We ask Eleanor Lelliott, Partner and Head of Contract Blending at Leonards Ingredients:
We find that our customers come to us for four main reasons; Time, Space, Specialised Food Safety Expertise, and Cost.
Let’s start with the biggest two, time and cost. Many smaller companies or start-ups may be manufacturing in their kitchens or in small units, and are now unable to keep up with demand. Which is a brilliant, but stressful situation to be in. We often find customers turning to outsource manufacturing as this enables them to continue growing the company. It can be very frustrating to have an excellent product, that you know customers want, but do not have the time to market it properly, or follow up on those important leads that you know will keep the company growing in 6 months, a year or five years time. By outsourcing the most time-consuming roles then you can start to focus on the future, whilst knowing your product is in excellent hands.
Money is another strong reason to look at outsourcing the manufacture of your ambient ingredients. If you have spent thousands on developing an excellent product, completing months of market research and then spending thousands more on packaging and marketing, there isn’t much left in the budget for a factory full of equipment. So by outsourcing this aspect of the process you can save yourself thousands in set-up fees.
Equally, you may already have a site but have this one single run that would take you a month to fulfil with your existing equipment and space. Having an experienced processing partner on hand that can run these individual lots, or step in to take over manufacturing wholly can be invaluable for future growth.
Particularly important for those companies involved in the Nutraceutical Industry is Specialised Food Safety Experience. Leonards Ingredients was set up in the 80’s so has a few decades of experience in blending dry ambient products! Many customers look to outsource production because they need a site that is certified with BRCGS Food safety and this is a full time job in itself. By utilising a site that already has this certification to AA level they can fulfil all their food safety & quality requirements without the effort, time and money.
So if you are running out of time, space or you’re risking your profits to keep your supply chain fulfilled then perhaps it’s time to look at outsourcing the manufacture. If you would like to discuss our capabilities for the production of any dry ambient ingredients, from spice mixes, to protein blends, to chocolate cookie mixes please contact 01825 760262 or .
We offer a comprehensive service offering blending from just 30kg to multiple tonne drops, and always with clear and honest communication.