Guide · For buyers
What to include in a sourcing brief
A vague enquiry gets a vague answer, then three clarification calls, then a delayed sample, and finally a shipment that surprises somebody. A complete brief gets a matched cluster, a realistic price band, and a sample date — in one pass. Here are the eight fields that make the difference.
1. Category and specification
Name the produce precisely: not "greens" but "amaranth and palak, retail bunch grade"; not "turmeric" but "turmeric fingers, cured and polished, 3–5% minimum curcumin if tested." Include variety preferences where they matter and where they do not — telling a grower which specs are flexible is as useful as the specs themselves.
2. Volume — with honesty about the ramp
Give the target volume per delivery and per month, and separate the pilot from the plan. "200 kg weekly for a 6-week trial, scaling to 1 tonne weekly if quality holds" is a brief a farm cluster can plan around. A single large number with no ramp reads as either fantasy or risk.
3. Format and packaging
- Loose bulk, crates, sacks, or retail-ready packs — and who supplies the packaging
- Unit weights and tolerances
- Labelling needs: plain, branded, or private label
4. Delivery cadence and destination
State the delivery rhythm (daily, thrice weekly, weekly, monthly), the receiving window at your dock, and the exact destination city and facility type. Cold-chain needs at the receiving end belong here too: a farm cluster that dispatches at dawn plans differently for a chilled dock than for an open market yard.
5. Compliance and certification expectations
Say what documentation you require: certification scope, transaction certificates, or a defined organic-practice verification if certification is not mandatory for your channel. If your business accepts in-conversion produce at a different price point, saying so opens supply that other buyers miss.
6. Testing and quality checkpoints
Specify residue testing expectations (which panel, which lab class, who pays), physical quality checks (grading standard, defect tolerance), and what happens on failure — rejection, regrade, or renegotiation. Deciding this before the first lot protects both sides and speeds every dispatch after it.
7. Sampling path
Describe how you approve a new supplier: sample size, evaluation time, who evaluates, and what a pass leads to. A defined sampling path is the strongest signal that a buyer is serious.
8. Timeline and decision process
When do you need the first delivery? Who inside your organisation decides, and how long does each stage take? Farm clusters commit acreage and labour based on your timeline — an honest "decision in 3 weeks" beats an optimistic "immediately" that slips.
The test of a good brief: a stranger who knows farming but not your business could read it once and tell you whether they can supply — without a single follow-up question.
Ready to send one?
The buyer intake form is structured around exactly these fields, and the farmer directory lets you check region and produce fit before you write. If you want help shaping a complex program brief, talk to the team.