Europe is the world’s largest coffee processing region — importing green beans and exporting finished roasted coffee, capsules, and instant products to every major market. The documentation requirements are different for each region, and getting them wrong causes delays, fines, or shipment seizure.
Exporting to the USA
- FDA facility registration: The manufacturing factory must be registered with the US FDA. Without this, the shipment cannot legally enter the USA.
- FDA Prior Notice: Each shipment must be submitted to the FDA before the vessel arrives. The importer’s responsibility but the factory should be familiar with the process.
- US labelling compliance: US food labelling requirements differ significantly from EU requirements — particularly nutrition facts format and allergen declarations.
- US Customs entry: Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, and country of origin declaration required for every shipment.
Exporting to the Gulf and MENA
- Halal certification: Required for some food products entering most GCC markets. The certifying body matters — confirm which bodies are accepted by your destination country.
- Certificate of origin: Must be legalised by the Chamber of Commerce and in some cases the destination country’s embassy.
- Arabic labelling: Required in most GCC markets — ingredients, nutritional information, and origin in Arabic.
- SFDA registration (Saudi Arabia): The Saudi Food and Drug Authority requires pre-registration of food products.
Exporting to Asia
- Certificate of free sale or health certificate: Issued by Spanish or Italian authorities confirming the product is legally sold in the country of manufacture.
- Local importer registration: China requires CSAR registration for overseas food facilities. Japan requires documentation in Japanese.
- Local labelling compliance: Each Asian market has its own labelling law. Budget for translation and label redesign per market.
What Your Factory Should Handle
A professional European factory with export experience should provide the factory-side documentation for any market — certificate of origin, health certificate, specification sheets, and export invoice. Import-side registration and labelling compliance is typically the importer’s responsibility.
Burdet Coffee has exported to the USA, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and multiple Asian markets. We can advise on documentation requirements and connect clients with experienced freight forwarders. Download our catalogue or contact us.
New to Private Label Coffee?
If you are just starting out and want to understand the full process before contacting a manufacturer, we recommend the free beginner’s guide at MyOwnCoffeeBrand.com — it covers suppliers, packaging, real costs, and the most common mistakes new brands make.
Written by Khansaa Ruiz · Coffee Industry Consultant · Burdet Coffee · Madrid, Spain
