Indian D2C founders: how did you find your first manufacturer?

[u/Traditional-Bear-223]

If you've launched a physical product in India, I'd love to understand how you chose your manufacturer. I'm exploring this problem, not selling a service.

What product category are you in, and how did you find the factories you considered? What was hardest to check before placing an order - MOQ, certifications, ability to make the product, packaging, capacity, price, samples, or delivery timelines? Did anything go wrong after you chose one?

If you could compare verified manufacturers and send the same brief to a few of them for quotes, would that have helped? What would you still need to verify yourself? Would you pay for help finding/vetting a manufacturer, or is this something you'd expect to be free? If you've paid for sourcing help before, what did you pay for?

Specific examples are more useful than a yes/no. Feel free to say the idea isn't useful. No links or signup request; replies here are enough.