How importers evaluate a Vietnamese snack supplier

Importers tend to evaluate a snack supplier on five things: the manufacturing facility and its certificates, samples, the product document set, consistency from batch to batch, and communication. The order is much the same with every serious buyer. Color of Vietnam is preparing for each of the five now, before our first export market exists.

One: the facility and its certificates

An importer's first question is rarely about taste. It is: where is this made, which certificates does that site hold, who issued them, what do they cover and are they still valid. For many buyers the answer decides whether they keep reading.

The certificates that come up most often:

• Food safety management: ISO 22000, HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control points), or the schemes large retailers ask for, such as BRCGS and FSSC 22000.
• Religious certification: Halal for markets with large Muslim populations, Kosher for some other channels.
• Registration with the importing country's regulator, for example food facility registration with the US FDA.

We answer this question precisely. Our products are made at partner facilities in Hanoi. The facility holds ISO 22000:2018 (renewal in progress), Halal certification issued by HCA under a JAKIM recognised programme, and US FDA facility registration. We say plainly that these credentials belong to the manufacturing facility, and we state scope and validity. If a buyer needs a scheme the facility does not hold, we say so immediately rather than promising it will come.

Two: samples

After the paperwork come the samples. Importers want them in the retail pack, from a real production lot, with production date and shelf life, not a special batch made for the pitch. They taste, they hand them to their sales team, and sometimes they send them to an independent laboratory. A careful buyer asks for a second set from a different lot to see whether the two match.

Our sample sets therefore always come from a genuine production lot, carry the lot code, and travel with the spec sheet and the COA (certificate of analysis) for that exact lot.

Three: the product document set

This is the part that takes the longest when it has not been prepared and almost no time when it has. A complete set for one product contains:

• The product spec sheet: ingredients in descending order, allergens, net weight, sensory description.
• Nutrition information per 100 g and per serving.
• A finished product COA and microbiological results.
• Shelf life, how it was established, and storage conditions.
• A food contact declaration confirming the packaging is suitable for food.
• The HS code (the customs classification code), carton format, cartons per pallet, dimensions and weights.
• Product and pack photographs, and pricing under the agreed delivery terms.

We keep this set for all twenty products and update it whenever a recipe or pack changes. When an importer asks about the Natural & Healthy nut bars, the job is to check the latest version and send it, not to start writing.

Four and five: consistency and communication

The last two are not in any document, yet they decide whether there is a second order. Consistency means next month's batch tastes like last month's. Importers test it through retained samples, through batch quality records and through their own customers. Together with the partner facility we keep a retained sample from every batch and the in process check records, so that when a question comes there is something to compare against rather than a guess.

Communication is what a buyer feels from the first email: how quickly we reply, whether there is one clear contact, whether the answer matches the question, and whether we are willing to say what is not ready. A situation we have faced: a buyer asked which markets we already sell in. The honest answer is that we are preparing for export and have not announced a market. We said exactly that, and attached what was ready: the facility credentials, samples and the document set. Honesty at this step saves both sides time later.

A checklist to run on yourself

If you are preparing to approach importers with your own product, ask five questions: which certificates does the facility hold and are they valid; are the samples from a real lot; does the document set cover the seven items above; do the last two batches match; and did your last email answer the question the buyer actually asked.

If you are an importer or distributor and would like to see the file and samples for a specific brand, send us a message through the Contact page. If you would like to be the person who prepares and answers files like these, the open roles are on the Careers page.