A sauce, a snack or a ready meal made in Thailand under your own brand rarely fails on taste. It fails later, when the importer asks for a certificate the factory cannot obtain, or when you discover that the product licence sits in the factory’s name and cannot follow you to a second supplier. Both problems are decided in the first weeks of a project, long before the first production run, by questions most buyers never ask.
💬 Planning a private-label food product made in Thailand? For each project we find, vet and manage the Thai manufacturer that fits the product, and line up the paperwork your destination needs. See sourcing from across Asia, or send us the product and the destination. How we work there: our sourcing agent service for Thailand.
This guide is about making food in Thailand. How to build a supplier shortlist, check a company in the registry and obtain a certificate of origin is covered in our buyer’s guide to sourcing from Thailand, and is not repeated here.
Decide first: export only, or also sold in Thailand
Whether the product will be sold inside Thailand or only exported changes what the Thai factory has to file, so settle it before you ask for a quotation.
Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (Thai FDA) states in its food FAQ that a producer of food for export only may produce it without applying for a product licence, with one exception: specifically controlled food still needs a licence from the Thai FDA. The exemption covers the product, not the site. The factory still needs its food production premises licence, whatever the destination.
That sounds like a saving, and for many export-only products it is. But it has a consequence buyers notice late: a product that has no Thai product licence is not, in any formal sense, “on sale” in Thailand. If your importer later asks for a document that certifies the product is freely sold in the country of manufacture, the answer may be harder than expected (see the certificate section below).
So the first decision is commercial, not regulatory:
- Export only. Simpler at the Thai end for most categories. Your specification, label and formula follow the destination’s rules.
- Also sold in Thailand, or possibly later. The product needs the Thai product licence its category requires, a Thai-compliant label, and someone in Thailand who holds that licence.
- Undecided. Treat it as “possibly sold in Thailand” when you choose the factory, because changing the route after launch means re-filing.
Find your product’s risk category before you ask for a quotation
The Thai FDA sorts food into four risk-based categories, and the category decides whether a product licence and a food serial number are needed at all.
| Category (Thai FDA wording) | Examples the Thai FDA gives | Product licence and serial number |
|---|---|---|
| Specifically controlled food | Infant formula, food additives, hemp-seed and hemp-derived food | Required, including for export-only production |
| Food with quality or standard requirements | Food supplements, cow’s milk, tea, coffee, edible salt | Required for sale in Thailand |
| Food with labelling requirements | Bread, chewing gum and candies, flavouring agents | Required for sale in Thailand |
| General food | Raw materials and ingredients such as sugar and spices | Most general food needs no registration or serial number |
Checked against the Thai FDA’s published English pages on 17 October 2026.
Two notes on reading this table. First, the general-food row has its own sub-groups, and general food in a hermetically sealed container is treated separately under a Ministry of Public Health notification (No. 355), so a canned or retort product should not be assumed to be “general food” just because its ingredients are simple. Second, the category follows the product as sold, not the factory’s other lines. A factory that already makes coffee drinks under licence has not thereby licensed your coffee drink.
If the product is a food supplement, the same rule applies as elsewhere: health supplements are foods, not medicines, and are not a substitute for medical treatment. The product’s category, label wording and claims have to be cleared for the destination market, not assumed from the Thai category.
Whose licence the product sits under, and what the factory must already hold
A Thai product licence can only be held by a person or company registered and based in Thailand, so for a foreign brand owner it normally sits with the factory or with a Thai partner, and that choice should be written into the contract.
The Thai FDA’s application guidance says applicants must hold a commercial registration certificate and a place of business in Thailand. A buyer abroad therefore cannot simply hold the licence itself. In practice there are two arrangements:
- The factory holds the product licence. Quickest, because the factory already has its premises licence and system access. The risk is portability: if you later move production, the licence does not move with the formula, and the new producer files again.
- A Thai company acting for the brand holds it, with the factory named as producer. More set-up, but the brand keeps one point of control in Thailand.
Neither is wrong. What causes trouble is not deciding. Put the holder’s name, who may amend the licence, and what happens to it if the contract ends into the manufacturing agreement.
Separately, check what the factory must already hold, whatever the product:
| What to see | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Food production premises licence (Form Orr. 2), or for smaller sites not classed as a factory, the premises registration certificate (Form Sorbor. 1/1) | Required for any food production premises; the export-only exemption does not remove it |
| Compliance with the food GMP rules in Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 420, B.E. 2563 (2020) | The Thai FDA applies these GMP criteria to every premises producing food for sale |
| Any private certification the buyer’s retailer requires | Not a Thai legal requirement; agree it in the specification if your customer needs it |
Ask for copies and check that the address and company name on the licence match the site you are visiting. A group with several plants may hold a licence for one site and propose production at another.
💬 Not sure which Thai food category your product falls into, or who should hold the licence? We check the category against the Thai FDA’s current rules and put the licence question into the manufacturing agreement. Send us the recipe outline.
Which export certificate the factory can actually obtain
The Thai FDA issues food export certificates electronically, but which one you can get depends on the product’s Thai status, so match the importer’s request to a certificate that exists before production starts.
The Thai FDA’s e-Certificate system came into effect on 1 May 2025. Its published sample formats for food are a Certificate of Free Sale, a Certificate of Ingredient and a Certificate of Manufacturer. Certificates can be authenticated through the Thai FDA’s online e-Certificate verification system, which is worth telling your importer, since some destination authorities want to check authenticity rather than receive a scan.
| What the importer asks for | What usually answers it | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| A certificate that the product is freely sold in the country of manufacture | Thai FDA Certificate of Free Sale | An export-only product with no Thai product licence may not qualify; confirm with the factory and the Thai FDA before you promise it |
| Evidence that a named, licensed site makes the product | Thai FDA Certificate of Manufacturer | The site on the certificate must be the site that actually produces your lot |
| A statement of the ingredients | Thai FDA Certificate of Ingredient | The ingredient list must match the formula actually run, including any change since the first order |
| A health certificate for a product of animal origin | Depends on the product; for fishery products the Department of Fisheries issues certificates | Food FDA certificates do not replace a veterinary or fisheries certificate the destination requires |
| Proof of origin for a preferential duty rate | Department of Foreign Trade, not the Thai FDA | A Thai FDA document is not a certificate of origin under a trade agreement |
Checked against the Thai FDA’s e-Certificate pages on 17 October 2026.
One small detail catches buyers out. The Thai FDA’s announcement on e-Certificates says English versions of company and manufacturing-site addresses now follow a standardised spelling and punctuation format, while the registered Thai address is unchanged. If your invoice, packing list or destination filing uses the factory’s older English spelling, a strict reviewer may query the mismatch. Ask the factory for its address exactly as it appears on its Thai FDA documents and use that form throughout.
For the certificate of origin itself, which Thai office issues it and how to choose between trade agreements, see the Thailand buyer’s guide and, for Japan, EPA or RCEP for imports from Thailand.
What to put in the specification so the factory can quote and the importer can file
A specification for contract-manufactured food has to serve two readers, the Thai factory that quotes it and the destination importer who files it, so write it once with both in mind.
Most delays come from information that one side needed and the other never received. A workable specification covers:
- Formula and additives, with the destination in mind. An additive permitted in Thailand may not be permitted, or may be limited, at the destination. Japan, for example, lets the importer put the formula and packaging to a quarantine station for prior consultation before shipping; see Japan’s food import notification procedure.
- A raw-material and process description the importer can use. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare lists a description of raw materials and manufacturing process among the documents that may be needed for processed foods. Agree in the contract that the factory will supply it in English.
- Label artwork and who approves it. For export-only production, the label follows the destination. For sale in Thailand, the Thai label rules for the category apply. Do not let one artwork file try to serve both.
- Packaging materials. Food-contact packaging is regulated at many destinations. Ask the factory which packaging supplier it uses and whether that supplier can provide material declarations.
- Shelf-life basis. Ask how the factory proposes to support the shelf life printed on the pack. Do not accept a date without the method behind it.
- Lot coding and retained samples. Decide how a lot is identified and how long samples are kept, so a complaint can be traced.
How to approve samples in stages, and what to freeze at each stage, is covered in sample approval stages; the method is the same for a Thai factory.
Step by step: from enquiry to first shipment
Work through route, category, licence holder, certificates and specification in that order, and only then compare prices.
| Step | What you decide or check | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Route | Export only, or also sold in Thailand | A one-line decision that goes into every RFQ |
| 2. Category | Thai FDA risk category of the product as sold | Whether a product licence is needed |
| 3. Factory documents | Premises licence and GMP status of the actual site | Copies matched to the site you visit |
| 4. Licence holder | Factory or Thai partner, and what happens if production moves | A clause in the manufacturing agreement |
| 5. Certificates | Which Thai FDA, fisheries or origin documents the importer needs | A list agreed with the importer before production |
| 6. Specification | Formula, label, packaging, shelf life, lot coding | A signed specification and approved sample |
| 7. Quotation comparison | Prices rebuilt on the same basis | See comparing Asian quotations on landed cost |
Factory visits and audits follow the same logic as anywhere else in the region; our factory audit checklist applies to a Thai food plant with the Thai licences above added. If you are comparing Thailand with other countries for the same product, the cosmetics equivalent of this route is in cosmetics contract manufacturing in Thailand.
💬 Want the route, category and certificate list settled before you compare prices? We run these steps for food projects in Thailand and elsewhere in Asia. Tell us what you want to make.
Frequently asked questions
1. Can a Thai factory make food for export without a Thai product licence?
For most categories, yes. The Thai FDA’s food FAQ says a producer of food for export only may produce it without a product licence, except for specifically controlled food. The factory still needs its food production premises licence.
2. Can my company hold the Thai product licence directly?
Only if it is registered and has a place of business in Thailand. The Thai FDA’s guidance requires a commercial registration certificate and a Thai place of business, so a foreign brand owner usually relies on the factory or a Thai partner to hold it.
3. Will the factory be able to give me a Certificate of Free Sale?
It depends on the product’s status in Thailand. The Thai FDA issues a food Certificate of Free Sale, but a product made only for export and never licensed for sale in Thailand may not qualify. Confirm before you promise the document to your importer.
4. Is a Thai FDA certificate the same as a certificate of origin?
No. Thai FDA certificates concern the product and the site. Preferential certificates of origin under trade agreements are issued through the Department of Foreign Trade.
5. Which food GMP rules apply to a Thai factory?
The Thai FDA applies the GMP criteria in Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 420, B.E. 2563 (2020) to food production premises producing food for sale. Some fresh fruit and vegetable operations are covered by a separate notification. Private certifications are additional and are agreed with your customer.
Sources: Thai Food and Drug Administration, “What is Food and How to Categorize Food?”, “How to Apply for Permission on Food?”, Food FAQs, and e-Certificate pages and announcement (en.fda.moph.go.th); Thailand Department of Fisheries, aquatic animal health certificate guidance; Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, imported food notification procedure (mhlw.go.jp). Checked on 17 October 2026.