Contract Aerosol Manufacturing Takes Six Steps from Brief to Pallet
Contract aerosol manufacturing means a manufacturer produces the complete aerosol so that you can sell it under your own brand. At Ilerspray a project follows six steps from brief to pallet: feasibility, formulation and samples, compliance, production, labelling and dispatch, with an average lead time of 6 to 10 weeks.
Contract Manufacturing, Contract Filling and Co-Packing Are Not the Same
The three terms are often used interchangeably, but they describe different jobs. In contract filling the customer supplies the finished formula and the manufacturer fills, seals and checks it. In contract manufacturing the manufacturer can also do everything around the filling: formulate, choose components, prepare the documentation and deliver the product on a pallet. Co-packing is another name for the same model.
| Model | Who formulates | What the manufacturer does |
|---|---|---|
| Contract filling | The customer | Fills, seals and checks the aerosol |
| Contract manufacturing with the customer's formula | The customer | Validates the formula, fills, documents and labels |
| Turnkey contract manufacturing | The manufacturer | Formulates, fills, documents, labels and palletises |
The practical difference is who answers for the formula working inside a pressurised can: in pure filling, the customer; in contract manufacturing, the manufacturer validates it before production.
To choose a model, start from what you already have. If you have a formula proven in aerosol form and only lack filling capacity, ask for contract filling. If you have the formula but have never filled it under pressure, or sell it today in another format, ask for contract manufacturing with your formula, so the manufacturer validates it in the can before production. If you only have the idea and the brand, your model is turnkey contract manufacturing.
Six steps from brief to pallet, and what you do at each
A contract manufacturing project moves through closed phases, each with its own deliverable. The customer signs off each phase before the next one starts, so nothing is produced without validated samples.
| Step | What happens | Deliverable | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Brief and feasibility | The technical feasibility of the product is assessed | First technical approach | Send product, format, volumes and markets |
| 2. Formulation and samples | The lab develops or adapts the formula | Samples for your approval | Use the samples as your customer would, then approve them or ask for another round |
| 3. Validation and compliance | Technical data sheet, safety data sheet and registration if needed | Product documentation | Check that the safety data sheet matches the label |
| 4. Production and filling | Filling on certified lines, batch-by-batch quality control | Finished batch | Confirm the batch delivery date |
| 5. Labelling and pallet | Labelling, grouping and palletising to your specifications | Pallet ready to ship | Approve the final artwork and the pallet configuration |
| 6. Dispatch | EXW delivery from Lleida or coordinated logistics | Product at destination | Choose EXW or delivery to destination and give the address |
What stretches the project most is the number of sample rounds the formula needs.
What Does the Customer Bring and What Does the Manufacturer Bring?
The split is simple: the customer brings what makes the product theirs, and the manufacturer brings everything it takes to make it.
| The customer brings | The manufacturer brings |
|---|---|
| Brand, design and label copy | Formulation, or validation of the customer's formula |
| Specifications: format, volume, spray type | Aluminium or tinplate can from 50 to 750 ml, valve and propellant |
| Their own formula, if any, with technical and safety data sheets | Filling, weight control and leak testing |
| Estimated volume and target markets | Technical data sheet, safety data sheet and registration if needed |
| Sales channel | Labelling, palletising and dispatch |
When you bring your own formula, put formula ownership in writing in the contract: that it stays yours and that the manufacturer uses it only to produce your batches.
💡 Tip from our technical team: sign the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before you send the technical sheet of your formula. It is standard practice in contract manufacturing and protects the composition from the very first email.
Who Is Responsible for the Aerosol Once It Is on the Market?
Every aerosol sold in Spain must name on its label the person responsible for placing it on the market. Royal Decree 1381/2009, which transposes the Aerosol Dispensers Directive 75/324/EEC into Spanish law, requires each can to show that person's name and address or registered trade mark, the conformity symbol (the reversed epsilon), a code identifying the batch, and the net contents by weight and by volume.
In private-label contract manufacturing, the person responsible is usually the brand that sells the product, and the contract should say so in writing. The manufacturer answers for producing to the approved specification and for the checks on every batch, starting with the leak test the same rules require for every unit.
When you request a proposal for aerosol contract manufacturing, state which company will be named as responsible for placing the product on the market, so the contract and the label match from the first batch.
