Where do I find manufacturers in Europe?
Five routes lead to a manufacturer in Europe: directories such as Europages, the Enterprise Europe Network, national agencies such as Trade with Estonia, which runs a free sourcing service, trade fairs such as PLMA's World of Private Label on 25-26 May 2027, and lists of one kind of manufacturer. Then check each company in its national register.
How do I find a manufacturer in Europe, step by step?
Start from the product, not the country. Write down what you need and how many, search directories and agency services for companies that make it, meet the likeliest candidates at a fair if you can, check each one in its national register, then send the same brief to several and compare their written quotations.
- Define the product: its form and pack, the market, the service you want (a product the manufacturer already makes, one developed for you, or your own formula) and the first order in finished packs. The first enquiry template lists what to write.
- Search directories. Europages and wlw cover every industry and count wholesalers with manufacturers, so read what each company says it produces.
- Ask the national agency of the country you prefer (table below). Two of the five send or show you companies free of charge.
- Search the Enterprise Europe Network's database of business offers; its Czech partner gives free support to create a profile.
- Visit a fair for your product group; dates and cities are in which trade fairs a private label buyer can visit.
- Check each company in its national register and ask for proof that it makes for other brands, as how to check a private label manufacturer explains.
- Send the same brief to several manufacturers and compare their written quotations for the same quantity.
Which national agencies help foreign buyers in the Baltics and the Nordics?
Each of the five countries has a national agency, and what it offers a foreign buyer differs. Estonia's agency sends a list of potential partners free of charge, Lithuania's B2Lithuania is a free platform, Business Sweden's Try Swedish covers food and beverages, Latvia's LIAA publishes an exporter database, and Business Finland's home page shows no supplier finder.
| Country | Agency or service | What a foreign buyer gets | Price | Private label named? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | Trade with Estonia, sourcing for foreign enterprises (Estonian Business and Innovation Agency) | An enquiry form, then a list of potential Estonian partners to contact directly or through the agency; "300+" sourcing cases in a year the page does not name | "A free company-specific and extensive sourcing service" | Yes: "flexible, small-scale precision production and private label production solutions" |
| Lithuania | B2Lithuania (the page does not name its operator) | Register, browse manufacturers and service providers, contact them, book a video meeting or post a public request; nine sectors, Food and Beverages among them | Free of charge, the page says | No. Cosmetics, furniture, textiles and household goods are not among its sectors |
| Latvia | LIAA database of exporters (Investment and Development Agency of Latvia) | Profiles with name, main activity (NACE code), turnover and export volume; no total shown | Not stated | No private label field |
| Sweden | Business Sweden, Try Swedish | "We connect you with trusted food and beverage companies": 180 companies in the export programme, 22 matchmaking events a year, local offices in 16 markets | Not stated | Not mentioned; food and beverages only |
| Finland | Business Finland | No supplier finder on the home page; its contact route points to Invest in Finland | Not applicable | Not found |
LIAA says it "offers a broad range of services for both foreign investors and buyers", and B2Lithuania calls itself "a platform for finding Lithuanian manufacturers and service providers". Neither service tells you whether a company makes products for other brands; you ask that yourself.
How do I check a company in its national register?
Search the register of the country where the company is based by its registration number, and confirm that the number belongs to the company you are talking to. All five Baltic and Nordic registers have a free search, and the number differs by country, as the table shows. In Sweden the free search confirms only whose number it is.
| Country | Register | Search by |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden | Bolagsverket, Find company information | Organisation number: 10 digits, written 6 + 4 with a hyphen |
| Finland | YTJ information service | Business ID (Y-tunnus): seven digits, a hyphen and a check digit |
| Latvia | Register of Enterprises information portal | Registration number: 11 digits |
| Lithuania | Register of Legal Entities, free search | Company code (įmonės kodas): 9 digits |
| Estonia | e-Business Register | Registry code (registrikood): 8 digits |
A register entry shows that the company exists, not that it runs its own production or makes for other brands. For that, ask for evidence and certificates you can open, as how to check a private label manufacturer sets out.
What should I send a manufacturer first?
A short brief that a manufacturer can price: the product and its form, the market it will be sold in, whether you want a product it already makes, one developed for you or your own formula, the first order in finished packs, the pack size and the launch date. Ask for the minimum order and the schedule.
The first enquiry template has it as a text to fill in. Not every manufacturer publishes its terms: of the 443 listed on NordSourced, 49 state a minimum order and 51 a lead time on their own website, so for the others you learn them by asking.
How many private label manufacturers are there in each Baltic and Nordic country?
NordSourced lists 443 manufacturers in the five countries whose own websites say they make products for other brands: Sweden 104, Finland 104, Lithuania 87, Latvia 82, Estonia 66. That is not every manufacturer there: companies that offer the service without saying so on their website are not counted. The table splits them by product group.
| Country | All groups | Cosmetics | Food supplements | Furniture & interior | Food & beverages | Home textiles | Household & cleaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 104 | 19 | 12 | 29 | 26 | 3 | 12 |
| Finland | 104 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 45 | 5 | 12 |
| Lithuania | 87 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 23 | 12 | 10 |
| Latvia | 82 | 13 | 12 | 18 | 25 | 2 | 3 |
| Estonia | 66 | 15 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 2 |
| All five countries | 443 | 75 | 68 | 99 | 130 | 29 | 39 |
Do Europe-wide directories list only manufacturers?
No. Europages states one figure for "suppliers, manufacturers, and wholesalers" together, over 2.2 million, and wlw over 600,000 of the same three kinds. Kompass's new owner cites more than 70 million company records worldwide. A directory entry tells you that a company exists and what it sells, not that it runs its own production.
In Europages' own words, "every month, 1 million buyers use our database of over 2.2 million suppliers, manufacturers, and wholesalers" (Europages). Kompass was bought by Expandi Limited on 3 March 2026. The Enterprise Europe Network's Czech partner describes thousands of offers and enquiries from over 60 countries and says experts vet each profile, without saying that production is inspected.
Questions and answers
How do I find a reliable manufacturer in Europe?
Find candidates through a directory, a national agency or a fair, then check each one: its entry in the national company register, its own statement that it makes products for other brands, and certificates you can open. Send the same written brief to several and compare their quotations for the same quantity before you pay for samples.
How many private label manufacturers are there in Lithuania?
NordSourced lists 87 manufacturers based in Lithuania whose own websites say they make products for other brands, data of 14 Oct 2026. By group: food and beverages (23), furniture and interior products (18), food supplements (15), home textiles (12), cosmetics (11), household and cleaning products (10). That is not a census: companies that offer the service without saying so online are not counted. See the Lithuania page.
Which Baltic or Nordic country has the most cosmetics manufacturers on NordSourced?
Sweden, with 19 cosmetics manufacturers whose own websites say they make for other brands, data of 14 Oct 2026. The other four: Finland 17, Estonia 15, Latvia 13, Lithuania 11. These counts include only companies that say so on their website, so they show where the directory found evidence, not the size of each country's cosmetics industry.
How many food supplement manufacturers are there in the Baltics?
NordSourced lists 46 food supplement manufacturers in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia whose own websites say they make products for other brands: Latvia 12, Lithuania 15, Estonia 19, data of 14 Oct 2026. They are ranked on the Baltic supplement list. Of these, 14 publish a minimum order on their own website.
Is there a free service that finds suppliers in Estonia?
Yes. Trade with Estonia, the brand of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, describes a free company-specific and extensive sourcing service. A foreign buyer fills in an enquiry form, receives a list of potential Estonian partners and contacts them directly or through the agency. The page names private label production and reports 300+ sourcing cases in a year it does not name.
What is B2Lithuania?
A platform for finding Lithuanian manufacturers and service providers. A foreign buyer can register, browse companies, contact them directly, book a video meeting or post a public request, and the page says all of it is free of charge. Its nine sectors include Food and Beverages but not cosmetics, furniture, textiles or household goods. The page does not name its operator.
Does Business Sweden help foreign buyers find Swedish suppliers?
For food and beverages. Business Sweden's Try Swedish import service connects buyers with food and beverage companies: 180 companies in its export programme, 22 matchmaking events a year and local offices in 16 markets. The page, read on 13 October 2026, states no price and does not mention private label or other product groups.
Is there a Finnish government database of suppliers?
None was found. Business Finland's home page, read on 13 October 2026, shows no supplier finder and points enquiries to Invest in Finland. For Finnish manufacturers use a directory, the Finland lists on NordSourced, and the free YTJ information service to check a company you already have.
Is LIAA's company database a list of private label manufacturers?
No. It is LIAA's database of existing and future Latvian exporters. Each profile shows the company's main activity code, turnover and export volume, with no field for private label or contract manufacturing and no stated total. It helps you see that a Latvian company exports; it does not tell you whether it makes products for other brands.
Can a buyer use the Enterprise Europe Network to find a manufacturer?
Yes, through its database of business offers and enquiries. The network's Czech partner describes thousands of them from over 60 countries, says experts vet each profile and gives free support to create one; it does not say whether searching is free. Vetting covers relevance, not an inspection of production, so check each company yourself.
Is Europages a list of manufacturers?
Not only. Europages counts suppliers, manufacturers and wholesalers together, over 2.2 million in all, and says 1 million buyers use it a month. Its owner Visable also runs wlw for the German-speaking DACH region, with over 600,000. Neither page says how many of the companies manufacture, so read each profile and check before you write.
How do I check that a company in Sweden or Finland exists?
In Sweden search Bolagsverket's free company information by organisation number, 10 digits written 6 + 4 with a hyphen; the free search confirms whose number it is. In Finland the YTJ information service searches by business ID (Y-tunnus), seven digits, a hyphen and a check digit. Both show that a company exists, not what it produces.
How many manufacturers in the Baltics and Nordics publish a minimum order?
49 of the 443 manufacturers listed on NordSourced state a minimum order on their own website, and 51 state a lead time, data of 14 Oct 2026. Each figure belongs to one service and one unit, so compare only like with like, as the minimum order guide explains.
Where to go next
Sources
- Europages home page, Europages (Visable). Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- wlw (wer liefert was), English home page, wlw (Visable). Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- Expandi Limited acquires Kompass (EQS-News, 3 March 2026), Expandi Limited via EQS-News. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- Enterprise Europe Network: search for partners, Enterprise Europe Network Czech Republic (CzechInvest). Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- Sourcing for foreign enterprises, Trade with Estonia (Estonian Business and Innovation Agency). Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- B2Lithuania, B2Lithuania. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- Database of Latvian exporters, Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA). Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- LIAA home page, Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA). Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- Try Swedish: import services, Business Sweden. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- Business Finland home page, Business Finland. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- PLMA's World of Private Label, Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) International. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- Bolagsverket, Find company information, Official company register, Sweden. Checked 2 Oct 2026.
- YTJ information service, Official company register, Finland. Checked 2 Oct 2026.
- Register of Enterprises information portal, Official company register, Latvia. Checked 2 Oct 2026.
- Register of Legal Entities, free search, Official company register, Lithuania. Checked 2 Oct 2026.
- e-Business Register, Official company register, Estonia. Checked 2 Oct 2026.
Directory figures are counted from the manufacturers listed on NordSourced, each listed because its own website says it makes products for other brands; see how we check. This page is general information, not legal advice. Found a mistake? Tell us.