PartnerSlate is a leading discovery and connection platform in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry connecting brands with manufacturing and packaging partners.
When a brand joins PartnerSlate, they create a free profile with information about their business. Then, they create a “project” for their latest product, with detailed information about their production needs.
Brands can then submit that project to the PartnerSlate Marketplace for a small fee, and accept invitations to connect from interested co-mans. Once they’ve found a partner, PartnerSlate streamlines the introduction and onboarding process to help get the product to market faster.
We currently have nearly 6,000 manufacturers in our database across food, beverage, and other CPG categories. They can be broken out into three groups, with some falling under more than one category:
Contract Manufacturer
Contract manufacturers (co-mans) are manufacturers that produce and package custom recipes for their clients. Most brands that are looking for a third-party manufacturer to help produce and package their proprietary recipe are going to be looking for a contract manufacturer. Many contract manufacturers on PartnerSlate offer additional services in addition to processing and packaging, such as R&D, product development, and sometimes even warehousing and order fulfillment. We have contract manufacturers on PartnerSlate that work across all food and beverage categories.Contract Packager
Contract packagers (co-packers) are just that: packagers or re-packagers. They don't typically produce any food or beverage products themselves, but will often handle finished product. Many contract packagers will receive bulk finished product, then re-pack that product into a different packaging format for a client. This is common with products that have multiple steps in their production process, or are being paired and packaged with another item from a different facility (such as meal kits).Private Label Manufacturer
Private label manufacturers are similar to co-manufacturers in that they often produce and package finished products. The difference is that they typically own the recipe vs. producing a custom brand-owned recipe. Private label is most common amongst retailer-owned brands, for example: Whole Foods (365 Everyday Value), Costco (Kirkland Signature) or Kroger (Signature Truth). These private label brands will typically partner with private label manufacturers to produce products under their own label.
Our co-mans go through a basic validation process to ensure they are businesses in good standing. We recommend brands conduct their own diligence as part of any partner engagement process, and PartnerSlate provides a convenient check-list of key validation points. We can also provide access to factory audit, verification and inspection services to further validate facility quality, which can be customized to your needs for an additional fee.
The first step for a brand before connecting with a manufacturer is creating a project. Brands can create projects for each individual product that they are working on. A “project” is a product brief or overview that includes all the information needed for a product to be manufactured. Once a brand has created a project, they can publish it to the PartnerSlate Marketplace, where co-manufacturers with matching capabilities can show their interest and request to connect directly. Projects are private by default, and viewable only by the brand until they choose to publish it to the Marketplace.
Your privacy is important! We don’t share your identity with a co-man until you approve their request to be connected. Until then, we only share your project details to help prospective co-mans determine interest and compatibility. If you are unsure about what details to provide, one of our Matching Advisors will work with you to confirm any information before your project is listed in the Marketplace.
You have the option to decline an introduction with any co-mans that you do not want to work with. Once you approve a co-man’s request to connect, we will reveal your identity to the co-man and initiate a mutual NDA signing process.
Co-mans receive an alert when new projects match their interests and capabilities. They are able to browse all projects and indicate interest in those projects they wish to be connected to.
If you’re unsuccessful working with any of the co-manufacturers that connect with you via the Marketplace, PartnerSlate also offers full-service matching. More information is available below.
Yes, PartnerSlate offers a full-service matching option. With full-service matching, PartnerSlate will conduct outreach on your behalf and introduce you to up to 3 prospective partners that we pre-qualify and vet for your project. We will work with you to create a more extensive project brief and provide warm introductions to get you going with the prospective co-mans. The fee for full-service matching starts at $4,000 and depends on the complexity and size of the project.
Please contact PartnerSlate Support or ask your Matching Advisor if you are interested in full-service matching.
