Switching
Changing factory without losing the paperwork
This page is for a brand that already has a live range and a current manufacturer. It is not about launching a product. It is about moving one that already sells — without changing what is on the label, and without a gap on the shelf.
Scope
Four things we will not ask you to do
- Re-launch. The formula, the pack count and the label stay. Only the plant changes.
- Re-register the brand. Where the label bearer does not change, the registration usually does not either — your regulatory consultant confirms that for your market, not us.
- Redraw the artwork. If you own the print files, we print them. If your current factory owns them, recovering those files is the first job, not the last.
- Commit to the whole range. One line is enough to start, at the trial minimum published on that line.
The file
The five things that have to move
A switch is a document transfer, not a negotiation. When these five are in hand, the rest is scheduling.
| Document | Why it has to travel | Where switches usually stall |
|---|---|---|
| The current specification actives, potency, overage, excipients, and the tolerance on each |
Without it, “the same product” is an opinion, and every later argument is about whose opinion | It was never a document. It lives in the old plant's system, in their format |
| A recent batch COA released values, not targets |
It is the only proof the specification is real and repeatable | The COA is “available on request” and never quite arrives |
| Artwork and dieline print-ready PDF plus the container drawing |
The label has to fit a container that can actually be bought again | The old factory holds the artwork files, and knows it |
| Pack source and pack spec jar or bottle, cap, liner, any desiccant |
A label that fits their jar may not fit ours, and a bespoke mould may belong to them | The container is proprietary, so the switch needs a new pack as well as a new plant |
| Claims copy and target market the exact words, and the country they will be sold in |
Claims decide the label, and the label decides what gets tested | The copy was written for a different market's rules and cannot be imported as-is |
Failure modes
Where switches actually fail
Not in negotiation. In these three places.
1. The sample matches the spec, and the production run does not
Potency is not the usual gap; overage, moisture, shell thickness and particle size are. A sample is a small batch with a technician standing over it. Our answer is to release the first production batch against your transferred specification, not against a generic one, and to send you those results before the rest of the run ships.
2. The documents break
Registration, label bearer and claims are often tied to the old plant's certification scope. Moving plant can invalidate a claim that was fine last month. The eight-part pack listed on the company page is issued with the quote, before you commit, so this is checked while you can still walk away.
3. The old supply stops before the new one starts
A switch that runs out of stock costs more than the switch saves. Sampling can run during a normal production cycle; the overlap is a scheduling decision, and it is yours to make once the calendar below is on the table.
Order of work
What the calendar looks like
| Stage | What happens | Where the clock starts |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer review | We read the specification, COA and dieline, and send back a written list of what is missing | Day 0 |
| Sample against your spec | 5–10 working days if the formula already exists, 10–20 if it has to be built | On a complete file |
| Label proof | The label is set to the container; you approve a printed proof, not a screen | Runs in parallel with sampling |
| Production | 20–35 working days, 35–60 for a custom line | On approved sample and artwork |
| Release and documents | COA against your specification, plus the market pack | Before shipment |
These are the windows published on the process page. A switch does not shorten them, and a supplier who says it will is quoting you a date they have not checked against a line.
Money
What changes in the unit price
A switch is rarely a price event. It is a risk event, and the number that matters is landed cost with the documents intact.
If an offer is materially cheaper than what you pay now, ask what left the specification. There are only four places a price can come from: the overage, the assay method, the shell or carrier material, and the testing panel. A quote that omits any of them is not cheaper; it is incomplete.
- What overage is built in, and who pays for it.
- What is released per batch, against which specification, by whom.
- Whether the COA is against your spec or a house one.
- What the unit price is at your real annual volume, not at the trial.
Our own position is on the range page: indicative pricing at 1,000 units, and a volume ladder from 300 to 20,000.
Send the file, get a gap list
Send what you have — even if it is incomplete. The reply is a written list of what is missing, what it will cost to close each gap, and a quote against your specification. Not a brochure.