Choosing a white label partner in cannabis can accelerate time-to-market and expand a catalog without new CapEx—but only if the manufacturer meets rigorous operational, regulatory, and brand standards. Here are the critical considerations brands should validate before they sign.
Licensing, jurisdiction, and scope. Confirm that the manufacturer holds the right active licenses in the state(s) where you’ll sell and that the license scope matches the form factor (e.g., extraction, infusion, packaging). In California, manufacturers must operate under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) frameworks—set by the Department of Cannabis Control—to ensure products are consistent, contaminant-free, and correctly labeled.
Quality systems and standards. Audit their Quality Management System (QMS): SOPs, batch records, deviation logs, CAPA, and recall procedures. Look for alignment with emerging consensus standards from ASTM’s D37 committee covering cannabis GMPs and quality management; these benchmarks create cross-jurisdiction consistency even where statutes differ.
Track-and-trace proficiency. Your brand lives or dies on inventory accuracy. Validate that the facility has clean, reconciled data flows into the state track-and-trace (e.g., Metrc), with controls for lot creation, transfers, and destruction, plus integration with their ERP/IMS so compliance doesn’t diverge from physical stock.
Packaging and labeling compliance. Mislabeling tanks launches. Require label proofs and sign-offs against state checklists before first production; in California, manufactured goods must be in final form—packaged and labeled for retail—before they can be transferred for compliance testing. Build time for panel review, universal symbols, cannabinoid declarations and warnings, and memorialize who owns change control.
Legal structures and who can white label. Rules differ on whether and how brands can contract with processors. In New York, the Type-3 Branding processor license enables white-label agreements among authorized licensees while policing “true parties of interest.” Ensure your deal fits the local model—brand licensing, contract manufacturing, or both.
Formulation/IP ownership. Clarify who owns recipes, test methods, and process parameters; define whether you’re getting a custom formulation, exclusive territory rights, or a catalog SKU. Insist on tech-transfer provisions so you can move production if service or costs deteriorate.
Specifications and COAs. Lock specs up front: potency ranges, terpene minima, residual solvent thresholds, pesticides/heavy metals, viscosity, and hardware compatibility for vapes. Require third-party COAs tied to the finished, packaged lot—not just bulk oil—and schedule periodic method validations and stability studies for shelf-life claims.
Capacity, scale, and service levels. Map their throughput and changeover times to your forecasts, and set service-level KPIs: lot acceptance rate, on-time in-full, CoA turn time, and CAPA closure. Clarify MOQs, lead times, and surge capacity for seasonal drops.
Hardware and component controls. For vapes, the wrong cartridge can cause leaks or burnt hits. Verify that the partner qualifies device suppliers, performs incoming inspection (dimensional, resistance), and runs fill-to-finish at validated temperatures and torque; require serialization for traceability back to component lots.
Supply chain transparency. Insist on source disclosure for inputs—biomass, distillate, terpenes, excipients, packaging—and obtain documentation of food-grade status and allergen controls where relevant. Ensure they track suppliers in the QMS and can rapidly remove a bad lot.
Commercial alignment. The best partners think like brand stewards. Seek collaborators who offer demand planning, route-to-market advice, and realistic cost models rather than the cheapest price on paper. Ask for references from brands you admire and schedule a line trial before a long-term commitment.
Finally, stress-test governance. Walk through a mock deviation (e.g., failed pesticide test) from discovery to corrective action and regulator communications. A partner’s ability to navigate recalls—with documentation already in place—may be a valuable capability you’re buying. State best-practice manuals are useful templates for building these checklists.