Your first botanical extract order: MOQ, samples, lead time, and documents

Start with the specification, not the price

Send the botanical name, plant part, marker range, method, physical requirements, contaminant limits, intended application, and destination market. If you have an existing specification from another supplier, send that instead — it is the fastest way to get a comparable quote.

A supplier who quotes before asking about application and destination is quoting a commodity, not your material. The application determines the grade, and the destination determines the documents.

Sample stage

Ask for 100–500 g with its own COA. Test identity, assay, solubility, taste, and color in your actual matrix if those matter. Keep half the sample for comparison with the production lot.

Typical sample dispatch is a few business days once the specification is agreed. Analytical work for a custom grade takes longer, and that time belongs in the plan.

MOQ and the real cost of a small run

Every catalog extract starts at 1 kg, packed in a foil pouch or fiber drum with a food-grade liner. Custom extraction runs are priced individually because the minimum is driven by the herb lot and the number of processing steps.

A small order is not simply a scaled-down large order. Setup, cleaning, and analytical release are largely fixed costs, which is why the per-kilogram price at 1 kg is higher than at 500 kg. Ask for the price break points early so you can plan the second order.

Lead time and shipping

Catalog grades typically ship in 1–7 days after order confirmation; custom specifications take longer. Add transit time, and add customs clearance time for the destination. If you are launching on a fixed date, work backwards from the shelf date, not from the order date.

Agree the Incoterm before the quote is final. FOB, CIF, and DDP allocate risk, freight, and customs responsibility differently, and a price that looks lower under one term may not be lower under another.

Documents to release the batch

At minimum: batch COA, technical data sheet, SDS, allergen statement, GMO statement, and an origin record. Add Halal, Kosher, organic, or additional third-party reports where the grade and market require them.

Check that the documents match the lot number on the drum before the material goes into production. A documentation mismatch discovered after the batch is blended is expensive to resolve.

• Batch COA against the agreed specification
• Technical data sheet and SDS
• Allergen, GMO, and origin statements
• Halal, Kosher, or organic certificates where applicable
• Packing list, commercial invoice, and transport documents

Plan the second order before the first arrives

Ask how long a production lot is retained, whether the next lot can be matched to the sample, and what the reorder lead time is. A supplier who can answer those questions is a supply partner; one who cannot is a one-off transaction.

Retain a sample from every lot. When the second order arrives, compare it against the first. Consistency between lots is the real test of a botanical extract supplier.