Starting a tea brand in Europe is more structured than most founders expect. The variables that matter - service tier, bag format, MOQ, lead time, compliance - all interact. Get them in the right order and a first SKU can be on shelf in six to eight weeks. Get them wrong and a missed dieline spec can add three weeks to a launch.

This guide runs you through every decision in sequence, from choosing a co-packer service tier to clearing EU customs with a compliant label.

Step 1: Choose your service tier

Two service paths exist for private label tea in Europe. The right one depends on whether you already have a tea recipe.

Co-packing - you supply the tea (blended, dried, ready to bag) and your finished artwork. The co-packer runs it through their bagging line. Lead time: 2 to 4 weeks. MOQ: from 5,000 bags per SKU. This is the faster, cheaper path for brands that already know what tea they want.

Full production - the co-packer sources the tea, develops the blend to your brief, creates the recipe, arranges print and foil, and ships. You supply a concept and a brand direction. Lead time: 8 to 14 weeks. MOQ: higher (varies by recipe and SKU count). This is the right path if you are building a brand from scratch with no existing supply chain.

Most European tea brands that already retail food start on co-packing. New brands without existing product development experience are better served by full production, despite the longer lead time.

See a deeper breakdown at Co-packing vs Full Production.

Step 2: Pick your bag format

The bag format is not a free variable in the European B2B co-packing market. Most commercial co-packers run one machine format at volume, and European retail buyers have a strong preference for the double-chamber double-knot bag - the format used across DE, AT, CH, and most of the Balkans.

At Balkan Tea, our bag is the HST PT-2.33: a double-chamber, double-knot, non-heat-seal bag with string and hard tag. Two envelope size options:

• 60 x 40 mm - standard black tea, single-herb, smaller-leaf blends
• 64 x 44 mm - herbal and fruit blends, larger-leaf content

Both sizes run on the same machine. Throughput: 150 to 160 bags per minute, approximately 5 million bags per month on a single shift.

If a co-packer offers pyramid bags, single-chamber stapled bags, or non-standard formats, they are running different equipment - the pricing, MOQ, and lead time arithmetic will be completely different. Know which format your target retail buyers expect before comparing quotes.

Step 3: Set your MOQ and volume band

MOQ drives per-bag cost more than geography does. European retail programs run in volume bands:

For a European brand launch, the practical path is a 25,000-bag pilot per SKU. This covers a single retail program at realistic velocity, lets you test label compliance across your target markets, and qualifies you for standard per-bag rates. Sampling at 5,000 first is sensible if you are running multiple flavours and need to choose which two or three to take to pilot.

Detailed MOQ and pricing breakdown and private label cost from Kosovo cover the per-bag economics in full.

Step 4: Source your tea (or commission sourcing)

If you are co-packing, you need to supply tea that is:

• Correctly blended and dried (no excess moisture - bagging lines are calibrated for moisture content)
• Consistent particle size for your chosen bag size
• Already food-safe and traceable to origin
• Packed for transport in a way that preserves blend integrity

If you are sourcing from a single-origin broker, ask for a technical data sheet covering moisture content, mesh size range, and batch traceability. Your co-packer will want this for their incoming QC.

If you are commissioning full production, the sourcing brief is: origin preferences (Balkan herbs, single-origin, blended), taste profile, caffeine requirement, and any allergen constraints. Our family has cultivated and exported Balkan herbs to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland since 1990 - native Balkan herbs (verbena, mountain tea, rosehip) are available as part of full-production recipes.

Step 5: Prepare your artwork files

Artwork is the most common source of launch delays. Co-packers cannot start a production run until artwork is approved against the dieline. A first-time submission that comes back for corrections can add one to two weeks.

The essentials:

• File format: PDF/X-4 or native Adobe Illustrator (.ai). No Word, no PNG for final print.
• Bleed: 3 mm on all sides outside the trim line.
• Safe area: 3 mm inside the trim line. No critical text or logos inside the safe zone edge.
• Color space: CMYK. If you have a brand Pantone, include the spot color alongside CMYK.
• Resolution for placed raster images: 300 DPI minimum at 100% print size.
• Fonts: embedded or converted to outlines.

For dieline dimensions specific to the PT-2.33 envelope (60 x 40 mm bag face and 64 x 44 mm bag face) and tag dimensions, see the full guide at Tea Packaging Artwork Files: What Your Co-Packer Needs.

Step 6: EU compliance checklist

EU Regulation 1169/2011 (Food Information to Consumers) and market-specific label rules apply to all tea sold in the EU, regardless of origin. The checklist below covers the mandatory items for a tea SKU sold in Germany, Austria, or other EU markets.

Step 7: Lead time math

Total launch time is not the sum of individual steps - some stages overlap. Here is how the timeline typically stacks:

For full production, add 6 to 10 weeks upstream for recipe development, sourcing, and blend trials. The 8 to 14 week headline is realistic; 8 weeks is achievable only when the brief is locked on day one.

The variable that compresses or extends the timeline most is artwork. Brands that arrive with a production-ready PDF/X-4 dieline file move through QC in one round. Brands that arrive with a concept image that needs re-drawing typically add two to three weeks.

Launch checklist summary

Use this table before submitting to your co-packer:

Where to start

The shortest path to a first SKU on shelf is a co-packing brief with tea in hand, a clear MOQ target, and production-ready artwork. From that starting point, six weeks is achievable.

If any of the three are not ready, the full-production route or a phased approach (recipe development first, then co-packing pilot) will save money on rework.

Our facility in Kosovo serves 15 European and Balkan markets. View our co-packing service or full production to understand what each tier includes, then contact us with your project brief.