Source: NCDA&CS, 10/21/15


NCDA&CS food business specialist Annette Dunlap offers resources that agribusiness owners and food entrepreneurs can use to grow and manage their business. Annette is available for free one-on-one consultations and can assist business owners with financial and market planning through the agribusiness development section. She can be reached at annette.dunlap@ncagr.gov.

In this segment, Annette sits down with Jack Pyritz of Bobbees Bottling in Louisburg. Bobbees has helped hundreds of food entrepreneurs bottle their products for retail and wholesale outlets. From getting necessary food safety inspections completed to refining recipes for large-scale production, Bobbees and other co-packers in the state can offer valuable insights to take your part-time operation to the next level.

In the video above, Jack walks Annette through the eight steps of getting a product bottled. Some of these steps may vary by co-packer, but you can expect to do most of them no matter who you choose.

1. Signing a confidentiality agreement
2. Getting a Process Authority Letter from N.C. State University
3. Filing a Scheduled Process Letter with the Food and Drug Administration
4. Finding ingredients to match your recipe and price point
5. Getting a nutrition statement
6. Securing bottles, caps, labels and logo designs
7. Cooking a 75-gallon first batch and refining the recipe
8. Reviewing marketing strategies and setting up trade shows

A list of N.C. co-packers is available on the Agribusiness Development webpage of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.