Executive Summary — Manufacturing01 / 04

The Road to Production

812 Hydration is launch-ready: formulas finalized, manufacturer locked, production run next.

15+

Manufacturers vetted

Months of diligence

~$50K

Cost avoided

Vs. third-party plant quotes

5

SKUs in initial run

Sticks + 5x7 & 7x9 pouches

4

Formulas locked

Base + Fruit Punch, Lemon Lime, Watermelon

Open compliance items

  • Global GS1 rights: fast-tracking the barcode; global rights still needed for the scan bar.
  • FDA compliance: final sign-off happens as soon as artwork is done and claims are locked — FDA reviews against the final label.

Partner Ops — Utah

Vetted 15+ manufacturers over months of diligence and landed a vertically integrated partner in Utah.

Factory ownership = margin control

Because our manufacturer owns its own factory, production cost came in dramatically below competing quotes — other suppliers wanted roughly $50K more using third-party plants.

Compliance path set

FDA compliance runs through the co-manufacturer and conversations are complete; final sign-off follows artwork and claims. GS1 barcode approval is fast-tracked, with global rights being secured.

Dielines in hand

Stick pack film plus 5x7 and 7x9 pouch dielines complete. Creative assets are in the final stretch — we are compressing the timeline to schedule the Utah run, with manufacturer payment queued as the trigger.

Road to production

Stage 3 of 7

01

Manufacturer Search

15+ vetted

02

Formulas Finalized

Base + 3 flavors

03

Creative Assets & Artwork

In progress

04

Claims Locked + FDA Finalized

Triggered by artwork

05

Global GS1 Barcode Rights

Fast-tracking global rights

06

Utah Production Run

Scheduled

07

Payment & Ship

Trigger queued

Compliance timeline

Artwork gates everything

01

Artwork complete

Gating item

02

Claims finalized

Against final label

03

FDA compliance sign-off

Co-man review

04

Global GS1 rights secured

Scan bar ready

05

Print & production

Utah run

Launch timeline — retail calendar

Q4 = Buyer Decision Window

Now — Q3 2026

Artwork · Claims · FDA sign-off · GS1 global rights

Q4 2026

Utah production run · Shopify DTC launch · Broker agreements · POS displays produced

Critical window — buyers lock their sets; we must be in-market with product & data

Q1 2027

Retail sell-in · 7-Eleven Franchisee Show push · Florida race-season activation

812 Hydration — Confidential | Prepared by Ernie Manansala