We get a lot of inquiries that start with "I have a drink and I want to make it." That is a fine place to start, but it is not a place we can quote from. The gap between that sentence and a number on a page is usually four pieces of information, and brands routinely spend weeks discovering that one email at a time.
So here is the list. Bring these and we can usually give you a real answer in one conversation.
1. The formula, or an honest statement that you do not have one
There is a difference between:
- A finished formula with an ingredient statement, target Brix, target acid, and a flavor house already supplying you
- A recipe that works in a kitchen
- An idea
All three are workable. They are wildly different projects. A finished formula might go to a pilot run in weeks. A kitchen recipe needs development work — scaling a flavor from drops to gallons is not linear, and things that taste right at small volume routinely fall apart at batch scale. An idea needs a development partner before it needs a bottler.
Tell us honestly which one you have. Nobody is judging. We start plenty of projects at "idea." What causes problems is a brand that describes an idea as a finished formula and then discovers the difference during a production run they already paid for.
2. Format and package
Specifically:
- Container type and size — 12 oz glass, 16 oz glass, 12 oz can, 16.9 oz PET, and so on
- Closure — crown, ROPP, standard PET finish
- Case configuration — 12-pack, 24-pack, what the retailer expects
- Whether you have a label design, and in what state
Format drives almost everything downstream: which line runs it, what the minimum is, what the changeover costs, what your freight looks like. A brand that is flexible on format has far more options and usually a better price. A brand that has already committed to an unusual bottle has narrowed the field before they started.
If you do not know yet, say so. We would rather help you choose than inherit a decision made for aesthetic reasons.
3. Volume — real volume
The single most useful number you can give us is your realistic annual volume, in cases, and how you want it split across runs.
Realistic is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Everyone's first projection is optimistic. It is fine to be ambitious about year two; be conservative about the first run, because that is the one we are actually quoting.
Also tell us:
- Whether it is one SKU or several — a four-flavor launch is four changeovers, not one run
- Whether you want it all at once or staged
- Whether you have somewhere to store it
That last one catches people. A minimum run frequently produces more inventory than a new brand has warehouse space for. Knowing that early changes the plan.
4. Where it is going
Distribution shapes production more than most founders expect.
If you are selling direct-to-consumer online, shelf life requirements are shorter, packaging needs to survive parcel shipping, and case configuration is different. If you are going into grocery, you need retailer-compliant cases, barcodes that scan, and a shelf life that satisfies the buyer. If it is going into schools or vending, there are nutritional and format constraints that will rule some formulations out entirely.
And if you want us to distribute it — which is often the reason brands call IDI specifically — that is a separate conversation from production, but the two need to be planned together.
What you do not need yet
To be clear about what is not required at the inquiry stage:
- A finished label design
- A company, an LLC, or a trademark registration
- Nutritional panel analysis
- A retailer commitment
All of that arrives later, and we can help sequence it. Do not delay the first conversation waiting to have everything.
Why we are strict about this
Because the alternative is worse for you. A vague inquiry produces a vague quote, a vague quote produces a project that discovers its real cost halfway through, and by then you have committed money to packaging that may not be right.
Ten minutes of specificity up front routinely saves a first-time beverage brand five figures. That is not a sales line — it is the most common preventable loss we see.
The fastest path
Send one paragraph with: what the drink is, what format you want, roughly how many cases, and where you plan to sell it. Add "the formula is finished" or "the formula needs work." That is enough for us to tell you whether we are the right plant, and if we are not, to point you at one that is.