BBQ sauce bottling
 

anyone ever had any dealings with getting their bbq sauce bottled? Maybe a co-packer or bottling company?

We're in the middle of making this happen.

The first step is getting your labeling ready. To do this you'll need to get a UPC Code assigned so the stores are able to scan the package and have a Nutritional Analysis done so that your product will meet FDA requirements.

Once that is done you can have labels printed up. Then you can self-bottle with an approved canning setup if you have a commercial kitchen or rented commissary available. This is often a good idea for getting started, because the copacker is going to require a large initial order and you may not want to commit to 100 gallons of sauce that you don't know will sell.

The final step of hiring a copacker can be pretty tough, especially if you are picky about your sauce recipe. Copackers will take your recipe and try to recreate it with the bulk ingredients they regularly stock, which may or may not accurately reproduce your product.

For more information, check with your local extension agent or health department.

Search for a copacker that wants to work with you to the absolute detail. I am in the process of this, but have not gone that far as of yet. Billm can add some advice as I will be using the people that he used. They will not process until you are happy with their recreation and want you on sight for the final product. That is way away from you though. I am sure there is a reputable copacker in your area that cares just as much.

We found a local amish lady who is fully insured and licensed to can and bottle, and she'll do as little or as much as we want. We are doing things small scale for now, and our regulations in PA, if you do under a certain amount per year, you don't need all the nutriounal info on the label, Just the amount, ingredients (listed in order of most to least) packager info. And we have it in mostly specialty food stores locally, and don't require a upc code. Eventually if it goes well enough we'll bump it up to larger quatinties and get all the nutrional info as well as upc,, but for now, keep it small makes better sense.

Some retail outfits require an audit of the mixing and packing facilities before they allow items to be sold in their stores.

I recently had this done through the Ingrediants Corporation. It is a detailed process and they made it happen, so call a few co-packers first and go with whomever you feel most comfortable.

looking for a co-packer
 

I have nut-fax,upc,labels but no co-packer can you help ?
tim farrington
[email protected]

my co-packer made sure I specified any brand name ingredients I used in my recipe
They have hundreds of major brand items in their warehouse for use in peoples recipes and if thye dont have it they will get it..so not all co packers use just whatever they have

Greg short of getting my own UPC and designing and getting my labels created the co packer handled everything else for me
the whole process was pretty painless

bill who is you co-packer

Dorina in Union Illinois

It is so great to see all the passion for our hobby to grow into different "capital" adventures. Everytime to read the different success stories it makes me build on my plans and get the courage to go forward. You gotta love the Brethren!

If your in the Pacific Northwest and need help I had the food institute of oregon do my annalysis. they require the ingrediants and any packaged brands that you use and then they do a sample annalysis and give you the nutritional information and the USDA data for your lable. they are a branch of Oregon State University and are in downtown Portland Oregon.

Big Mike

The following link is a good resource to follow. I'm looking at bottling in the future, but I take tiny baby steps, so that I have the least amount of trouble. Because there's always trouble. Good luck!

http://www.specialtyfoodresource.com...ge/4205553.htm

seriously this was not all that complicated to do..my copacker was very helpful with the whole process..the only thing i really had to do on my own was label design,securing a upc code(a quick on line purchase), and the usual behind the scenes stuff of any business like insurance, registering business state ..etc...
the real work comes afterwards when you got a pallet of sauce sittiing in your garage
getting it on the shelves at stores is dependent on how much spare time you are willing to invest ..its a lot of legwork but its fun..