15 Things to Consider When Exploring Outsourced Milling and Blending
1. Milling and blending are different processes.
Milling and blending are often discussed together, but they solve two different problems.
Milling reduces a botanical or other raw material to a specific particle size. Depending on the application, that could mean anything from a coarse tea-bag cut to a very fine powder.
Blending combines multiple ingredients in specific proportions to create a consistent finished blend.
Monterey Bay Herb Co. can mill to a customer's specifications, blend ingredients, or handle both processes as part of a larger project.
Understanding which process (or combination of processes) you actually need is an important first step when evaluating a supplier.
2. You don't need to have the formula completely figured out.
Not every customer arrives with a finished formula and detailed processing specifications.
Sometimes, a company knows what it wants to create but isn't sure exactly how to get there. A customer may know which botanicals they want to combine but need help determining the right raw materials, particle sizes, or ratios.
Monterey Bay Herb Co. can provide samples, discuss available materials, and help develop or refine a formula. The team can also help customers evaluate different forms of an ingredient based on the intended application.
This capability can be especially valuable for smaller businesses or companies entering the botanical space for the first time.
3. Particle size matters.
The right particle size depends on what you're making and how the finished product will be used.
A botanical intended for tea may need a very different cut than one being used in a capsule, powder, beverage mix, or another application. Monterey Bay Herb Co.’s mills process botanicals into a range of particle sizes, from larger tea cuts to fine powders.
And you don't necessarily have to know the exact specification before reaching out. A good milling partner should be able to help you determine what particle size makes sense for your application.
4. The right equipment can make a big difference.
Specialized milling and blending equipment can give manufacturers capabilities that may be difficult to replicate in-house.
For milling, equipment can use rotating blades and screens to reduce materials to specific particle sizes. For blending, Monterey Bay Herb Co. uses tumble and ribbon blenders that mix ingredients through controlled movement inside the equipment.
Different ingredients also behave differently during processing. Some are sticky because of their natural resins. Others may be particularly dusty, aromatic, dense, or difficult to process efficiently. A specialized processor has both the equipment and experience to determine how a particular material should be handled.
5. Outsourcing can save time, equipment costs, and headaches.
One obvious benefit of outsourcing is avoiding the cost of purchasing, maintaining, cleaning, and operating specialized equipment.
But the savings can extend beyond the equipment itself.
Developing an in-house milling and blending operation requires space, labor, cleaning procedures, quality systems, equipment maintenance, and the expertise to process a wide range of materials. It can also take time to determine how to efficiently process ingredients that behave differently from one another.
Working with an established processor gives brands access to those capabilities without having to build them from scratch.
For companies without these capabilities in-house, working with an established processor can also reduce the operational steps required to move a product from development into production.
6. A broad ingredient network can simplify sourcing.
Sometimes the hardest part of developing a botanical product isn't the milling or blending, but finding the right ingredients in the first place.
Monterey Bay Herb Co. maintains a broad portfolio of herbs and botanicals, and the addition of NP Nutra significantly expands the range of powders, extracts, superfruits, and specialty nutraceutical ingredients available through the combined organization.
That breadth gives customers more options when they're developing or modifying a formula.
Instead of sourcing individual ingredients from multiple suppliers and then finding another company to process them, a supplier with a broad ingredient portfolio may be able to bring more of those pieces together.
7. Scaling a formula is different from developing one.
A formula can look perfect on paper, or work beautifully in a small test batch, and still require adjustments when it's produced at commercial scale.
Ingredient particle size, density, flow characteristics, and other physical properties can affect how a blend behaves in larger quantities.
That's one reason experience with commercial production matters.
Monterey Bay Herb Co.'s team brings extensive research and development experience to the product-development process, including Eric Dripps' background and experience in the dietary supplement industry.
That combination of formulation and process expertise can help customers evaluate formulas, identify potential issues, create samples, and make adjustments before moving into larger-scale production.
The goal isn't simply to make a formula theoretically correct. It's to make it workable and repeatable.
8. Consistency requires more than simply mixing ingredients.
Blending isn't simply putting ingredients into a machine and turning it on.
Producing a consistent blend depends on the characteristics and specifications of the individual ingredients, the formulation, the processing parameters, and verification of the finished blend.
Depending on the product and specifications, testing can be used to confirm that a blend is homogeneous and that relevant ingredients or markers are present at expected levels.
Defined specifications, controlled processing, and appropriate verification can all help support consistency from batch to batch.
9. Quality control starts with the raw materials.
One of the most important questions to ask a potential supplier is what happens when raw materials arrive.
At Monterey Bay Herb Co., raw materials are evaluated against established specifications that can vary depending on the intended market and application. Testing can include identity, purity, potency, and microbiological requirements.
That incoming quality process is critical because you can't produce a consistently high-quality finished blend from inconsistent raw materials.
10. Sanitation and process controls matter, too.
Quality control doesn't stop once the raw ingredients have been approved.
Before equipment is used for a new product, it must be properly cleaned and sanitized. Monterey Bay Herb Co. uses ATP swab testing to verify that equipment surfaces are free of unacceptable levels of organic material before production begins.
The test provides a measurable way to verify that equipment has been adequately cleaned rather than relying solely on visual inspection.
Monterey Bay Herb Co. is SQF certified, providing an additional framework for food safety, quality management, and ongoing process oversight.
For a customer outsourcing production, these behind-the-scenes processes are important questions to ask:
- How is equipment cleaned?
- How is cleaning verified?
- What happens between products?
- How are batches documented?
- How are deviations handled if something doesn't meet specification?
The answers can tell you a lot about how seriously a supplier approaches quality.
11. Some botanicals are genuinely difficult to process.
Not every herb behaves the same way in a milling process.
Some botanicals can be challenging to mill because their natural composition causes them to behave differently during processing. Certain materials may be fibrous, resinous, oily, dusty, or prone to sticking to equipment. And then there are ingredients like valerian, which have a notoriously strong odor.
These aren't necessarily reasons not to use a particular ingredient. They're reasons to work with a processor that has experience handling difficult materials and understands how to adapt its processes and safety procedures accordingly.
12. Experience can be just as valuable as equipment.
Specialized equipment matters, but experienced operators know how to use it and how to recognize when something isn't behaving the way it should.
Monterey Bay Herb Co. has production employees with long tenures in the business. Plant Manager Lety, for example, has worked her way through virtually every role in the plant and oversees day-to-day production.
The company's botanical expertise extends beyond the production floor, too. Team members with decades of experience can recognize many botanicals visually and draw on years of practical knowledge about how different materials behave.
That kind of institutional knowledge can be difficult to replicate with equipment alone.
13. Your milling and blending partner may be able to help beyond processing.
Increasingly, Monterey Bay Herb Co. sees its role as extending beyond supplying ingredients or processing materials.
The team has established relationships throughout the contract manufacturing industry and understands the equipment and capabilities available from different manufacturing partners.
For example, if a customer has developed a botanical blend but ultimately wants to turn it into a gummy, drink mix, or another finished product that Monterey Bay Herb Co. doesn't manufacture, the team may be able to connect that customer with an appropriate contract manufacturer.
That kind of industry knowledge can be particularly valuable for smaller or growing companies that may not have an established manufacturing network.
Instead of entering a new manufacturing relationship completely blind, a brand may be able to draw on its ingredient and processing partner's knowledge when evaluating capabilities, costs, and potential next steps.
14. Know your target cost and production requirements.
Price is an important consideration when outsourcing.
But it helps to understand your target cost before asking a supplier to develop or manufacture something for you.
Ingredient costs can vary dramatically. Some botanicals are relatively inexpensive, while others—such as saffron—can be significantly more costly.
Sharing your target price point early can also give your supplier an opportunity to help engineer the product around that target. There may be different ingredients, sourcing options, specifications, or formulation approaches worth evaluating against performance requirements and target cost.
For a supplier with formulation and process-development expertise, cost doesn't necessarily have to be evaluated only after a formula is finished. It can be part of the development conversation from the beginning.
It's also important to communicate your expected production volume and growth plans. A supplier may be able to support your current needs, but you'll want to know whether they can scale with you as demand grows.
The more information you can provide upfront, the more useful your supplier can be in helping you find a solution.
