, a piece of packaging or a process condition changes later, agree whether that change needs supplementary assessment or a fresh confirmation. An older version's conclusion is not a shortcut.

A brief you can send today

• Target markets and product category: which are settled, and which classifications still need confirming.
• Target format and specification: first choice, fallback, and the use occasion behind them.
• Formula status: a version you hold, or a development direction you want assessed.
• Material and packaging constraints: what is fixed, and what is open to discussion.
• First-order estimate and on-shelf date: the forecast, the date you are working back from, and its dependencies.
• Acceptance criteria and open questions: the tests, the delivery documents, and the responsibilities you want clarified.

None of this presumes a purchase quantity, a price or an outcome. Send it through the OEM/ODM project enquiry form and you should get a project-specific answer rather than a generic catalogue response.

If the format is still open, choosing between softgel, tablet and powder is the next decision. If several markets are in scope, the four checking lines for a multi-market formula will surface the differences early. Once sampling starts, sample review and batch records govern what has to be documented.