Are you a steakhouse owner? Or perhaps you own a shisha and hookah bar? If your business relies heavily on charcoal briquette, you need a trusted and reliable coconut shell charcoal briquette supplier to support your business. However, how could you know if your supplier is trustworthy or not?
Wholesaler or Producers?
When choosing a coconut shell charcoal briquette supplier for your business, the first thing to consider is whether to buy from a wholesaler or from the producer. Each has its own set of benefits and drawbacks, which most are related to the supply chain of the products.
Because wholesalers typically act as the middleman between the producers and customers, they usually source their products from multiple producers simultaneously. When you are purchasing your charcoal from them, you might have less worry about the product’s availability. Their pricings are also quite flexible. However, since their products come from different producers, the quality of the product is not entirely homogeneous.
On the other hand, when you purchase your coconut shell charcoal briquette straight from the producer, the product quality is guaranteed to be uniformed. It might also cost less than purchasing from a wholesaler since you cut off some of the supply chains. However, buying straight from the producers means your business relies heavily on the producer. A disruption in the supplier’s end spells potential danger to your own business operation, especially when you only have a single supplier.
Analyzing the Producers
If you have decided to choose a producer as your coconut shell charcoal briquette supplier, what’s left for you to do is assess the supplier. There are several ways you can do this, starting from the factory’s location, contact information, production capacity, end-product qualities, and all the way to their previous customers’ reviews. The analysis is crucial to ensure the supplier and their product are up to standards.
Authenticity
The first thing you should check from your supplier is their authenticity. Whether you are sourcing your coconut shell charcoal briquette from industrial-scale producers or the home industry, you have to make sure your supplier exists and practices what they claim and follows the regulations. Remember, the amount of money involved in this kind of transaction is not small, so this kind of assessment from your end would minimize the risk of fraud from their end.
You can do a quick Google search of the producer’s website and phone number as a start. Check whether their phone number appears on other websites selling anything other than coconut shell charcoal briquette or not. If yes, immediately drop said producer from your list of potential suppliers. Unless they come from the same parent company, two distinct businesses sharing the same contact information are a major red flag.
Next, check the location of your supplier. It is always encouraged for businesses to source from local producers. This way, both the business and the producers could maximize their profit. Businesses can save up on delivery costs while contributing to the producer’s own business development. For example, suppose you own a shisha or hookah bar in the East Java region. In that case, you can support the community by sourcing a charcoal briquette from a local coconut shell charcoal briquette supplier.
Also, check the reviews from previous customers. This is perhaps the easiest way to assess your potential suppliers in terms of business inquiries—how they handle customers, whether there is an aftersales service or not, etc. The rule of thumb in this assessment is that a 4-star overall rating from hundreds of reviews is more trustworthy than a 5-star one from just a handful of reviews.
Factory and Equipment
Now that you’ve confirmed the authenticity of their operations, it is time you assess whether they actually have the means to provide your demands. The equipment your supplier operates in their factory determines their production capacity and quality.
The proper size for a coconut shell charcoal briquette factory varies from 700 to 5000 m2, depending on the production capacity. The extent is necessary to house the equipment used in producing the charcoal. To ensure your coconut shell charcoal briquette supplier can fulfil your demand, make sure their production plant is equipped with these types of machinery:
- Charcoal Ovens
This equipment draws out any excess moisture from the coconut shell and turns it into raw charcoal. The drying process usually takes 36 hours to complete, with additional 8-12 hours of cooling down. The optimum size for this oven is 3×3 meters, and depending on the production capacity, it’s common to see a factory operating multiple ovens.
- Charcoal Grinder and Mixer
The grinding machine is used to grind raw coconut shell charcoals. Ideally, the grinder should have at least two mesh sizes to ensure the quality of the finished briquette. The ground-up charcoal is then mixed with water and tapioca starch. Make sure the mixer capacity is between 100 and 300 kg.
- Charcoal Extruders and Cutter
This equipment compresses and extrudes the charcoal and starch mixture. Ensure the extruder comes equipped with cooling fans to prevent cracks and accidental ignition to the briquette.
- Packaging Station and Storage
Since charcoal production generates a lot of dust, the packaging station and storage area should be separated from the main production area. This is to ensure the end product packages stay clean. Also, make sure these two areas have good air circulation.
- Laboratory and Office
The laboratory is where quality control takes place. Here, the charcoal is tested for its moisture, ash content, and burning time. The laboratory should also be a separate room with appropriate equipment. Meanwhile, the office is where the owner(s) manage their production. It’s also usually where negotiations with clients happen, so check whether your supplier’s office is well-organized or not.
Productions
After analyzing your supplier’s authenticity and equipment, it’s time to look at their coconut shell charcoal briquette production itself. You can do this by looking at how they handle their materials, where they source them, and how they manufacture it.
Raw Material Handling
Coconut shells might be considered an agricultural waste, but they’re still a valuable material in charcoal briquette production. A reliable charcoal producer would not treat the raw coconut shell simply as garbage; they would handle the material according to a standardized procedure to maintain the end-product’s quality.
Manufacturing Process
Everything from material procurement to packaging should follow standardized and monitored procedures. Everything from ‘cooking’ the coconut shell into raw charcoal, grinding the charcoal, extrusion, packaging, and managing their shipments; make sure the producers do not cut corners in any manufacturing processes.
Desirable Coconut Shell Charcoal Briquette Quality
Most coconut shell charcoal briquette suppliers offer free samples before finalizing the sales contract with customers. Use this sample to confirm the quality of their product based on their visual cues, taste, smell, and burning time.
Visual Cues
A desirable coconut shell charcoal briquette should not have any cracks. You can also do a simple test by drawing with it on your hand—a low-quality charcoal briquette would leave a trail of black dots or lines. Another standard test is by doing a drop test. Burn the briquette for 20-30 minutes, drop it to a hard surface, and count the broken pieces.
Taste and Smell
A high-quality charcoal briquette would not produce any smell when burned. It also wouldn’t alter the taste of the food grilled on it. If the charcoal gives off either a funky odor or an unpleasant taste, then it’s safe to assume that the charcoal is impure.
Burning and Ash Content
A high-quality charcoal briquette does not require too much time to get ignited and can manage to get the ideal 1.5-2 hours of burning time. The glow should be bright orange to red, and the ash produced should be of light grey to white color without black or brown dots. Aim for a 2-2.5% ash content for high-quality, or 1.5-2% for a super-premium quality charcoal briquette.
Why bestcharcoalbriquettes.com?
We are a Premium Charcoal Briquettes Factories and Supplier based in Indonesia. Our coconut charcoal briquette products are made from 100 percent of organically grown coconut shells from various islands across Indonesia, with no wood or artificial chemicals added.
We are accountable and committed to providing the highest quality hookah briquettes. During each production batch, five independent lab tests are performed. We strictly control every stage from coconut shell selection, cleaning, carbonization, final briquette, drying, and packaging.
We provide our service as an OEM manufacturer—you can add your brand or Private Label in carton boxes weighing 1, 2, 5, and 10kg with full-color printing, laminating, and embossing. Select from three qualities: Best Quality, Premium Quality, and BBQ & Industrial. Or coconut shell charcoal briquette has been shipped to Turkey, Germany, and Brazil.If you are looking for a reliable and trustworthy coconut shell charcoal briquette supplier for your business, consider purchasing from bestcharcoalbriquettes.com.
