10 Things Importers Always Ask Before Placing Their First Order

Every week, the same questions hit our inbox — from Germany, the Gulf, Australia, and beyond. Can you do 0% Brix without aspartame? How many cans in a 40HQ? What's the print cost for our own design?

So we stopped repeating ourselves and wrote it all down.

Here are the 10 questions importers ask us most about sparkling drink OEM — answered directly, with a note on what we need from you where the answer depends on your order.

1. Order size and flexibility

l What is your minimum order quantity for sparkling drinks?

We ship by the container: 1 × 20ft holds up to 2,145 cases. You can split the volume across up to 5 flavours of your choice — all based on our proprietary recipes, so just pick the ones that fit your market.

Drop us a line with your flavour wishlist and target market. We'll put together your container configuration and get back to you within one working day.

l Can I mix several flavours in one container?

Yes — in fact, that's exactly what most clients do. The 2,145 cases in a 20ft container can be divided across up to 5 flavours, in whatever ratio works for you (subject to a minimum per flavour — ask us for details).

Each case contains 24 cans of a single flavour. We don't mix flavours within a case, because manual packing would drive up your unit cost. Most clients prefer it this way: every case arrives retail-ready, no sorting needed on your end.

2. Formulas, flavours and sugar

l Can you produce zero-sugar sparkling drinks?

Yes. Our sugar-free line is sweetened with sucralose and contains no aspartame, so it needs no phenylalanine warning on the label — a real advantage in markets where PKU labelling is checked closely at import.

l Which sweetener do you use in sugar-free products?

Sucralose — our standard (and only) option for zero-sugar recipes, balanced with citric acid for a clean finish. No aspartame means no phenylalanine warning on your label.

For lower-sugar, we use fructose-glucose syrup at 3.6g/100ml — a lighter take on a traditional soft drink that keeps the mouthfeel without the full sugar load.

Both are fixed recipes, so sweetener type and sweetness level aren't adjustable. But both are proven, import-compliant, and ready to go — tell us your target market and we'll match you to the right one.

l Can you develop a custom flavour?

Not exactly — but you probably won't need us to. We've spent 30 years focused exclusively on fruit-flavoured sparkling drinks, and our recipe library covers the full range: classic (orange, lemon,apple), tropical (mango,pineapple), berry, and more.

Send us your target market and the flavour profile you have in mind — if it's a fruit flavour, chances are we've already perfected it. If not, we'll tell you straight and help you find the closest match from what we do best.

3. Certifications

l Which certifications does ELISHA hold?

Our facility operates under ISO 22000 and HACCP food safety systems and holds HALAL certification. We also hold FDA facility registration for the United States. Certificates and audit documentation are supplied on request, and we will tell you plainly which certificates are in scope for your product rather than sending a generic pack.

4. Samples and private-label set-up

l Do you provide free samples?

Yes — samples are free; you just cover the courier freight upfront. We'll quote the exact cost before dispatch and ship once payment is received.

Best part: if you place your first order, the freight is deducted from your invoice. So you're only out of pocket if you walk away.

l Is there a plate-making fee for private label?

Yes — US$1,000 per flavour, one-time only. This covers the printing plates for your PVC shrink sleeve (the labelled film that wraps around our standard clear PET Can). PET Can shape stays fixed — only the sleeve artwork changes. Once paid, your plates are kept on file for all future reorders, so you'll never be charged again for the same design.

l Can I use my own design and branding?

Yes — full private label is standard for us. Your brand, your artwork, your barcode, printed on the PVC shrink sleeve that wraps our clear PET Can. Send us print-ready files or we can adapt your existing design to fit our sleeve dimensions.

One thing to note: your label content needs to comply with your destination market's requirements (ingredient language, nutrition format, etc.). If you're unsure, tell us where you're selling and we'll flag what needs to be on pack — but the design itself is all yours.

5.Shipping

l What are your shipping terms?

FOB is our standard — we deliver to the named port of loading, and you handle ocean freight and beyond. We'll work with your nominated freight forwarder or recommend one we trust if you don't have one yet.

Lead time (20 days) covers production to dispatch; sea freight is additional and quoted separately by your forwarder.

10 questions down, more to come. Next round we're tackling shelf life, pallet configs, and what happens when a shipment hits a snag — so if you've got a burning question, send it over and we'll fast-track it.

In the meantime — got a flavour list and a market in mind? Drop us a line. We'll confirm your configuration within one working day..