The Complete Guide

What Overgang
provides —
and what you bring.

Starting a product business is overwhelming. You get bombarded with things you need. Here's exactly how the process works, what's on you, what's on us, and the honest math on why doing it right the first time saves you everything.

What we do.
What we don't.

We are a co-packing and fulfillment operation — not a turnkey supplier. Here's the clear line between what Overgang handles and what stays with you.

Overgang provides

What we handle

  • Weight and tumble blending — we blend your formula per your spec sheet. You provide total pounds and percentage formulations. No need to arrive pre-blended.
  • Horizontal form fill seal production — filling, sealing, cutting to spec
  • Fill weight verification and quality checks throughout your run
  • Lot numbers and batch records — you specify the format and expiration date
  • Bulk packout in master cases — included in all runs
  • Assembly — pouches into retail boxes or bags, priced as add-on ($0.75–$1.75/unit)
  • Ecommerce fulfillment — pick, pack, ship at actual carrier cost, no markup
  • Supplier connections — film, corrugated, ingredients, testing labs — we know who's good
  • Shipping excess raw materials back to you — we don't hold your product hostage
  • Honest advice — on sizing, packaging format, packout strategy, and when to scale
You provide

What stays with you

  • Your formula — your secret sauce, always. We don't touch it, share it, or advise on it.
  • Roll stock film — you source it. We can connect you with suppliers we trust.
  • Raw ingredients — ship us your bulk ingredients and we blend them here. Or arrive pre-blended if you prefer. Either way, the formula and supplier relationship is yours.
  • Corrugated / retail packaging — boxes, gusset bags, caddies. We'll connect you with Twin Cities vendors.
  • Label design and FDA label compliance — fully your responsibility. We do not advise on this.
  • Moisture and contaminate testing — on you. We can connect you with testing labs at no markup.
  • Certificates of Analysis (COAs) — must be on-site at Overgang before we run anything. No exceptions.
  • Spec sheet and blending instructions — total pounds, percentage formulations, all provided by you before your run date.
  • Allergen declaration — required before production. Non-negotiable.
  • Signed MSA — Master Service Agreement required before any production run.

Every step.
No surprises.

Here is exactly what happens from the moment you have a product idea to the moment your finished pouches ship. Who does what, when, and what to watch out for.

01You

Dial in your product — that's your secret sauce.

Get your formula right before you talk to anyone. Perfect it in your kitchen, your lab, with your formulator — wherever. Your formula is yours and it stays yours. We don't advise on formulation, we don't modify it, and we don't share it. Once you have it dialed in, get in touch.

Don't call a co-packer until your formula is locked. Changing your formula after you've ordered film and ingredients is an expensive lesson.
02Both

Size out your sachet or pouch — don't skip this step.

Bring us your fill weight, your powder density, and your target pouch dimensions. We will help you confirm the correct sizing. In some cases a small test run is required to confirm — this is always preferred over discovering bad seals after a full run because your product was sized into a sachet that's too small.

A bad seal caused by under-sizing is not a machine problem. It is a spec problem. Getting this right before you order film saves you thousands.

Highly hygroscopic powders — ingredients that aggressively absorb moisture — can cause clumping and filling issues. Tell us upfront if your product has hygroscopic components. We'll discuss it before you ship anything.
03You

Order your film — and get the die lines right.

Once sizing is confirmed, you order your roll stock film from your film supplier. You will need die lines from the film company — these are the templates your designer uses to create artwork that fits the actual pouch dimensions. We can recommend film suppliers we know and trust.

Once artwork is approved by your film supplier, you're looking at 10–12 business days until your film is printed and shipped. Build this into your timeline. It is the most common scheduling bottleneck we see.

Order film at 110% of your expected output. You will have yield loss. Film ordered short means a delayed run. Over-ordering by 10% is the cheapest insurance you can buy.
04You

Order caddies and retail packaging — or don't yet.

If you need retail-ready packaging — gusset bags, 10/20/30-count boxes — you'll need die lines for those too. Same process: die lines to designer, artwork to supplier, lead time to ship.

For first runs: consider stickered clear bags instead of printed gusset pouches. A clear poly bag with a label is dramatically cheaper to change than a run of 15,000 printed gusset bags when your concept isn't proven yet. When in doubt, go without. Don't spend money on things you don't need to — not yet.

We can connect you with Twin Cities corrugated vendors for master case boxes. We'll help you determine the right box sizing — we recommend 30lb master cases or less. Easier to move, and most warehouses and fulfillment centers will handle them without issue. Getting the right ECT (edge crush test) rating matters more than people think.
05You

Order your ingredients — and own that relationship.

Overgang can point you in the right direction for ingredient sourcing, but our strong belief is that you should own the relationship with your food supplier directly. If this thing scales to a million units a month, you want that supplier relationship to be yours — not routed through a co-packer who might not always be in the picture.

Order at the right time. Ingredients have lead times too. Your film supplier, your ingredient supplier, and your production date all need to align.

COAs — Certificates of Analysis — must be on-site at Overgang before we run anything. No COA, no run. Order your COAs when you order your ingredients and make sure they ship with the product or ahead of it.
06You

Order at 110% — yield loss is real.

On a small production run, plan for approximately 10% yield loss. On larger scale runs that number drops to around 5%. This is the nature of powder filling — some product ends up in the machine, in the fill system, in the transition. It is not a defect. It is physics.

Order your ingredients and film at 110% of your expected finished output. If your loss is lower than expected — great, you have excess. If you order exact and hit 10% loss, you are short on finished goods with no way to make it up without a second run.

Example: if you need 5,000 finished pouches at 30g each, that's 150kg of finished product. Order ingredients for 165kg minimum to cover yield loss and blending variance.
07You

Sign the MSA and submit your spec sheet.

Before any production run, Overgang requires a signed Master Service Agreement. We also require your spec sheet — total pounds to be blended, percentage formulations for each ingredient, and your allergen declaration.

Lot number format and expiration date convention need to be specified by you — we apply them, but we follow your format and your dates.

No MSA, no COAs, no allergen declaration = no run. These are non-negotiable. Get these submitted ahead of your production date — not the morning of.
08Overgang

We weight and tumble blend everything to your spec.

Your ingredients arrive. COAs are verified on-site. We weight and tumble blend to your exact formulation — every ingredient measured against your spec sheet, verified to your percentage formulations. Tumble blending ensures a homogenous mix before anything goes into the machine. You do not need to pre-blend — that is on us.

We follow NIST standards for weights and measures. Your product is blended accurately, documented, and ready for production.

09Overgang

Production run — machine does its thing.

Your blended powder goes into the horizontal form fill seal machine. Your roll stock film feeds through. The machine forms the pouch, doses the powder, seals, and cuts. We verify fill weights at the start of the run and throughout. Quality checks happen continuously.

A few minutes after startup, your product is rolling off the line. Light fills at up to 25,000 pouches per day. Medium fills at 15,000. Heavy fills around 10,000. We'll have given you a realistic estimate before your run date.

Current lead time to schedule a production run: approximately 14 days from confirmed specs and materials on-site.
10Overgang

Packout — bulk or assembled, your call.

Bulk packout (standard, included): Finished pouches are counted, packed into master cases, and palletized. Shipped via pallet for larger runs, or via UPS directly to you on smaller runs. This is what we recommend for most brands — especially anyone still proving their concept.

Assembly (add-on, $0.75–$1.75/unit): Pouches placed into retail boxes, gusset bags, or subscription kits per your spec, then palletized and shipped to your fulfillment partner. Available for brands with proven, consistent SKUs going into defined channels.

Excess raw materials — anything left over after your run — are shipped back to you. We don't hold your product or your ingredients.
11You

Testing — if you want it, do it.

We do not do moisture testing or contaminate testing — that is on you and your team. We do not mark up testing fees. We can connect you with labs that can test anything you need — third-party, independent, accredited. You deal with them directly at their actual cost.

If you're selling into retail or to Amazon, testing documentation will likely be required. Do it before you're asked for it.
12Overgang

You sell. You save money. You scale smart.

Your finished, filled, sealed pouches are in your hands. You proved your concept on a run you could afford. You didn't tie up six figures in inventory before you knew if the product would move. You have data — sell-through rate, customer feedback, channel performance — that tells you exactly what your next run should look like.

That's the model. Scale it. Prove it. Move it. In that order.

The true cost of
ordering too much.

Nobody in the co-packing industry shows you this math. We're going to — because we've lived it and it almost broke one of our founders.

The pitch from a large co-packer sounds great: run 50,000 units, get a lower tolling cost per unit, save money. And the per-unit math is real. At 50,000 units, your tolling cost might be $0.45/unit. At Overgang for 5,000 units, it's around $0.70/unit. You save $0.25 per sachet.

What they don't show you is everything else. The ingredients for 50,000 units. The film. The corrugated. The freight. The warehouse storage while product sits. The interest on the capital you borrowed to fund it all. The carrying cost of inventory that's not moving.

That $0.25/unit saving costs you $48,700 in additional cash before you've sold a single unit.

And that's the optimistic scenario — where everything goes right. What happens if your formula needs a tweak after you've run 50,000 units? What if the channel doesn't convert the way you expected? What if a competitor launches the same week? What if you want a different flavor, a different size, a different format?

At 5,000 units, a pivot costs you one production day. At 50,000 units, a pivot costs you everything in that table below — plus the psychological weight of sitting on inventory you can't sell while your business bleeds cash.

The real question.

Would you rather spend $48,700 on inventory you might not sell — or spend it on paid ads, influencer partnerships, retail slotting fees, and marketing that actually proves whether you have a business?

The brands that survive their first two years are the ones that optimize for total cost of learning, not per-unit cost of production.

Small runs are expensive per unit. They are extremely cheap ways to find out if your product and channel work before you bet real money on them.

True cost comparison — 5,000 vs 50,000 units at $0.60 ingredient cost

Cost Item5,000 units (Overgang)50,000 units (Mega packer)
Ingredients$3,000$30,000
Tolling / co-packing$3,500 (day rate)$22,500
Roll stock film$300$3,000
Corrugated / master cases$150$1,500
Inbound freight (to co-packer)$200$800
Outbound freight (to warehouse)$250$1,200
Warehouse storage (6 months)$180$2,400
Fulfillment setup / monthly admin fees$0$600+
Interest on capital (10% APR, 6 months)$185$2,975
Carrying cost of unsold inventoryMinimal — small runPotentially catastrophic
TOTAL CASH OUT~$7,765~$65,000+

* Assumes $0.60/unit ingredient cost, standard market freight and storage rates, and 10% APR on borrowed capital. Fulfillment admin fees vary widely — many large 3PLs charge $200–500/month in platform fees regardless of order volume, plus pallet fees, receiving fees, and account minimums. If your product isn't moving, those fees compound fast.

What $48,700 buys you instead:

Paid social campaigns that prove channel fit. Influencer partnerships. Retail broker fees. Trade show presence. A sales rep. Market research. Six months of operating runway. Or simply: the knowledge that your product works before you bet everything on it.

What we need
before we run.

These are not suggestions. Every item below must be in place before Overgang schedules or runs any production.

01

Signed MSA

A Master Service Agreement must be signed before any production is scheduled. This protects both parties. No MSA, no run date.

02

COAs on-site

Certificates of Analysis for all ingredients must be physically on-site at Overgang before we run. Ship them with your ingredients or ahead of them. No COA, no run.

03

Allergen declaration

A complete allergen declaration for your product is required before production. Non-negotiable. Submit this with your spec sheet.

04

Spec sheet and blending instructions

Total pounds to be blended, percentage formulations for each ingredient, and your lot/expiration date format. Must be submitted before your run date.

05

Materials on-site before run day

All bulk powder and roll stock must arrive at 2114 Washington St NE, Minneapolis MN before your scheduled production date. Late materials = 50% day-rate charge for our team's downtime.

06

14-day lead time

Current scheduling lead time is approximately 14 days from confirmed specs and materials on-site. Plan accordingly — especially around your film's 10–12 business day print lead time.

Ready to run
your first batch?

You've read the process. You know what you need. When you're ready — or if you have questions — we're here. Same-day response, no pitch calls.

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