Start with people, not search engines: industry contacts, makers behind products you already rate, and your local Manufacturing Extension Partnership center, which runs a supplier-finding service. Test samples on real customers before you commit. Then negotiate the minimum order down hard for the first run, so a slow start doesn’t leave you living with your own stock.
Type “how to find a manufacturer” into Google and you get page after page of factory directories, each with the same stock photo of a woman in a hairnet pointing at a conveyor belt. Pick one at random and you’ll find out about their minimum order the day the invoice arrives. And that’s when the garage fills up.
Why it’s harder than it sounds
Finding a manufacturer is easy. Finding one who’ll make a small first run, keep your formula to themselves and still be in business next year is the actual job.
Minimums are the first trap. Our co-host Sara has dealt with factories asking for 5,000 or 10,000 units before they’ll switch the machines on. For a product nobody has bought yet, that’s a storage problem with a logo.
The second trap is trust. One beauty founder put it bluntly: in her industry, “you have to really trust them to not sell your formulas.” And the third is the one nobody plans for. Her manufacturer went bankrupt and kept her deposit. She went from “celebrating orders” to “dry heaving” every time a new one came in, because suddenly nobody was making the product.
What actually works
Start with who you know
That founder had worked in beauty for years, so she already knew exactly which chemist she wanted, someone with four decades of formulation behind products on salon shelves. If you don’t have the network, borrow one. Ask founders a few steps ahead of you who makes their stuff. Most will tell you if you buy the coffee.
Ask the federal network
The US government runs the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, with more than 450 service locations across the country and Puerto Rico. Its Supplier Scouting service identifies US manufacturers with specific production capabilities and connects them to buyers. The page is clear on how to start: “Companies with supply chain needs should contact an MEP Center.” Less glamorous than a trade show. Much less walking.
Test before you scale
Before launch, she sent every version of the formula to around 400 people for feedback. She only launched when someone with the finest, straightest hair and someone with type 4 coily hair both said it worked. That’s your product spec and your first customer list in one move.
Negotiate the minimum down
This is the bit she’d tell every founder. “Anyone who’s starting a business, the best thing you can do is negotiate down in the beginning.” Her first run was a couple of hundred units of each scent. How she got it: “you have to be like a little chockfull of audacity.” She asked her manufacturer to soften the financial blow at the start and promised the orders would grow. They did. She was later placing $100,000 purchase orders.
Check the paperwork that protects you
Know who owns your formula and what happens to it if the relationship ends. If you’re making cosmetics, ask whether the facility is registered with the FDA. Under the 2022 cosmetics law, manufacturers and processors must register their facilities and renew every two years, though some small businesses are exempt. The FDA is also clear that a registration number “does not indicate FDA approval.” It’s a box to tick. Quality is still your job.
Hear it from someone who’s done it
Kate Assaraf, founder of the plastic-free haircare brand Dip, talks through negotiating tiny first runs and what happened when her manufacturer went under. (Short version: she “did the crazy thing” and started her own factory.) Jump to 17:24 on YouTube, or listen to the full episode.
Questions people ask
What is a minimum order quantity (MOQ)?
It’s the smallest order a manufacturer will accept for a production run. It’s often negotiable, especially if you can show demand and a plan for bigger orders later. Always ask.
Should I use a contract manufacturer or make it myself?
A contract manufacturer lets you launch without buying equipment or hiring a production team. Making it yourself gives you control, at a much higher cost and risk. Starting with a contract manufacturer and revisiting later is the lower-risk route.
How do I protect my formula or design?
Put ownership in writing before production starts, and ask a lawyer to review the agreement. Trust matters, but a contract is what you’ll be glad of if things go wrong.
What if my manufacturer goes out of business?
Keep enough inventory to buy yourself time, and know your options in advance. The founder in this piece used her remaining stock as a countdown while she worked out the next move.
Next step
Listen to the full episode. It’s the most useful hour you’ll spend before signing a purchase order.