Manufacturer Program

This page explains the Manufacturer Program: how to apply as a manufacturer, the rules of selling direct as the manufacturer of record, the product data standard you must meet, and your warranty, recall, and regulatory duties. This page summarizes the Manufacturer Direct Program Policy, which governs.

Manufacturers on the Platform

As a manufacturer, you make the products. That gives you a direct relationship with the Platform that resellers do not have, and a distinct set of obligations, because when something is wrong with the product itself: formulation, labeling, or safety: responsibility leads to you.

How to apply as a manufacturer

Requirements and information to prepare

• Business name, contact name, email, and website.
• Product categories you manufacture.
• Production capacity. This field is specific to manufacturers. The merchandising team uses it to assess whether you can supply what you propose to list.

To apply

1. Go to the seller page.
2. Select the manufacturer application: "Manufacturer: Make pet products and want them on our shelves? Apply as a manufacturer."
3. Complete the form with the information above.
4. Submit the application. The application enters the merchandising team's review queue.
5. Respond to the team's follow-up by email and provide any further information requested.

Review for manufacturers goes deeper than review for resellers. The team assesses whether you actually manufacture or are a distributor presenting as a manufacturer, your regulatory posture, and your product data readiness.

Authorization issuance to sellers is governed by the Manufacturer Authorization Issuance Policy.

Selling direct as a manufacturer

The Manufacturer Direct Program Policy, which governs, lets you sell on the Platform as the manufacturer of record: your products, your brand, and your content, sold by you. Two rules define the program

• No dual-standing advantage. As a manufacturer-seller you receive no ranking benefit, no data advantage, and no enforcement preference over resellers selling the same products. Your listings compete on the same terms. Manufacturing status does not change marketplace placement.
• Brand tools stay within their purpose. If you also own the brand, your brand owner tools may not be used against lawful authorized resellers of your products. Gating, complaints, and takedowns address counterfeits and unauthorized sellers, not resellers you wish to remove as competitors. Using brand tools as a competitive weapon against legitimate distribution is abuse of the program.

Product data standards

Manufacturers are held to the highest product-data standard on the Platform, because your data is the source data. The standard is stated in the Manufacturer Product Data Standards, which governs. Your product data must include

• Complete specifications. Ingredients; guaranteed analysis for foods and treats, covering the eight required labeling elements: product name, species, quantity statement, guaranteed analysis, ingredient statement, nutritional adequacy, feeding directions, and manufacturer name and address; net quantity; country of origin; and lot or batch coding.
• Accurate imagery. Current packaging and current formulation. When either changes, the data updates with the change.
• Identifiers. GTINs for every product that has one. The catalog matches on identifiers; an incorrect GTIN creates duplicate products.
• Regulatory flags. If a product is a pesticide, an animal drug, or a feed requiring state registration, declare that fact at listing. Do not wait for a compliance review to surface it. An EPA registration number is required at listing time for a pesticide product covered by federal registration: no number, no listing.

Warranty and recalls

Warranty obligations sit with you as the manufacturer, governed by the Manufacturer Warranty Policy, which governs. If your product fails and the failure is a manufacturing defect, you provide the remedy: replacement, refund, or repair. That duty survives your exit from the program: termination does not end warranty duties for products already sold. Program exit is governed by the Manufacturer Program Termination Policy.

Recalls are governed by the Manufacturer Recall Cooperation Policy, which governs. The procedure is

1. Notify the Platform within 24 hours of deciding to recall a product, or of being ordered to recall it.
2. Provide the affected lot and batch scope.
3. Bear the cost of the remedy.

The Platform carries out the marketplace side: buyer notification, suppression of listings for affected lots, and return handling: but the recall is yours.

Regulatory compliance

Pet products are subject to several regulatory regimes. The Platform states them as compliance facts, not as legal advice. Compliance is governed by the Manufacturer Regulatory Compliance Policy, which governs

• AAFCO standards for pet food labeling, including the eight required elements above.
• EPA registration under FIFRA for pesticide products: federal registration plus state registrations where required.
• FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine requirements for animal drugs. Animal drugs may be sold only through licensed pharmacy channels with a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship, never as ordinary marketplace listings.
• State feed registration for pet foods sold across states.

The Platform's listing checks verify the registrations it can verify. The underlying compliance is yours. Acceptance of a listing by a form is not a defense to a regulatory requirement.