Food Packaging company?

Check local, small run flour mills. House Autry Mills does spice mixes for several BBQ chains in this area. I don't know what their minimum run would be, but anything less than a ton and you should be doing it yourself anyway. All you'd need would be access to a large paddle wheel mixer and containers.

Just looked at their website and they just opened a location in Marshall TX.

House Autry

Hmmm I thought there were lots of FDA/USDA regulations you had to follow and package it in an approved facility etc etc for retail sales.

Are you planning on selling this (online, locally, etc) then yes you will have to have labels made with Ingredient information, etc.

Here's what my friend Mike does

(FYI, search on rub or sauce co-packer)

quote:

1. Contact a spice company that does custom blending and is USDA certified(most are). Google is your friend. I use Rocky Mountain Spice Co.
http://www.myspicer.com/

2. Have them send you a non-disclosure agreement for your rub, so that when you send them the recipe, your "secret" is reasonably protected. When you give them the recipe, also provide samples of any unusual or uncommon ingredients you may use in making your rub.

3. Discuss with them what their minimum order quantities are. A 100 lb. minimum seems to be about the lowest I found. Most custom blenders can do either bulk orders, or packed orders in shaker containers. Get minimums on both.

4. They will convert your recipe from volume measurements into weight measurements and quote you prices. Upon your approval, they will send you a small test batch of your rub. They will(or should) provide you with your ingredient statement and your nutritionals. They will(or should) also be able to provide you with pricing on shaker containers and labeling, if needed.

5. Figure out your next move and pull the trigger.

quote:

Originally posted by smrbbq:
Hmmm I thought there were lots of FDA/USDA regulations you had to follow and package it in an approved facility etc etc for retail sales.

Depends on the product. If you want to sell pulled pork or beef jerky, then lots of regs. If you want to sell jelly, bread, spices, sauces(some anyway), and a few other specific items then actually very few since the product has properties that make it resistant to food borne pathogens.

I sell a fair amount of sauce, and all I had to do was to have my home kitchen inspected by NC state Ag. Dept. and certify that I don't have any indoor pets, then comply with container(new, sealable) and label(standard nutrition and content) regs. They told me I was approved for sale anywhere in US, so if I wanted to I could go internet. It took some time to get to this point since the State Health Dept. wouldn't tell me about this overlap in jurisdiction. But the Ag. Dept. is usually who certifies all those vendors you see selling cakes, jams, candies, and such at the state fairs and farmers markets. And unlike the HD, the Ag Dept folks are a pleasure to work with and the whole program was initially established to help farmers bring their products to market. They want you to succeed.

Thanks for the tips! Searching for 'co-packer' did the trick. I found one in Carrollton TX (suburb of dallas) that will do a min order of 250lbs. Probably more than I want to start off with so I'll keep looking.

It's for my rib rub and soon Brisket rub so I'll be staying away from the more perishable type foods for now.

http://www.valdezspice.com/index.htm

Thanks!

Check out the link I posted, they'll do 100lbs. And definitely shop prices, they do not ALL do the same thing for the same price. Big variance in money.

Try here.

Spice Mixing & Formulations

Now you all have given me something to think about too. Last year when I was looking for a sauce bottler, the best I could find was about $3 per bottle in 40 case lots. I can bottle my own for about $1.25 plus my labor and only do as much as I need, so I went that route. I couldn't see paying $3 per bottle and then trying to make money off of it when I can usually buy Stubbs for $2.50 at Walmart. I would have been better off buying a big steamer and steaming off some labels.

But if these spice companies will do a batch of 100-250lbs for a decent price, that would sure help me save some landfill space for all the plastic spice containers I go through in a month.