How should buyers evaluate MOQ and pilot-order proposals?

Ask what drives the minimum: ingredient purchase quantities, tooling, packaging print runs, line setup or testing. Separate the minimum manufacturing batch from the minimum quantity of custom packaging. A pilot may use stock packaging or digital labels, but the buyer should document which attributes differ from the intended commercial product. Evaluate unit cost together with expiry exposure, freight, launch forecast and the cost of future changes; the lowest nominal MOQ is not always the lowest-risk option.