Whether they can deliver 200mg theanine + 300mg KSM-66 + lemon balm per serving. This single answer separates ingredient-serious manufacturers from catalog mills pushing underdosed stock blends. Watch how they answer, not just what — real numbers and counter-proposals = serious; "check out our catalog" = out.
The most active ingredient (mg) they can pack into one gummy with acceptable taste. Your spec needs ~650–700mg using concentrated extracts. Standard pieces carry only a few hundred mg — this is why the whole shelf is underdosed.
The smallest first production run they'll accept, in units. This drives your first inventory cost (~$8–15K budget). Lower MOQ = cheaper test, less risk if v1 needs changes.
Weeks from purchase order to finished, packaged goods. This is the longest clock in your launch timeline — and it repeats on every reorder, which matters when you're growing and can't afford stockouts.
Your COGS per jar before shipping. Rule of thumb for premium DTC: landed cost should be ~20–30% of retail price so there's margin left to fund creators, ads, and reinvestment after fees.
Whether they fill your jars and apply labels in-house, versus shipping bulk gummies for you to handle elsewhere. One facility doing everything = simpler logistics, fewer things to break, faster launch.
GMP-certified facility, FDA-registered. This is your quality and liability floor — a cheap non-certified shop is how you get a bad batch, a compliance problem, or a lawsuit. Verify certificates; don't take a homepage badge on faith.
Certificates of Analysis from an independent lab on every batch — proving the gummy contains what the label claims, and nothing else. This backs your "third-party tested" badge and is your defense if anyone ever challenges the product.
Track requested → received. Taste everything against your payload reality: ashwagandha and lemon balm are bitter, so you're testing whether their flavor system can genuinely mask a real dose — not just whether a light stock blend tastes nice.
Your honest read: flavor, texture, bitterness bleed-through, aftertaste, size in the mouth. The felt experience is your entire retention thesis — a gummy that tastes like dirt doesn't get reordered no matter the doses.
Shortlist / Maybe / Out. Grade the relationship, not just the sample: responsiveness, straight answers on the dose question, willingness to engage your spec. You're picking a partner for years, not a vendor for one PO.
| Score auto | Company | Contact name · email · phone | Date contacted | Responded | Can hit dose spec? the sorting question | Max single-piece payload mg per gummy | MOQ units | Lead time weeks | Price / unit @ MOQ | Turnkey fill & label? | GMP / FDA reg.? pass / fail | 3rd-party COAs? pass / fail | Samples requested → received | Taste notes | My notes | Verdict |
|---|