International Products and The USA

A large portion of our business is dealing with and representing international brands in the USA.  The largest untapped market for most international brands is the USA with plenty of opportunity still available.  Breaking into the US market comes with its own share of challenges including “Americanizing” your marketing and refining your sales strategy to compete with the top global brands that originated from America.  

The first thing in being able to compete is to control your costs. Being smart about establishing your business and marketing is crucial and could end up costly if you don’t have a strong grip on the market. That was essentially the seed of our business to create a very cost-effective way to grow in the US without breaking the bank.

One cost saving strategy that we’ll focus on today is freight and manufacturing.  European brands, in particular, are in love with their local manufacturers. The relationship bonds are very tight, probably because of excellent terms, communications and satisfaction.  This, however, can significantly impact your ability to do business in the USA. Here are the hurdles you must contest with.

1. Expensive shipping of product to the USA.
2. Tariffs and other regulatory taxes for importation. 
3. Timing – product being delayed on the water/air and quarantined by FDA for weeks or months.
4. Thousands of dollars spent in initial regulatory and customs broker fees.

At Pinnacle we have relationships with the best manufacturers in the USA.  With these relationships you avoid all the extra costs above and it allows you to price competitively with the USA brands.  Contrary to belief, ingredients used in manufacturing in the US are held to a very high level of quality checks to insure purity.  In addition, now that brands have moved away from proprietary formulas, there is no need to keep your formula a secret. 

Regardless, we always encourage brands to do whatever they feel most comfortable with however, if regulating your costs is important (and it should always be important), consider a US manufacturer to make your product as you get established in the market.  Pinnacle can source ingredients and work with the best manufacturers to insure the same quality of product, best pricing and comfortable runs to put your brand in the best possible position for success.