Verify the product and producer.
Identify the actual processing facility, complete composition and growing origin. Review applicable licences and validate certificates with their issuer, including site, scope and expiry. A company’s marketing claim is not a substitute for a product-specific document.
Test repeatability.
Ask for samples from more than one lot where possible, then use the same recipe and acceptance criteria. Agree batch analysis, storage, traceability and a response process for out-of-spec material.
Get a quotation you can compare.
Use the same product specification, quantity, currency, Incoterm and named place. Include packaging, domestic transport, export costs, freight, insurance, import charges, inspection and final delivery. Distinguish recoverable tax from permanent cost.
- Document minimum order, available capacity and replenishment lead time.
- Confirm importer responsibilities and market-specific checks.
- Agree payment, acceptance and complaint terms.
- Start with a paid pilot before a large recurring commitment.
Know which kind of organisation you are talking to.
A common sourcing mistake is treating a farm, a processor, an exporter and a reseller as interchangeable. They hold different documents, different capacity and a different share of responsibility for what ends up in the bag. Our directory keeps these roles apart for exactly that reason.
- Farm or cooperative: grows the crop. Ask for the growing region, the harvest period and the area actually harvested - planting material received is not a sellable volume.
- Processor: transforms it. Ask for the processing site, the process, the complete ingredient declaration and batch analyses.
- Exporter: consolidates and ships. Ask who manufactured the lot and how it is traced back upstream.
- Distributor or reseller: sells another organisation's product. Ask for the manufacturer's name and for formulation documents issued by that manufacturer; anything the reseller cannot document is confirmed with the manufacturer.
- Five checks on every candidate: legal identity, lot traceability, available capacity, documentary compliance, and sampling from more than one lot.
Common questions.
Does an FDA registration certify the product?
No. Registration is not product approval. US import obligations, including applicable FSVP and prior notice requirements, need separate verification.
What is the most useful first request?
A specification and sample matched to your application, followed by a comparable quotation and evidence supporting the offered lot.