Guide

Private-label food manufacturing in Türkiye: what to put in your brief

Lotvela · Gaziantep · Checked 26 October 2026

A private-label brief for a food producer in Türkiye should settle who owns the recipe, the pack format and materials, the shelf life you need on arrival, who supplies the artwork, and which certificates and checks you will rely on. The label must meet the rules of the market where the food is sold, not those of Türkiye. Minimum order quantities are set by each producer, so ask rather than assume.

Private label and contract manufacturing

In private label, a producer makes a food sold under your brand, either a product it already makes or one developed with you. In contract manufacturing, it makes a product to your specification. The terms overlap. What matters is who owns the specification and who answers for each statement on the pack. If you have not yet chosen a producer type, start with our guide to sourcing food from Türkiye.

What to specify

Recipe and specification ownership

Say whether you want the producer's existing recipe or your own. A producer's recipe normally stays theirs unless the contract says otherwise. For your own, send a written specification: ingredients and percentages, tolerances, sensory targets, exclusions, and any nutrition or health claims, which are regulated in each market. Require your written approval for any change of recipe, ingredient supplier or factory.

Pack format and materials

Give the pack type, net quantity, material of each layer, and fixed dimensions if any. Add case count and pallet pattern if your warehouse needs them. Ask for declarations that the food contact materials meet your market's rules; in the EU, plastics need a written declaration of compliance under Regulation (EU) No 10/2011.

Shelf life

State the total shelf life and the minimum remaining on delivery, since transit and customs time count against it. Ask how the producer established it and under what storage conditions. Decide with your adviser whether the pack carries a "best before" or "use by" date.

Artwork

Decide who designs the artwork, who checks the legal text and who signs off the proof. Often the brand owner supplies the design and label content, and the producer confirms that ingredients, allergens, nutrition values and net quantity match what it makes. Approve a printer's proof in writing before packaging is printed.

Minimum order quantity

Each producer sets its own. It can depend on batch size and on the packaging printer's minimum run. Ask per product and per design, and whether a first order can be smaller.

Label rules by destination market

These notes name the main rules only and are not legal advice. Have a regulatory adviser in the destination market check each label before printing.

European Union

The core law is Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers. Article 9 lists the mandatory particulars, including the name of the food, ingredients, allergens, net quantity, date of minimum durability or "use by" date, storage conditions, the name and address of the responsible food business operator, country of origin where required, and a nutrition declaration. Allergens must be emphasised in the ingredients list, for example by font, style or background colour. Information must be in a language easily understood where the food is sold, and member states may require one or more official EU languages. The responsible operator is the business whose name the food is marketed under or, if it is not established in the EU, the importer.

United Kingdom

Great Britain applies an assimilated version of Regulation 1169/2011, under which mandatory information must be in English. The Food Standards Agency's guidance Packaging and labelling on GOV.UK states that food sold in Great Britain must carry a UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man address for the food business, or the importer's address. Northern Ireland follows EU food law.

United States

FDA rules are in 21 CFR Part 101, Food Labeling. Packaged food needs a statement of identity, net quantity in metric and US customary units, an ingredients list, the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer or distributor, and a Nutrition Facts panel under 21 CFR 101.9. If the named company did not make the food, the name is qualified, for example "Manufactured for" or "Distributed by" (21 CFR 101.5). The nine major food allergens, including sesame, must be declared.

Gulf states

The Gulf standard is GSO 9, Labeling of prepackaged food stuffs; the GSO store lists the 2022 edition with a 2025 amendment as current. Saudi Arabia's SFDA states that labels must be in Arabic and any other language must match the Arabic. National adoption can differ, so confirm the current rules with your importer.

For certificates and customs paperwork, see our guide to food export documents from Türkiye.

Certification buyers commonly ask for

BRCGS Food Safety, IFS Food, FSSC 22000. Food safety schemes recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI); FSSC 22000 is based on ISO 22000. Ask your customers which they accept.
Halal. Each importing country decides which certifiers it accepts. In Türkiye, halal bodies serving the domestic market must be accredited by the Halal Accreditation Agency (HAK); certification to a foreign state's rules for export is exempt.
Organic. EU imports need an electronic certificate of inspection in TRACES. Türkiye is not an equivalent country, so certification comes from a control body the Commission recognises. For the US, check the USDA Organic Integrity Database.

Checking a certificate

The site name and address must match the factory making your product.
The scope must cover your product category and process.
Note the expiry date.
Find the site in the scheme's register: the BRCGS Directory, the FSSC public register, or the IFS Database (login required).
If it is not listed, ask the certification body before relying on it.

Samples, first production and inspection

Pre-production samples. Made to your specification, in your packaging where possible. Approve in writing and keep a signed reference sample.
First production. Ask for batch records, a certificate of analysis for the agreed parameters and photos of finished packs. Check labels against the approved proof.
Pre-shipment inspection. A third-party inspector can check quantity, labels, weights, packs and product against the reference sample before loading, and draw samples for laboratory tests. Put the sampling plan, acceptance criteria and re-inspection costs in the contract.

Protecting your brand and artwork

This is general information, not legal advice.

Sign a non-disclosure agreement before sending recipes or artwork files.
State in the contract who owns the recipe, specification, artwork and printing plates.
Bar the producer from making your branded product for anyone else, and say what happens to surplus printed packaging.
Register your trade mark where you sell, and ask a lawyer about registering it in Türkiye.

Checklist for your brief

"Usually" varies per producer; confirm each line in writing.

Item	What to decide	Who usually provides it
Recipe and specification	Whose recipe; ownership; change approval	Producer for its recipe; buyer for its own
Ingredients and claims	Exclusions, allergens, claims	Buyer sets; producer confirms
Pack format	Pack type, net quantity, case, pallet	Buyer specifies; producer confirms the line can run it
Packaging materials	Materials, food contact declarations	Producer or its packaging supplier
Shelf life	Total, minimum on delivery, date type	Producer proposes with evidence; buyer approves
Artwork	Design, legal text, proof sign-off	Buyer designs; producer checks technical data
Label compliance	Market rules, language, responsible operator	Buyer or importer, with an adviser
Minimum order quantity	Per product and design	Producer
Certificates	Scheme, site, scope, expiry	Producer supplies; buyer checks
Samples	Approval, reference sample	Producer supplies; buyer approves
Inspection	Inspector, sampling, acceptance criteria	Buyer appoints a third party
Contract and NDA	Ownership, confidentiality, surplus packaging	Both parties, with lawyers

Sending a brief to Lotvela

Lotvela is a sourcing intermediary in Gaziantep. Send a brief and Lotvela approaches producers that may fit, checks product fit, a free production window, export record and documents, and sends a dated shortlist with each claim marked confirmed or not confirmed. It is free for buyers: the producer pays a commission, invoices and ships, and money never passes through Lotvela.