In this article, you’ll learn:
- What to prioritise when you first approach a ready to drink manufacturer
- Why compliance matters once production begins
- How the working relationship with the right ready to drink manufacturer protects your brand
Ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee has moved from niche to mainstream. The global RTD coffee market reached roughly USD 28 billion in 2025, and forecasts put it near USD 53 billion by 2034. Cold coffee drives much of that momentum, and cold formats took the largest revenue share of the category in 2024. Younger drinkers keep reaching for convenient, portable products.
More founders now want a slice of this growth. A few of them own factories, so most depend on co-packers. The right ready to drink manufacturer can play a significant role in a product’s successful launch and early growth.
To learn what separates the right ready to drink manufacturer from a costly mistake, I spoke to Dale Erwin, founder of Jacu Cascara. Dale built an RTD product from an unconventional ingredient and learned these lessons the hard way.
What should you look for first in the right ready to drink manufacturer?
New brands should prioritise low minimum order quantities, flexible processing, and a partner willing to run trials. Those choices entail trade-offs in cost that founders should weigh from the start.
“When I first started looking for a manufacturer, basically my main criteria were low MOQs,” Dale explains. Large launches demand large capital, and most bootstrapped founders cannot match those volumes.
Dale also points to a workaround that many newcomers miss. Bigger manufacturers often run small trial batches. “What I wish someone had told me was that I could still have gone for a manufacturer with larger MOQs,” Dale says. A founder can then prove the concept with roughly a thousand units.
Capability matters as much as volume with the right ready to drink manufacturer. Cascara sits well outside the norm, so Dale cast a wide net across kombucha makers and even beer breweries. Processing choices can reshape a recipe, and pasteurisation often becomes the sticking point.
“You want to find a manufacturer that has a lot of tools at their disposal and is willing to experiment, especially if you have a new product,” Dale adds. A capable, ready to drink manufacturer treats that flexibility as a selling point. The guiding rule stays simple: “Always quality first.”
Hardtank shows what that looks like in practice. Its rapid system cuts extraction time from 24 hours to under 2 hours, and it pasteurises using a tunnel unit with four independent temperature zones.
Low MOQs also cut both ways in cost. Small runs make it harder to maintain consistency. “When you have low MOQs, it means that you have variability between batches,” Dale warns.
Ingredient minimums create a second challenge. One ingredient forced Dale to buy enough for a batch a hundred times larger than the planned run. That order cost far more and never matched the cost of goods sold.
The barrier can be steep. Some RTD manufacturers require minimum orders of 50,000 units or more, which shuts out smaller brands. Hardtank answers this brief directly. It sets MOQs from 3,000 units per SKU and pairs ready-to-market recipes with fully custom formulas.
Why does compliance matter when choosing the right ready to drink manufacturer?
Compliance protects your entire production run because your product is subject to your manufacturer’s regulatory standards. Compliance failures can lead to costly quality issues, production delays, or product recalls.
Food safety law puts real weight behind this point. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) now serves as the globally accepted system for assuring regulators and buyers that a producer has acted to reduce its hazards.
Strong partners go beyond the baseline. Hardtank, for example, holds a Grade A BRCGS food safety rating – a standard that rests on those same HACCP principles. Major retailers also demand BRCGS certification before they list a product, so the rating opens shelf space too.
Dale applies a blunt test to any candidate, to find the right ready to drink manufacturer. “If a manufacturer can’t email you their HACCP or health compliance protocols within an hour of you asking for them, that signals a red flag,” Dale says. A trustworthy, ready to drink manufacturer keeps these files ready, because the documents sit at the centre of its daily work.
How much does the working relationship matter with the right ready to drink manufacturer?
The working relationship with the right ready to drink manufacturer matters enormously, because labour time stays scarce among co-packers. A strong rapport secures your slot and protects your recipe.
An idle line earns nothing, so manufacturers fill their schedules tightly. A weak relationship leaves you fighting for space and struggling to meet demand. A good one helps you plan production around the calendar.
The relationship with the right ready to drink manufacturer also guards your vision. A manufacturer might push preservatives to extend shelf life, even when a clean label matters more to you.
“You need to have a good enough relationship with your manufacturer where you can legitimately push back,” Dale explains.
Know the trade-offs, hold a firm vision, and choose the right ready to drink manufacturer who meets you there. A dependable partner makes that easier over time, and Hardtank supports brands across cold coffee and RTD development, so production can scale as demand grows.
Choosing a ready to drink manufacturer: Key takeaways
- Low MOQs help bootstrapped brands launch, but they raise batch variability and ingredient costs.
- The right ready to drink manufacturer offers trial runs, flexible processing, and a genuine willingness to experiment.
- HACCP documentation and a solid working relationship protect quality, supply, and your brand once production begins.
Looking to launch your own RTD line? Explore Hardtank’s private-label and custom RTD solutions, or contact the team to get started.
Choosing a ready to drink manufacturer: FAQ
What should a new brand check first in a ready to drink manufacturer?
A new brand should check for low minimum order quantities, trial runs, and flexible processing. These let founders test the market before they commit to large, costly batches.
How can you tell if a manufacturer takes food safety seriously?
A serious manufacturer sends HACCP and health-compliance documents at hand, ready to show to a potential client.
Can a small brand test a product before a full production run?
Yes. Many larger manufacturers run small trial batches, so a founder can prove the concept with roughly a thousand units before committing to a big order.
Want to launch your own RTD product?
- Explore private label RTD: Learn how to launch your own canned coffee
- Discover your profits: With our ROI calculator.
- Speak to the team: Contact Hardtank here.
