Manufacturing guide
How to choose a contract manufacturer in India
Choosing a contract manufacturer in India comes down to four checks done in order: shortlist by category and capacity, verify the licences that apply to your product, audit the site, then run a paid pilot before committing to commercial terms. Skipping the pilot can expose scale-up problems only after a full batch has been made.
Start with a tight shortlist, not a long list
Most brands waste weeks emailing a wide list of factories that cannot actually make their product. Start by filtering on category fit (a unit that fills shampoo will not reliably fill a retort pouch curry), installed capacity against your first order and any repeat volume you expect in year one, and whether the plant already runs the pack format you want (can seaming line, softgel encapsulation, saponification kettles, or extrusion for snacks, for example).
A shortlist of 4–6 qualified units, each matched on category and scale, gets you better quotes and faster responses than a list of 30 generic enquiries.
- Category fit: has the unit actually made this product type before, not just something adjacent
- Installed capacity versus your MOQ and expected repeat orders
- Pack format already running on the line (bottle, pouch, can, jar, tube)
- Distance from your primary market, since freight on bulky or fragile SKUs adds up
Licence and certification checks by category
The licence that matters depends entirely on what you are making. Ask for the current licence number and expiry up front, not after a sample order; a unit that is vague about this is a red flag regardless of how good its sample tastes or feels.
| Category | Core licence | Certifications worth asking for |
|---|---|---|
| Food and beverages | FSSAI licence; applicable FSSAI category standards | ISO 22000/FSSC 22000, HACCP |
| Health supplements and nutraceuticals | FSSAI licence; product must comply with the FSS (Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dietary Use, Food for Special Medical Purpose, Functional Food and Novel Food) Regulations | ISO 22000/FSSC 22000, HACCP |
| Cosmetics and personal care | Cosmetics manufacturing licence issued by the State Licensing Authority under the Cosmetics Rules, 2020 | ISO 22716 (cosmetic GMP) |
| Ayurvedic and herbal | AYUSH manufacturing licence from the state licensing authority for ayurvedic products | GMP certification for ayurvedic units |
| Packaged drinking water | FSSAI licence; comply with the current FSSAI testing scheme for packaged drinking water; the mandatory BIS certification requirement has been removed | ISO 22000 |
| Home care | General trade and pollution-control approvals for the plant; check whether a mandatory BIS standard applies to your specific product | Documented quality control |
| Pet food | Pet food is not regulated by FSSAI; check current BIS standards and import/registration requirements for ingredients | Ingredient traceability and testing |
| All packaged goods | Legal Metrology labelling for pre-packaged goods | — |
What a site audit checklist should cover
A physical or video walkthrough beats a glossy brochure every time. Ask to see the QC lab actually running a test, not just hear that one exists.
- Raw material storage: segregation, labelling, first-in-first-out stock movement
- Processing area: equipment condition, cleaning schedule, pest control records
- In-house or outsourced quality control lab and what tests it actually runs
- Batch and lot traceability from raw material to finished pack
- Effluent and waste handling, especially for liquid or high-moisture products
- Worker hygiene practices and protective equipment on the floor
Sampling and the pilot batch
Treat sampling as two separate stages. A bench sample proves the formulation and pack can be made at all; it tells you almost nothing about consistency at scale. A paid pilot batch, run on the actual commercial line at a few hundred to a couple of thousand units, is what tells you whether fill weights, seal integrity, colour and texture hold steady once the line is running at speed.
Insist the pilot batch ships with a certificate of analysis and keep a retained sample from it, so later production runs can be compared back to this baseline.
Commercial terms worth negotiating up front
- MOQ for the first order versus the MOQ that applies once you are an established account
- Payment terms: advance percentage, balance on dispatch versus on delivery
- Tooling and mould ownership if your pack needs dedicated moulds or dies
- Price validity period and what triggers a price revision (commodity input movements, for instance)
- Who owns unused packaging material if an order is cancelled or reduced
Red flags that should slow you down
- Reluctance to share a licence number or recent audit report
- No willingness to run a paid pilot before a full commercial order
- Vague answers on who owns the formulation if you are supplying it
- Quotes that are far below the rest of the shortlist with no clear reason
- Communication only through a single point of contact with no technical backup
Frequently asked questions
- How many contract manufacturers should I shortlist before deciding?
- Aim for 4–6 units that genuinely match your category, pack format and volume rather than a long list of generic enquiries. A tighter shortlist usually gets faster, more accurate quotes and makes the comparison easier.
- Is a bench sample enough to place a full order?
- No. A bench sample confirms the formulation and pack are feasible, but only a pilot batch run on the commercial line shows whether fill, seal and appearance stay consistent at speed. Skipping the pilot is a common cause of rework later.
- Which licence should I ask for first?
- It depends on the category: FSSAI for food, beverages and nutraceuticals, a cosmetic manufacturing licence for personal care and colour cosmetics, an AYUSH licence for ayurvedic products, and the FSSAI licence and current water testing scheme for packaged drinking water. Ask for the current licence number and expiry before sampling.
- Who should own the tooling if my product needs a custom mould?
- This varies by agreement, but it should be settled before production starts, including who pays for the mould and who keeps it if you later move the order elsewhere. Get this in writing alongside pricing.
- What is a realistic timeline from shortlist to first commercial batch?
- Typically a few weeks for shortlisting and licence checks, followed by sampling and a pilot batch, then the lead time for the first commercial run itself. Total time varies significantly by category and pack complexity.
How BrandForge helps
BrandForge turns one written brief into a double-blind match with verified Indian manufacturers whose capability fits. Names are revealed only once both sides approve, and a success manager supports the conversation afterwards.