Custom Flexible Packaging
for New Mexico Brands
Printed pouches, bags and rollstock for New Mexico chile processors, salsa and sauce makers, pecan growers, roasters and snack brands — from a supplier who knows what state law lets you print on the bag.
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Tell us what you’re packing. We’ll send pricing at several quantity levels.
Trusted by 200+ brands including Kroger, Sprouts, Simple Truth, True Leaf Market, Wild Earth, Miss Jones Baking Co. & Renewal Mill
New Mexico Has a Law About What You Print on the Bag
No other state regulates a single crop’s packaging this way. If you pack chile, the artwork is a compliance document.
The New Mexico Chile Advertising Act
Under NMSA 1978, Chapter 25, Article 11, it is unlawful to advertise and sell a product that “can lead a consumer to believe the ‘chile pepper’ contents are sourced from New Mexico” unless the chile was grown in New Mexico.
The Department of Agriculture’s own guidance says this applies whether done “knowingly or unknowingly.” Good intentions are not a defense, and the penalty is a stop-sale — your product comes off the shelf.
Carrying a New Mexico specialty logo is itself treated as leading the consumer to believe the contents are from New Mexico. The logo triggers the Act.
The disclaimer is an artwork specification
If your business name, brand or trademark predates the Act and your product contains chile grown elsewhere, the label must carry:
NOT GROWN IN NEW MEXICO
— and the requirement is that it appear “in a prominent location and in a prominent typeface.” That has applied since 1 July 2013.
No point size is specified. “Prominent” is a judgement call made on the printed bag, which is exactly the kind of thing worth settling at proof stage rather than after 10,000 bags are in your warehouse.
Two more that catch people out
A product sold as New Mexico chile may contain no more than 5% chile from elsewhere — a formulation limit that decides what your label can legally say.
And verification forms are required of fresh and processed chile vendors, expiring annually on 30 June. Growers under 20,000 lb a year still have to file, and so do out-of-state businesses labeling product as New Mexico chile.
Where we fit, and where we don’t. We are not your compliance adviser and we won’t pretend to be — check the current Act and the Department’s guidance, or ask your attorney. What we do is take the approved wording and set it so it genuinely reads as prominent on a printed pouch: the right weight, the right contrast against the background, and placed where it survives the fill and seal. Send us the copy you’ve cleared and we’ll show you a proof before anything is engraved.
Why Order from Outside New Mexico?
Here’s when we’re the better call, and when we’re not.
Worth talking to us
Production runs at gravure quality
Our minimum is 5,000 per design, and per-bag pricing drops again at 10,000 and 25,000.
- Chile and salsa processors running the same bag season after season
- Artwork needing 9-color rotogravure, Pantone matching, metallics or gradients
- Anyone printing a red that has to look the same on every run
- Brands scaling past short digital runs into repeat production
- Shipping to your New Mexico address is included in the quote
Maybe not us
Very short runs and fast turns
A digital converter will beat us on both, and we’d rather tell you that than waste your time.
- Test batches and one-off runs under 5,000
- Anything needed in less than 4–6 weeks
- A label change every season for a single small SKU
- Contract packing — we make the packaging, we don’t fill it
We’d rather say so up front. When your volumes grow, that’s the moment to get a quote from us.
Where the bags are printed: by our partner plants in Asia. We’re a California company and we carry that whole leg for you. When you compare us against a short-run quote, compare the delivered numbers — ours already includes ocean freight, duties and the truck to your dock.
Most of the Chile Crop Is Processed, Not Sold Fresh
Which is another way of saying most of it ends up in packaging.
The split is about three to one
USDA put the 2025 New Mexico chile crop at 54,675 tons from 8,100 harvested acres, worth $54.8 million. Of that, $39.4 million was sold for processing against $15.4 million fresh. Roasted, frozen, diced, pureed — all of it needs a bag or a pouch.
Pecans are the other half of the story
New Mexico ran 49,000 bearing acres of pecans in 2024, producing 84.8 million pounds worth about $167 million. USDA’s own 2025 bulletin puts New Mexico chile and pecan production in the top two in the nation.
What that means for a bag
Chile and pecans are both high-moisture or high-oil products going into long storage. Chile is usually frozen, which is a seal and a film question rather than a barrier one. Pecans oxidize, which is the opposite problem. One bag spec will not serve both well.
New Mexico’s Meat Inspection Program Is Weeks Old
If your label advice is from earlier this year, it predates this entirely.
Agreement signed September 2026
USDA and the New Mexico Livestock Board finalised a cooperative agreement on 18 September 2026, making New Mexico the 31st state with an approved State Meat and Poultry Inspection program. It took effect 1 October 2026.
State-inspected stays in New Mexico
State inspection is intrastate. Of the 31 states with a program, only 11 have taken the further step into Cooperative Interstate Shipment, and New Mexico is not among them. Crossing a state line means federal USDA inspection and the federal label approval route.
Decide before the dieline is final
A label built for the state mark and one built for federal prior approval are not the same artwork. For a New Mexico processor right now this is a live decision, and it is far cheaper to answer before cylinders are engraved.
Check with the Livestock Board, not with us
The program is new enough that published guidance is still catching up — FSIS’s own list of states without inspection programs still had New Mexico on it at the time of writing, and it was years out of date.
We don’t file your label. We take the artwork once it’s approved and put it on film at size, with the mark, net weight statement and safe-handling panel where they belong.
One New Mexico Packaging Rule Was Repealed
And a lot of packaging suppliers are still quoting it at you.
Opaque is required
New Mexico requires finished cannabis leaving a licensed retailer to go into an opaque exit package, and the statute separately requires that packages containing edible cannabis products be opaque.
No child-appealing imagery
Packaging and labels must not use cartoons or imagery commonly marketed to children. That constrains the artwork directly, and it is the sort of thing worth resolving at concept rather than at proof.
The compostable mandate is gone
New Mexico previously required cannabis packaging to be compostable and recyclable. That requirement was removed by the 2024 amendment, effective 1 July 2024 — yet plenty of vendor guides still list it as current. If someone is quoting you a compostable structure on that basis, they are working from a repealed rule.
Cannabis rules move faster than any other part of this page, and we are a printer rather than your compliance review. Check the current Cannabis Control Division rules and the statute, then send us artwork your review has signed off — we’ll print what you’ve cleared.
Order Against the Chile Harvest
Our lead time is 8–10 weeks from approved artwork. For a seasonal crop that is the whole planning problem.
Bags have to be there before the crop is
Green chile comes in fast and gets processed fast. Working back 8–10 weeks from the start of your pack means artwork approved in late spring — not in August when the trucks are already arriving.
Order the season, not the week
A single run covering the whole pack is almost always cheaper per bag than two runs, and it removes the risk of running out mid-season. Our pricing steps down at 10,000 and 25,000, which usually makes the full-season quantity the obvious one.
Lock the compliance copy early
If your label needs the “NOT GROWN IN NEW MEXICO” disclaimer, or if you’re deciding between state and federal meat inspection, settle it before artwork approval. Both change the layout, and neither is cheap to change afterwards.
From Quote to Bags in New Mexico
Four steps, and we’ll tell you at step one if we’re the wrong supplier.
Step 1
Tell us the product
What you’re packing, the fill weight, the format and roughly how many. If it’s frozen chile, tell us the fill temperature and how it’s sealed.
Step 2
Quote and samples
Pricing at several quantity levels, with shipping to your New Mexico address included and no plate fees. Samples are free — fill one and run it on your sealer first.
Step 3
Dieline and proof
We send a dieline for your designer, then a proof. The 8–10 weeks starts when you approve artwork, not when you place the order.
Step 4
Printed and delivered
Rotogravure, up to nine colors, then ocean freight, customs and the truck to your dock — all inside the price we quoted.
What Will a Run of Bags Cost?
Price per bag depends on style, size, material, print colors and features like zippers or valves. Shipping to New Mexico is included, there are no plate fees, and we quote several quantity levels so you can compare against a short-run price.
No plate fees. Rotogravure needs one engraved cylinder per color, and converters who bill for them commonly charge around $150 each — so a nine-color design can start with over $1,300 of tooling before a bag is printed. Ours sits in the per-bag price.
Delivered Across New Mexico
Direct to your kitchen, packing shed or co-packer.
Las Cruces & the Mesilla Valley
The center of the chile and pecan industries, and where most of the state’s processing capacity sits.
Hatch & Hidalgo County
The name on more chile labels than any other, and the reason the Advertising Act exists.
Albuquerque
The state’s largest market and distribution base, and where most new food brands launch and scale.
Santa Fe
Specialty and premium food brands selling well beyond the state on the strength of provenance.
Deming & Lordsburg
Growing and packing along the I-10 corridor, with onward freight west to Arizona and east to Texas.
Roswell & the eastern plains
Dairy, cattle and the operations most likely to use the new state meat inspection program.
What New Mexico Brands Ask Us
Minimums, the chile label law, meat inspection, timing and freight.
Want to talk it through?
Tell us what you’re packing and how it’s filled, and we’ll recommend a structure and send samples.
What is your minimum order?
5,000 bags per design. Each size and each recipe counts as its own design, so a three-SKU launch is 15,000 bags. Pricing improves at 10,000 and 25,000. Below 5,000 a digital converter is the better answer and we’ll say so.
Can I print “New Mexico chile” on my bag?
Only if the chile was grown in New Mexico. Under the New Mexico Chile Advertising Act it is unlawful to sell a product that can lead a consumer to believe the chile contents are sourced from New Mexico when they are not, and the Department of Agriculture’s guidance says that applies whether done knowingly or unknowingly. The penalty is a stop-sale. A product may contain no more than 5% chile from outside New Mexico. We print what your compliance review approves — but it’s worth knowing the constraint before the design is finished, not after.
What is the “NOT GROWN IN NEW MEXICO” disclaimer?
If your business name, brand or trademark predates the Act and the product contains chile grown elsewhere, the label must carry “NOT GROWN IN NEW MEXICO” in — in the Department’s words — “a prominent location and in a prominent typeface.” That has applied since 1 July 2013. No point size is specified, which means prominence is judged on the printed bag. We’ll set it and show you a proof so you can decide whether it reads as prominent before anything is engraved.
Do you charge plate fees?
No. Rotogravure needs one engraved cylinder per color and converters who bill for them commonly charge around $150 each, so a nine-color design can carry over $1,300 of tooling before anything prints. Ours is inside the per-bag price, which is what makes a multi-SKU launch affordable.
Who inspects my jerky in New Mexico?
As of this month, you have a choice you didn’t have before. USDA and the New Mexico Livestock Board finalised a cooperative agreement on 18 September 2026 and the state’s own Meat and Poultry Inspection program took effect on 1 October 2026 — New Mexico is the 31st state with one. State inspection is intrastate, so anything crossing a state line still needs federal USDA inspection and federal label approval. Check the current position with the Livestock Board; published guidance has not fully caught up yet.
Does New Mexico still require compostable cannabis packaging?
No. That requirement was removed by the 2024 amendment, effective 1 July 2024 — though plenty of packaging vendors still list it as current. What does still apply: finished cannabis leaving a retailer needs an opaque exit package, edible cannabis packages must be opaque, and packaging must not use cartoons or imagery commonly marketed to children. Confirm the current rules with the Cannabis Control Division before you commit artwork.
Do you have a location in New Mexico?
No. Our office is in Sunnyvale, California, and the bags are printed by our partner plants in Asia. We ship to New Mexico constantly, but if you need to stand on a press floor this week we’re the wrong supplier.
Can you do frozen chile packaging?
Yes. Frozen is mostly a seal and film question rather than a barrier one — the structure needs to stay flexible and keep its seal integrity cold, and it needs to survive the fill. Tell us the fill temperature, whether it’s hot-filled then chilled or filled cold, and what seals it, and we’ll spec to that rather than to a catalog.
How fast can I get bags, and when does the clock start?
8 to 10 weeks from approved artwork, or 4 to 6 expedited, transit included. The clock starts at artwork approval rather than at the order. For a seasonal pack, work backwards from the start of your harvest rather than from the day you want delivery.
Can I see a bag before I commit?
Yes, samples are free. We’d rather you filled one and ran it on your own sealer before placing 5,000 — particularly for frozen product, where the seal matters more than anything else on the spec.
Let’s Quote Your New Mexico Packaging
Tell us your product, fill weight and quantity, or just that you’re not sure. We’ll come back with recommendations and pricing at several quantity levels.