1 Introduction

Beth’s Farm Kitchen offers several ways to get high-quality products with your brand on the shelf. You can either choose from one of our existing products and simply add your own label, or put into production a recipe of your creation. The following will give you detailed information regarding Private Label and Co-Packing and some of the technical steps you will need to accomplish prior to engaging in one or both activities.

2 Private Label

Private label is a great way to get your hard-earned brand on to a fantastic product that will help your clients expand their purchases and loyalty with your business. There are a few things to consider before getting started. 

2.1 Packaging 

The simplest and fastest way to move forward is to use the packaging (E.g. jars, lids, bottles, caps, tubs) that we use for our products. To see those in advance, please look at our catalog on-line (www.bethsfarmkitchen.com). 

If you want to control the look and feel of your packaging, your next step would be to shop for your glass. We work with Burch and other packaging wholesalers. From these sources you will find the jars, lids, bottles and caps you are looking for. We can give you the best rates on jars that we already use. 

Please note that the listed prices do not include shipping to our facility. Please understand that glass orders can take several weeks to be delivered. Due to our relationship with certain vendors we may be able to get better pricing and timeframes for delivery

Alternatively, we can order from:

• SKS - https://www.sks-bottle.com/ 
• Fillmore Container - https://www.fillmorecontainer.com/
• Berlin Packaging - https://www.berlinpackaging.com/
  

2.2 Products 

Beth’s Farm Kitchen produces upwards of 80 different products that are pre-approved for food safety. We can make any of these products with your brand on them! Our company has been in business for 40 years and our recipes are tried and tested. The cost to you for the products you choose will vary by product and are determined by Cost of Goods: 

• Current Ingredient Costs
• Local and regional, Organic, versus Global market fruit and vegetable pricing
• Packaging Costs
• Labor 

In addition to these variable costs, we charge a private label fee that includes: 

• Facility costs (i.e. rent, utilities, insurance, admin), 
• Intellectual Property Fee
• Our Margin 

This fee will scale down with the size of your order as we gain efficiencies in production from larger orders. 

For Example: 

If you order Strawberry Rhubarb made with local fruit, our Cost of Goods is $2.78 per jar plus $1.40 customer private label fee = so the price for 12 cases is $4.18 per jar. 

2.2.1 Quantity Discounts:

The minimum order per SKU is 5 cases (60 units): 

• 5 - 10 cases per SKU, client pays Wholesale Price,
• 11 - 84 cases per SKU, client pays Cost plus $1.40 per jar, 
• 85 - 170 cases per SKU, client pays cost plus $1.20 per jar,
• 171 + cases per SKU, client pays, Cost plus $1.00 per jar.
  
  

2.3 Labels

You are responsible for the design of your labels. However, we must review your labels before printing to ensure that they are compliant with FDA regulations.

We recommend working with a graphic designer in the food industry, to ensure a quality label for your product. If you are producing a significant quantity (i.e. more than 500 per product), we recommend finding a professional printing company

For small runs, we can offer label printing for limited label sizes. 

• In house label printing costs $.25 per jar.
• Labels are to be received in a .pdf format and they will need to comply with all FDA requirements. 

(FDA’s label guide: https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/guidance-industry-food-labeling-guide)

• We can provide you with Nutritional Panels and Ingredient decks, but you will need to generate your own UPC Codes. Check out GS1 for more information.
• We have three size labels that we carry in stock: 
• 2" x 7" rectangle - fits BFK standard Jam Jars and Hot Sauce Bottle 
• 2 ¼” x 6 7/16” rectangle - fits BFK Chutney Jar and Hot Sauce Bottle. 
• 1” x 6” rectangle, rounded edges - fits a 2 oz mini jar

Larger orders will need to have their labels printed by an outside source. We are happy to provide references for these vendors.

2.4 Turn-Around Times

When we receive your order, we will do our best to quote you the most accurate delivery time. Production times will vary depending on several factors including supply chain disruption due to the pandemic. However, in general you can expect the following: 

• Smaller orders, less than 10 cases, can generally be delivered within 3 weeks.
• Larger Orders can take generally 4-6 weeks, depending on the time of year and our production schedule. 
  
  

2.5 Delivery

• Delivery costs are not included in your pricing. Depending on your location/ size of order you may choose to pick up your order from our facility, Pick up your order at our farm stand at Union Square, arrange for LTL shipping and/ or establish a relationship with a distributor that will pick up your product.
  
  

2.6 Payment Terms 

• For custom orders over $200 we require a 50% deposit to get the order in production and the remaining 50% is due upon delivery.
  
  
   

3 Co-Packing

3.1 Recipe Development

There are times when a client needs to make adjustments to their recipes, sourcing and/or processes in order to improve their end product, product performance and/or cost effectiveness. This is a separate service from our On-Boarding Process or timeline; which assumes that you have an established recipe and scheduled process for your product. 

In order to best accommodate our clients, we will charge the following rates for Recipe Development: 

• $150 per hour for kitchen/ staff time to develop or adjust products - an estimated 5 hours per SKU. This may be shorter or longer, depending on the complexity of the project. 
• Itemized Ingredient and materials costs
• Shipping Costs - to deliver samples
• If we need the assistance of our contracted Food Scientist, he charges $200 per hour for research and or technical assistance.*
• Alternatively, if the recipe is unique or complicated in its composition, BFK reserves the right to negotiate alternative compensation for the development of independent our partnered Intellectual Property.

*If this aspect of the work is necessary, we would first consult with the client. Only after Confidentiality Agreements have been signed and the additional outsourced work has been approved, would we pass on that additional expense to the client directly. 

4 What to Expect

You will receive an amended copy of your recipe and all units produced - less 4 jars of each SKU. This recipe will then be ready to be submitted to a Process Authority for the creation of a Schedule Process. You will need this to move forward with your production, when working with a co-packer. 

 **We will keep 4 samples on hand to ensure we have them for further discussion, comparison and /or as templates to guide future On Boarding or Production. We will use these templates to ensure future production runs match the color, texture, consistency and taste that is agreed upon to meet the specifications of the client. 

5 Schedule Process

The following is based on our experience with the two Process Authorities we do most of our business with. There are other alternatives in the industry. PLEASE NOTE: The following pricing information is not under the control of Beth’s Farm Kitchen and may change without notice.

5.1 Cornell University

• If this is your first time registering for a Schedule Process with Cornell, then you will be paying a one-time registration fee of $30 - 50
• A typical Schedule Process takes 4-6 weeks to produce (i.e. pre-CoVid)
• For New York based companies the average cost for a Schedule Process is $80.
• For companies based outside of New York, the average cost for a Schedule Process is $140.
  
  

5.2 Pablo Coronel, PhD - Process Authority

• These scheduled processes have fees that are dependent on the recipe - $200 per hour.
  
  
  

6 On-Boarding

Once we have your Non Disclosure Agreement, your Recipe and the associated Schedule Process, we can begin the Onboarding Process. During this process we will develop a Recipe Template and Costing - the best sourcing and pricing of materials and ingredients, specific to your recipe, that are available to our company. 

6.1 Recipe Template

The goal of this process is to ensure that we understand, and can duplicate the flavor, texture, color, viscosity and other primary characteristics and values that you desire for your product going forward. To bring a recipe into production, we charge $150 per hour. A fair estimate is that it will take 4-10 hours to run the test batches and complete up to two test batches. 

We need a sample of the product derived from your recipe. The sample must be indicative of what you want the final product to be. This gives us a goal to strive for and a better understanding of the recipe. We will send you samples for feedback and final approval.

6.2 Costing

During the process of duplicating your recipe and achieving a template for further work, we will verify your supply chain and original ingredient costs, while providing alternatives where possible - for the purpose of redefining quality and/or costs for your recipe. Once you have approved the template for future production, we will finalize all the details of cost of goods, labor and packaging along with all co-packing fees. This will be illustrated in a line itemed summary of your per unit cost for your product - along with scaled pricing based on volumes.

6.3 Labels

Also, during this process, you should be working on your labels for the product. Please anticipate it can take at least 2 weeks (i.e. pre CoVid) for the labels to be printed once you have completed all the following steps. 

You need to indicate on your labels that your product is not manufactured at your location. There are several ways to approach this, including language such as: “Made For Brand x” or “Distributed by Brand x” or “Made by Beth’s Farm Kitchen”

6.3.1 Design: 

• Labels must meet FDA regulations. Here is a link to the FDA’s label guide https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/guidance-industry-food-labeling-guide .
• We recommend that you work with a graphic designer who has experience with designing food labels and understand the layout and technical requirements. 
  
  

6.3.2 Nutritional Facts:

• Once your recipe is finalized and onboarded, you can produce an ingredient deck and nutritional panel 
• Beth’s Farm Kitchen can provide you with a nutrition panel and ingredient deck for your product for a fee of $50
•  If you prefer to provide your own nutrition label Reci-Pal is a reliable source. More info at https://www.recipal.com/
  

6.3.3 UPC Codes:

• Beth’s Farm Kitchen does not provide UPC codes for labels. You are not required to have a UPC code on your labels, however if your plan is to sell this product with local retailers or beyond you will need one.
• If working with a distributor, you may need a separate code for your jar and for your case.
• We recommend GS1 as a source for UPC codes: https://www.gs1us.org/upcs-barcodes-prefixes/overview.
  
  
  

7 Production Requirements

7.1 Purchase Orders 

Once a SKU has been onboarded you are ready to go. You will submit a Purchase Order for the product you desire. At that time, we will invoice you and request a 50% deposit.

Once payment is received, we will begin ordering all ingredients and materials for the sku(s) on your PO. Assuming we have your labels on site, we will schedule production of your Skus. 

You should anticipate 4-6 weeks for production depending on the time of year and complexity of your project.

Please note, we can never deliver a product to you or a third party, without a pre-approved label.

7.2 Insurance

Before production can commence, we are required to have the following insurance on file from you:

• Business liability insurance
• Product liability insurance
• File an additionally insured listing for Beth’s Farm Kitchen, LLC. 

7.3 Product Labels

We must approve all labels before they are used or applied on products that we manufacture. There are legal requirements that we are beholden to as manufacturers. 

Co-packees must provide all labels associated with the SKU on their purchase order, prior to being scheduled for production.

8 Working Together

The relationship between brand and co-packer is a partnership, and therefore must be carried on with mutual respect and understanding. We at Beth’s Farm Kitchen take the success of your company very seriously. We also understand our mission and values and want to take pride in all products that leave our facility. Our on-boarding and production process has been set up in such a way to allow for a low cost, low pain exit strategy for both parties should we not see eye to eye on ideological or economic terms. We reserve the right to refuse service on these grounds.