For buyers
Food and ingredient sourcing, to your specification.
For importers, distributors, wholesalers, packers, manufacturers, retailers, foodservice and private-label buyers. We find and qualify suppliers against your specification, model the landed cost and negotiate the contract.
Who do we source for?
- Importers, distributors and wholesalers adding new lines or a second source
- Packers buying bulk product to pack under their own or their customers' brands
- Food manufacturers buying ingredients to a technical specification
- Retailers looking for branded ranges or private label
- Foodservice buyers who need consistent specification and supply
- Private-label buyers looking for producers and co-manufacturers
Sourcing outside your own network is slow and risky. Supplier claims are hard to check from a distance, quoted prices rarely match the cost at your door, and import rules apply to you as well as the producer.
How does a sourcing request work?
- Send your request. Product, specification, estimated volume, packaging, destination market and target timing.
- We confirm the brief. We reply within two working days, with questions or a plan for the search.
- We search and shortlist. We map origins and producers that can meet your volume, specification and certification needs.
- We qualify. Documents, samples and test results are checked before you commit.
- We model the landed cost. Each shortlisted offer is priced to your door, line by line, so you compare like with like.
- We negotiate. Price, Incoterms, payment terms, quality clauses and delivery schedule, negotiated for you and signed off by you.
- We coordinate delivery. Pre-shipment checks and logistics, with vetted forwarders, licensed customs brokers and warehouses.
How do we qualify suppliers?
Before anything is signed, we check:
- Specification match: the producer's specification against yours, including tolerances
- Food safety certification: for example BRCGS, IFS or FSSC 22000, where your program requires it
- Lab results: certificates of analysis and independent tests from accredited laboratories for contaminants, residues, microbiology and, where the category calls for it, authenticity
- Samples: assessed against your specification before contract
- Traceability: lot coding and origin documents
- Destination-market compliance: supplier documents that support your own obligations: for US imports, the details needed for FDA prior notice and the records your Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) relies on; for the UK and EU, the ingredient, allergen and origin data your labels need
- Capacity and reliability: volumes, lead times and seasonality
- Audits: on-site or remote, by independent auditors where the risk justifies it
What goes into a landed cost?
A low price at origin can become the expensive option at your door. We build each landed cost from:
- Product cost at the agreed Incoterm
- Packaging, palletization and labeling
- Inland transport and export clearance at origin
- Ocean, air or road freight, and cargo insurance
- Import duties and tariffs, plus import VAT where it applies
- Customs brokerage and entry filing; for US imports, the customs bond and fees such as the merchandise processing fee and harbor maintenance fee
- Port, terminal and drayage charges
- Testing, inspection and any holds
- Warehousing, third-party logistics and final delivery
- The cost of the payment terms
You see every line, and how it changes with volume, route and terms.
What do we negotiate for you?
- Price, price validity and volume breaks
- Incoterms and the point where risk passes
- Payment terms and security: letters of credit, deposits or open account
- Quality clauses, tolerances, and the claims and rejection procedure
- Minimum order quantities and delivery schedules
- Exclusivity and private-label terms where relevant
If we represent a producer or brand involved in a deal, we tell you up front.
What do we source?
Bulk ingredients for manufacturers, and finished, retail-ready products for distributors and retailers:
- Nuts, seeds & dried fruit
- Honey & natural sweeteners
- Grains, pulses & seed oils
- Functional ingredients, superfoods & botanicals
- Tea & coffee
- Confectionery & snacks
- Functional food & beverage
- Specialty & world foods
The experience behind the work comes from the Functional Brands Group team and our founder's 20+ years in food and FMCG.
Questions
What should a sourcing request include?
The product, your specification or its key parameters, estimated volume and frequency, packaging, destination market, required certifications and target timing. If you already have a supplier, tell us what you want to improve: cost, quality, reliability or a second source. The more precise the brief, the faster we can shortlist. We reply within two working days.
Which products and categories can you source?
We work across eight categories: nuts, seeds and dried fruit; honey and natural sweeteners; grains, pulses and seed oils; functional ingredients, superfoods and botanicals; tea and coffee; confectionery and snacks; functional food and beverage; and specialty and world foods. That covers bulk ingredients for manufacturers and finished, retail-ready products, including private label.
Who do I sign the contract with?
It depends on the deal. Usually you contract with the producer or its exporter, on terms we negotiate with you, and we act as broker. Where another structure works better, such as buying through an importer or distributor in your market, we set out the options and who carries which obligations before you commit.
Do you handle import, customs and compliance?
We coordinate them. We work alongside licensed customs brokers, freight forwarders and regulatory consultants on entry filing, FDA prior notice, FSVP supplier verification and labeling for US imports, and on import and food information requirements in the UK and EU. We help you get the right documents in place before shipment. Obligations such as FSVP stay with the importer, and we don't give legal or customs advice ourselves.