Private Label Crab Stick from Vietnam: How to Specify

Who buys private label crab sticks and why

A private label crab stick is a surimi-based imitation crab stick packed in your brand rather than the processor's. The buyers who send us the clearest briefs are usually supermarket chains who want their own line next to a national brand on the chilled or freezer shelf, food service distributors who want a consistent spec across restaurants and sushi counters, and specialty importers who want a Vietnamese price point under their own brand. For each of them the brief is similar: a surimi base they trust, a bite that reads right on the first chew, a colour that matches the shelf reference, and artwork they can print.

FROKO18 is a trading and export company based in the Mekong Delta. We work with export-registered surimi processors in Vietnam, agree the recipe with you under NDA, run quality checks on our side and move the cargo at -18°C to your port. The format and loading side of the surimi conversation sits on our Vietnam surimi exporter page. For how surimi becomes the finished item, our Vietnam fish cake supplier page covers shapes, flavour and private label.

Start with the surimi base

The crab stick is only as good as the surimi it is built from. Pangasius surimi alone is a serviceable base for a mid-tier retail or food service line. For a cleaner bite closer to premium imitation crab, the processor can blend pangasius with another white fish surimi on your ratio. The blend ratio, moisture window and target gel strength range are agreed in writing. If this is your first order of this kind, read Surimi grades explained for first-time buyers alongside your reference block.

Where the finished stick needs a tighter fibre pattern and a cleaner slice, the surimi grade target goes up and the processor runs tighter washing cycles. That has a cost. Agreeing the trade-off at the quote stage, rather than after the first sample is cut, saves a round of sampling.

Bite, length and the texture conversation

Crab stick texture comes from how the surimi is worked, rolled and cooked. The sheet is passed through heated rollers that set the proteins, scored along its length to form fibres, then rolled into a round stick. Length and bite are the two most negotiated numbers in a first spec sheet.

Length depends on your use. Retail trays usually ship sticks in a range of standard lengths; food service kitchens sometimes want a longer stick for easier handling. The sample loop usually starts with the retail length common in your market and iterates from there. The bite is agreed by sending a reference stick, cutting it and the trial stick cross-wise, and comparing fibre pull and chew. Written notes with the sample help more than voice calls, because the technician works from written notes on the line.

The pink stripe and permitted colouring

The signature pink stripe on a crab stick is a thin layer of coloured surimi paste applied to the sheet before rolling. The intensity, the shade and the sharpness of the edge are set in the recipe. Permitted colouring additives differ by destination. Some markets allow natural red colourings only; others allow a wider list. We will tell you what Vietnamese processors can run reliably, but the compliance call on which colourings are allowed and how they must appear on the label is the buyer's. For destination additive and label rules, check with your customs broker and the food safety agency in the import market.

Pack format and inner bag

The common retail format is a tray or a flow bag inside a printed sleeve or carton. The inner bag resists freezer burn in the retail freezer and reads well under store lighting. For food service, bulk polybags inside a plain master carton are usually enough; the brand sits on the shipping documents and the invoices. Where the end buyer is a sushi counter chain, the sticks are often packed in a smaller food service bag with a tighter weight tolerance so the kitchen can portion without re-weighing.

Pallet pattern, carton size and cartons per pallet are agreed early because they drive the container plan. For how the pack and the surimi block come together in one reefer, read Private label surimi: MOQ and container guide.

Artwork, labels and allergens

Artwork is where private label projects most often lose a week. The processor prints a proof against your supplied artwork, the inner bag and the outer carton are each proofed, and a signed proof goes back to Vietnam before the first master carton is produced. The barcode is scanned by hand to confirm. Allergen declarations follow destination rules: fish, soy, wheat, egg, crustacean traces and others go on the destination label as your market requires. The exporter sources the ingredients that match the destination allergen declaration; the final label wording is confirmed between you and your broker.

Short specification table

The table below is a check list. Every row is agreed per order against your reference. Treat it as a starter, not a locked specification.

MOQ, container share and cold chain

A full 40 ft reefer rarely makes sense for a first private label crab stick run, because the brand is still being tested on the shelf. The typical pattern is a shared container with surimi blocks, fish cake and breaded pangasius, all at -18°C in one reefer. Fish is not loaded with fruit in the same container; durian ships in its own container. The loading plan is agreed in writing before the slot is booked. Core temperatures are checked on the first and last cartons at loading and the photos go with the shipping documents. For the full container checklist, read -18°C cold chain: what to check in a reefer.

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