E-commerce: How to launch your brand by importing products from Asia

Launching an e-commerce brand with products manufactured in Asia is not simply about finding a supplier, adding your logo and placing an order.

Before going to market, you need to define the product, select the right manufacturer, develop samples, verify compliance, calculate the true landed cost and organize production. At the same time, packaging, photos, labels and stock must be ready for launch.

Here are the main steps to structure this project.

1. Define your product and positioning

The search for a supplier begins with the definition of a precise specification sheet.

This should detail the product, its functions, dimensions, materials, colors, finishes, packaging, quality level, planned quantities, and so on.

The commercial positioning must also be clearly defined. A brand aiming to sell an accessory at €20 and another positioned at €80 will not necessarily look for the same suppliers, nor the same materials, finishes, packaging solutions or production volumes.

The target selling price also allows you to work backwards to determine the cost price compatible with the desired margin.

This step helps avoid a common mistake: comparing supplier offers for products that are, in reality, not equivalent.

2. Choose between Private Label, OEM and ODM

The level of customization directly influences sourcing, supplier selection, lead times, minimum order quantities and development costs.

Private Label

Private Label generally involves selecting an existing product and selling it under your own brand. Customization may involve the logo, colors or packaging.

This approach limits development but offers fewer opportunities for differentiation.

OEM

In an OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer project, the product is manufactured according to specifications defined by the client.

Customization may concern dimensions, materials, components, functionalities, or may even require the creation of a specific mold. The development work is therefore more extensive and several sampling phases may be necessary before validating production.

ODM

With ODM – Original Design Manufacturer, the supplier already has a product, design or technical base that it has developed itself. The client therefore does not start from scratch: they select an existing model, then can request certain adaptations such as colors, dimensions, materials, certain functionalities, packaging or the addition of their brand.

ODM generally reduces development time and costs compared to an OEM project, since the base design already exists.

The right model therefore depends on the objective. To test a market, starting from an existing product can reduce initial investments. To build strong differentiation, a more customized development may be necessary.

3. Find the right suppliers in Asia

Once the product is clearly defined, the search for suppliers can begin.

Diex International's network of factories, trade shows or platforms such as Alibaba can be used to identify the solutions available on the market. Alibaba in particular provides an initial overview of the existing offering, but a company's presence on the platform does not remove the need to carry out genuine sourcing work or to verify its suitability for the project.

We detail these points in particular in our article Buying on Alibaba: what are the advantages and risks?.

To compare several suppliers meaningfully, it is important to send them the same specification sheet and request comparable information: price, MOQ, materials, customization options, production lead times, packaging, payment terms and Incoterm.

Comparing only the unit price would give an incomplete view of the offers.

In the context of an e-commerce launch, when volumes are still difficult to forecast, it may be preferable to work with factories already accustomed to this type of clientele. They generally understand the challenges related to product launches better and can be more flexible on MOQs, customization, small runs or delivery solutions.

4. Qualify and verify the supplier

Before developing the product or committing to a large order, it is essential to know precisely which company you will be working with.

Qualifying a supplier involves verifying its legal identity, its actual activity, its experience in the product category sought, its production capacities, its equipment, its quality organization as well as the certifications or documents required for the project.

More in-depth verification may be necessary depending on the product, the amount committed or the level of customization.

Our article How to ensure the reliability of a Chinese factory before ordering? presents the main checks to carry out before working with a new manufacturer.

The objective is simple: do not choose a factory solely on the basis of its catalog, its price or the quality of its commercial exchanges.

5. Develop and validate samples

For a customized product, the first sample is rarely the final step of development.

It allows you to verify the supplier's understanding, its capabilities but also the product: dimensions, materials, colors, assemblies, functionalities, prints, finishes as well as the packaging elements defined in the specification sheet.

Corrections must then be precise and documented. Rather than telling the supplier that a material should be "thicker" or that a color should be "darker", it is preferable, where possible, to provide a measurable value, a color reference or a precise specification.

After each modification, the validated elements must be recorded in order to maintain a clear reference. Once approved, the final sample becomes the reference to be respected for mass production.

This sampling phase also makes it possible to anticipate certain needs related to the e-commerce launch, such as preparing product photos, the product page, packaging, collecting the technical information needed for the online listing as well as organizing the upcoming logistics.

6. Calculate the real cost price and verify compliance

A product listed at €10 ex-works does not cost €10 once it arrives at the company's warehouse, ready to be shipped to the end customer.

The calculation must include all expenses related to the project: purchase price, samples, possible molds or tooling, packaging, quality control, international transport, other logistics operations, customs duties and delivery to the storage location.

It is also important to clearly understand what the price communicated by the supplier precisely covers.

An EXW price does not cover the same operations as an FOB, CIF or DAP price. Before comparing two quotes, it is therefore necessary to check the Incoterm used. Our article dedicated to the main Incoterms explains the distribution of costs, obligations and risks between seller and buyer.

Verify compliance before production

Compliance must not be verified only once the goods have been manufactured. Ideally, these requirements should be validated from the sampling phase, before production begins.

For marketing within the European Union, requirements depend on the product category: safety, substances, technical documentation, traceability, labeling, warnings, instructions or regulatory markings.

The CE marking, for example, only concerns certain product categories covered by specific European regulations. Other texts may also apply depending on the nature of the product, such as REACH for certain chemical substances, RoHS for the limitation of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, or EUDR for certain products and raw materials concerned by European rules on deforestation.

Another important point: the importer who places a product on the European market is legally responsible for complying with the regulatory requirements applicable to it, particularly regarding conformity, traceability, labeling and documentation.

These requirements must therefore be identified early enough to be integrated into the specification sheet, the product and the packaging, and to plan, if necessary, the regulatory tests or controls to be carried out before placing on the market.

7. Launch and monitor production

Once the supplier has been selected, the sample approved, compliance studied and commercial conditions validated, production can begin.

The order must include the agreed characteristics: reference, quantity, materials, dimensions, colors, components, packaging, markings, lead time and quality criteria.

It is also important to define what will be inspected before shipment.

A compliant sample does not automatically guarantee that the entire run will match the same quality level. Depending on the project, inspections during manufacturing or before shipment make it possible to compare production against the approved specifications.

Any defects are much easier to address while the goods are still at the manufacturer than after they arrive in the destination country.

8. Prepare the e-commerce launch in parallel

Commercial work must not wait for the stock to arrive.

During production, the brand can move forward on product photos, e-commerce listings, packaging, labels, shipping boxes and stock organization.

The regulatory information required for online sales must also be prepared.

For products covered by the European General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), applicable since December 13, 2024, distance selling notably involves requirements concerning identification, traceability and safety information presented in the offer.

Anticipating these elements helps avoid finished stock being held up because a label, packaging, regulatory information or product listing is not ready.

9. Example: launching a kitchen accessories brand

Let's take the case of a French company that wants to launch on its e-commerce site a first collection composed of three kitchen accessories.

It first defines the characteristics of each reference: dimensions, materials, colors, finishes, packaging and target selling price.

The same specification sheet is then sent to several manufacturers in order to compare equivalent offers. After verifying the suppliers, the company selects a factory and orders samples.

The first pieces make it possible to identify several adjustments: a finish needs to be modified, the product color must precisely match the brand identity and the packaging must be resized.

In parallel, the company identifies the regulatory requirements applicable to the products and materials concerned.

Once the final samples are approved, it calculates its cost price by adding to the factory price the packaging, inspections, transport and other costs related to importing.

Production is then launched.

While the factory manufactures the order, the brand takes its photos, prepares its product listings, finalizes its labels, assigns its references and organizes stock reception.

When the goods arrive, a large part of the commercial launch is therefore already ready.

10. The most common mistakes

Several mistakes recur in brand launch projects.

The first mistake is to look for the lowest price before having precisely defined the desired product and its specification sheet. Without common specifications, comparing several quotes makes little sense, because suppliers are not necessarily pricing the same quality level, the same materials, the same dimensions or the same services.

The second is to order a production run without having validated and documented a final sample.

The third is to build your margin solely from the factory price, without including all the expenses necessary to make the product available for sale.

You should also avoid dealing with compliance at the end of the project. A regulatory requirement discovered after production may require modifications to the product, labeling, packaging or documentation.

Finally, treating sourcing and the e-commerce launch as two completely separate stages can unnecessarily lengthen the timeline. As soon as the product is sufficiently defined, several tasks can move forward in parallel: packaging preparation, content creation, logistics organization, setting up the product listing or preparing the commercial launch.

If you would like support with both your product sourcing and the preparation of your e-commerce launch, Diex International can support you at every stage of the project.

From idea to brand launch

Importing products from Asia to launch an e-commerce brand requires coordinating product development, sourcing, compliance, production, logistics and commercial preparation.

Choosing the supplier is important, but it represents only part of the project.

The more the product and requirements are defined upstream, the more it becomes possible to compare manufacturers correctly, control costs and anticipate difficulties before production.

Do you have a product in mind and want to study its manufacturing in Asia? Diex International's sourcing pre-study makes it possible to analyze the initial conditions of the project before committing to development and production.

Frequently asked questions