A ranging meeting can survive a late sample. It does not survive a line that cannot show who made it, what is on the label, and how you would pull it if you had to. This is the file we would want on the table before the first imported grocery SKU is ranged.
The checks below are written for supermarket category managers, private-label and controlled-brand teams, and QSR or foodservice buyers. They apply whether you are ranging a branded import or an own-brand. Shiiv Imports Pty Ltd is a sourcing agent and importer, not the factory. That distinction matters for every question on this list.
1. Who is on the invoice, and who is in the plant?
Ask for the legal entity that will invoice you, the trading name on the pack conversation, and the city desks that will actually answer the phone. For us that is Shiiv Imports Pty Ltd, trading as Shiiv Imports, ABN 15 158 243 442, with teams in Sydney, Auckland, Singapore and Ahmedabad. Cities only. No street on a public site is not the same as no company.
Then ask who makes the food. An importer who cannot name the market and the type of maker is asking you to range a story. You do not need the factory’s street in a first call. You do need to know that a real plant exists, that someone has visited or audited it, and that the relationship is not a forwarding email.
2. ISO 9001 at the importer, not as wallpaper
ISO 9001 is a quality-management system. On an importer it should mean written steps for sourcing, supplier selection, production watch and recalls. Ask for a certificate summary and a short note on how those steps run. It is not a food-safety certificate for the plant, and it is not a GFSI scheme. If a partner waves ISO 9001 as if it were a factory HACCP, they are mixing two different documents.
Shiiv Imports holds an ISO 9001 quality system. How we describe it, and what we send under NDA, is on quality and compliance.
3. FSANZ labels, not export labels
An export carton written for another market is not an Australian retail pack. Before you range, ask how ingredient lists, allergen declarations, nutrition information and country-of-origin statements are prepared to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. “Made in” and “packed in” should be clear on a shelf-ready pack.
Claims are the quiet failure. If a statement is not supported, it should not go on the pack. That includes origin stories, “natural” language, and any health-adjacent line that marketing likes and quality will not sign. We prepare own-brand artwork to the Code before print. See private label for how that sits in the approve step.
4. HACCP at the maker, and careful GFSI wording
Every maker we use follows a written food-safety plan. We keep outside audit reports on file. That is HACCP in the supplier network, not a claim that Shiiv Imports is the factory or that we hold the plant’s certificate.
GFSI-benchmarked schemes (BRCGS, SQF, FSSC 22000 and others) live at the plant when they exist. Ask which sites hold which certificates, for which scope, and whether they are current. Do not accept a sentence that says the importer “is GFSI certified” unless you can see the legal entity and the site on the document. Partners hold certifications. The importer coordinates, checks and keeps files. Those are different jobs.
5. Batch tracking you can actually use
Ask how a lot is identified from the maker, through the container, into the Australian warehouse, and out to a store warehouse. “We can trace it” is not a system. A batch number on the shipper, a record that ties that number to a production date and a destination, and a person who can pull that record the same day: that is a system.
We track every load to a batch number from maker to warehouse. If a buyer asks for supplier files and lab results (COAs) for a named line, those go under NDA. They are not a website download.
6. A recall plan that has been tested
A recall procedure that has never been run is a document, not a plan. Ask who is notified, in what order, and how fast a store warehouse can be told to hold or return a batch. Ask when the plan was last tested.
Our 24-hour recall plan runs from alert to the store warehouse and is tested every quarter. That is the standard we would want a buyer to demand from any importer, including us. More on the recall FAQ.
7. Border, biosecurity and authorised supply
Imported grocery is not only a commercial problem. Ask whether Food Import Compliance Agreement settings, inspection and sampling are planned in advance, or whether the first container is the first time anyone thought about biosecurity. Ask whether branded lines are authorised supply with the maker, or a grey parallel with a new sticker.
Where we bring a global brand to an Australian shelf, we work from authorised supply. We do not run grey-market stock. Country-of-origin labels and FSANZ-compliant packs travel with the shipment. See global sourcing.
8. Allergen control and shared lines
Ask how the maker separates allergens, and how the warehouse does the same. Shared lines are not automatically a no. Undeclared cross-contact is. The pack should match the plant’s real practice, not a wish. Written allergen plans at the maker and the warehouse are a fair ask before ranging, especially for a private-label SKU that will carry your brand.
A short file, not a theatre pack
You do not need a hundred-page brochure. You need a file you can hand to quality:
- Legal entity, ABN, trading name, and the desks that will service the line.
- ISO 9001 summary for the importer’s quality system.
- How FSANZ labelling and country of origin are prepared.
- HACCP approach for makers, plus named certificates for named sites, under NDA.
- Batch tracking and a recall procedure with a last-test date.
- For a named line: audit reports, COAs and ingredient lists, under NDA.
We send that pack to a nominated buyer or quality contact, typically the same business day, under NDA. Request the compliance pack or email sales@shiv-impex.com. There is no public PDF on this site, on purpose.
If the line is an own-brand, pair this checklist with how a private-label brief works. If you are weighing an importer against a factory relationship, the next note is private-label growth and the importer advantage.
Shiiv Imports Insights. Shiiv Imports Pty Ltd (ABN 15 158 243 442 / ACN 158 243 442). Trading name Shiiv Imports. Public email sales@shiv-impex.com. Cities: Sydney, Auckland, Singapore, Ahmedabad.