I’m a business owner interested in exporting to the U.S. What steps should I take?

Expanding globally can kill businesses, so founders should make sure they have the systems, capital and people in place to support those movements.Getty Images

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Ask Women and Work

Question: I am a female founder who has been building a consumer goods business for the last three years. In addition to online sales, I have been able to get my products in more than a dozen stores in my home province, and now I am very interested in exporting abroad, specifically the U.S. What are the best steps I can take to make this happen?

We asked Connie Lo and Laura Burget, co-founders of Three Ships Beauty, to tackle this one. Three Ships Beauty was selected as one of Report on Business magazine’s Fastest Growing Companies of 2023:

Laura Burget: First, I would pose some questions: Why do you want to export in the first place? Why do you think this is the right business move? It is a big undertaking to expand to a different market and you need to make sure that you have the systems, the capital and the people in place to support those movements. Sometimes expanding globally can kill businesses, so you have to make sure that you’re ready for it.

You mentioned that you’re in stores in your province, but what about other provinces in Canada? You should always look to expand within your local market first; it’s so much easier from a logistics and regulatory standpoint. For example, with Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax, that’s a huge part of the Canadian population. You can build a business that’s quite sizable within just those five cities.

If you decide you are ready and have the supports to enter the U.S. market, the first thing you should look into is the legal requirements when entering into that market. Within the beauty space, for example, the FDA regulates cosmetics and the requirements for packaging within that space. You don’t need to hire an expensive lawyer or consultant right out of the gate. Do your own Google searches, get an initial understanding of how complex it is and what you need to take on.

The next thing, of course, is trademarks. You want to make sure that you register with a trademark within that local market. Then, logistics. How are you going to physically get your product across the border? In order to set this up, you need to consider the cost of shipping from Canada into the U.S., which can be extremely expensive.

Connie Lo: You’ll need to think about your strategy in terms of what type of retailer your products fit best in, and research where to find those buyers. So for example, with Three Ships, our distribution strategy is really partnering with prestige and ‘masstige’ retailers – more upmarket retailers [where we are their] more accessible entry level option. We went to trade shows to find upmarket beauty-specific retailers and met amazing buyers there such as Whole Foods and The Detox Market. If you have a booth set up with all your products, brochures and samples displayed, it can really draw in buyers.

If you’re not looking to expand quite yet into large retailers, you can still access independent retailers, such as boutiques, salons, spas and small grocery stores through B2B platforms. To do that, I recommend one called Faire and another one called Bulletin. It’s really good for cash flow and for those training wheels.

Laura Burget: The U.S. is a massive market. It’s ten times the size of Canada, so don’t try to take on the whole market at once. Start with one market or region at a time, so you can focus your marketing efforts, digital ads, any in-market events and influencer partnerships in that region specifically. Using the example of Whole Foods, the reason we were able to successfully expand within that retailer is that they started us in just one market, the Northern California region.

Connie Lo: Two years later, we’re a full North America-distributed brand at Whole Foods in over 500 stores.

The last thing I’ll say is I think a lot of people assume that getting on the shelf is the hard part, but getting off the shelf is the really difficult part. If or when you land your first U.S. distributor partner, you have to make sure that you’re supporting them with sell-through. This could look like marketing support, training, samples and things like that to make sure you’re keeping the lines of communication really open.

Submit your own questions to Ask Women and Work by e-mailing us at GWC@globeandmail.com.

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