Buyer guide

COA and TDS Request Checklist for Botanical Ingredients

Use this checklist before asking for documentation so your QA, procurement, and product teams can review the same ingredient path without avoidable back-and-forth.

Request COA/TDS Review quality path
Quality document review setting for botanical ingredient COA and TDS requests

What to include in the first document request

A useful COA or TDS request starts with the exact ingredient identity, target specification, intended application, and review stage. Asking for "all documents" without context often slows the process because the right file depends on product grade, lot path, and whether the team is screening, sampling, or preparing an RFQ.

  • Product name, botanical name, and part used.
  • Target marker, assay, extract ratio, or grade language.
  • Intended use: supplement, food, beverage, cosmetic, or other B2B application.
  • Whether the request supports screening, sample approval, or purchase planning.
  • Any internal QA limits your team must check before sample review.

How COA and TDS usually differ

A COA is typically lot-oriented and helps reviewers understand test results for a specific material path. A TDS is typically product-oriented and summarizes specification, identity, usage, handling, and technical reference details. Buyers often need both, but they answer different questions.

  • Use COA review to check lot-specific analytical values.
  • Use TDS review to compare product-level specification fit.
  • Ask whether additional testing files are available for the review stage.
  • Confirm whether documents are sample-specific, stock-specific, or representative.
Procurement note

Best first message for COA/TDS routing

Send the product name, desired specification, estimated annual or first-order volume, application, destination country, and the internal question your QA team is trying to answer. That gives the supplier enough context to route the correct COA/TDS path instead of sending generic files that may not match the buyer's decision.

Ready to request documentation?

Include the product page URL, target grade, and whether your team needs screening documents or sample-review files.

Email documentation request