ODM Tea · Service
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Private label and packing
Private label moves the same leaf from bulk into packs of 3 kg or less — which changes the HS subheading to 0902.10 or 0902.30, brings the destination's retail labelling law into scope, and changes the margin. Cartons, tins, pouches, tea bags and sachets are packed to your artwork by the packing party named in the quotation, and the artwork is checked against the destination's mandatory content list before the packing run rather than after.
| Destination | Languages | Regulatory reference |
|---|---|---|
| Morocco | Arabic; other languages may be added | ONSSA; Decree 2-12-389 on food labelling |
| Senegal, Mauritania | French (Arabic for Mauritania) | National food labelling |
| Russia and the EAEU | Russian | TR CU 022/2011 mandatory content; EAC mark; Declaration of Conformity |
| United States | English | FDA labelling; organic imports need an NOP Import Certificate |
| Japan | Japanese | Positive-list residue system; national labelling |
Service
What formats are packed?
Cartons, tins, stand-up pouches, pyramid and paper tea bags, and single-serve sachets — including vacuum 7 g and 8 g sachets for rolled oolong. Format decides shelf life statements, moisture barrier and pallet configuration, so it is fixed at specification stage. Which formats the named packing party runs for a given order is confirmed in the quotation.
Why treat packing as a separate programme?
Packing is a separate programme because a retail pack is a different product on paper. At 3 kg or less the tariff line changes, and a pack sold to consumers carries the destination's full prepackaged-food label, often with its own certifications. A 200 g carton programme into Morocco is priced and documented as its own product, not as the same tea in 30 kg sacks.
What do OEM, ODM, private label and white label mean for tea?
OEM, ODM, private label and white label describe who owns the product. OEM means the tea is made and packed to the buyer's own specification and brand; ODM means an existing product or blend is adapted and sold under the buyer's brand; white label means a standard product sold unchanged to several brands; private label means a product made for one brand, often with its own blend or specification. In practice the words overlap, so the contract should say who owns the blend and the artwork, whether the product is exclusive, and who answers for label compliance.
What does a private-label tea programme cost?
The cost is built from the tea, any blending, the packaging materials, printing set-up, packing labour, testing and certification, then freight and duty. Packaging often decides the entry cost: printed cartons, tins and film come with the printer's own minimum runs, so a small first order can cost more per pack in materials than in tea. A quotation itemises these lines; this site does not publish a price list.
Can a small brand start with a small OEM run?
Sometimes. The limit is usually the packaging, not the tea: stock pouches or tins with a printed label cost less to start than fully printed cartons, tins or film, whose printers set their own minimum quantities. The minimum for a given format is stated in the quotation rather than assumed from a bulk-tea minimum.
Frequently asked
Do you design the packaging?
We pack to buyer-supplied artwork and check it against the destination's mandatory content list. Where a buyer has no artwork, we develop it from the content list first and the design second, so compliance is never retrofitted.
Does packing change the HS code?
What is the difference between private label and white label tea?
White label usually means an existing product offered to several buyers under different brands. Private label can also include buyer-specific tea, pack format, artwork or specification. The terms are used inconsistently, so define the approved formula, ownership of artwork, change control and exclusivity in writing instead of relying on the label alone.
What packaging information must the buyer approve?
The buyer should approve the tea specification, net quantity, ingredient and allergen wording where applicable, language, origin statement, storage instructions, date and lot coding, importer details and required marks for the destination. Artwork approval should be version-controlled, and regulatory review should happen before printing rather than after finished packs exist.
Are tea tins supplied filled or empty?
This programme packs dry tea into retail formats, tins included, so the tin arrives filled and labelled. Empty tins for another packer to fill, and canned ready-to-drink tea, are different products; an enquiry for either should say so.
Can you private label tea and coffee together?
This service covers tea. A range that pairs tea with coffee needs a coffee supplier for that half; the tea side can be packed to the same artwork and label brief so the range looks like one line on the shelf.
What does private label tea for Canada need?
Consumer packs sold in Canada must show mandatory label information in both English and French, and the Canadian importer handles any licence the Canadian Food Inspection Agency requires. Put both points in the artwork brief before printing, together with the importer's name and address.
Can private-label tea be sold on online marketplaces?
Yes, if the pack meets both the marketplace's rules and the destination's label law. Marketplaces usually require a product barcode and a compliant consumer label, and some ask for safety or test documentation; plan the barcode, the case pack and any marketplace preparation rules before the artwork is printed.
Before you order
Other ODM Tea services
- Bulk tea supplyOrigin categories from Fujian and refined green tea grades for the African trade, in sacks or cartons.
- Blending to an approved sampleMatch a reference cup, then hold it across shipments by cupping each contracted lot against it.
- Sourcing and refining, disclosedGunpowder and Chunmee bought in Zhejiang and Anhui, refined to the written contract specification, and labelled as sourced.
- Testing against the destinationWhere testing is contracted: residue panels named by jurisdiction, a certificate of analysis, and report timing written into the contract.
Next step
Start with private label and packing.
Destination, grade or cup, and quantity. We answer with a specification, not a brochure.