What a 99% Costco Supplier Audit Score Actually Means for Beverage Brands
Recently, our beverage co-packing and co-manufacturing facility, The Beverage Factory, completed its first-ever Costco audit.
We received a 99% score.
That result didn’t happen by accident.
Why Costco Audits Matter
Costco is one of the most demanding retail partners in North America. Their audits go far beyond surface-level cleanliness or basic food safety checklists.
They examine:
Quality systems and documentation
Traceability and recordkeeping
HACCP programs and corrective action processes
Sanitation and preventive maintenance
Supplier controls and recall readiness
Consistency
In short: they audit for operational maturity.
What This Means for Brands Producing at The Beverage Factory
If you’re producing your beverage with us, this audit result means:
Your product can meet Costco’s manufacturing requirements
Your facility partner has systems Costco trusts
Your brand isn’t blocked from major retail conversations due to manufacturing risk
A great product with weak manufacturing systems won’t make it past retail due diligence.
The Unsexy Work Behind the Score
A 99% audit score isn’t about flashy equipment or one good production day.
It’s about:
Boring, consistent recordkeeping
Disciplined quality control
Teams that follow systems even when no one is watching
Fixing small issues before they become big ones
This is the work that lets brands scale.
Why We Share This (and Why We Don’t Overhype It)
We’re proud of our team at Good Robot Brewing Company for hitting this milestone.
But more importantly, we share this to make one thing clear to founders and brand owners:
Choosing a co-packer is choosing a gatekeeper to your future customers.
Audits like Costco’s are a reality for brands that want to grow beyond regional shelves.
If you’re evaluating co-packers, this is the kind of question worth asking early:
“What audits have you passed? And what systems do you run every day to support them?”
That conversation saves everyone time.
