How do I start a food import business?
Ava Robinson
Published Mar 25, 2026
Keep reading for the steps you need to take to start an import/export business, as well as tips from Cuffe.
- Get your business basics in order.
- Pick a product to import or export.
- Source your suppliers.
- Price your product.
- Find your customers.
- Get the logistics down.
What food items do we import from China?
The United States continues to import food from China, including $4.6 billion worth in 2017 alone. Top imports include fruits and vegetables, snack foods, spices and tea. In 2019, for example, the U.S. imported $89 million worth of tea and $300 million worth of apple juice.
How much food does the US import?
American consumers seek a safe, diverse, and abundant food supply that is simultaneously affordable and available throughout the year. To help meet these consumer demands, the United States imports about 15 percent of its overall food supply.
Do we import any food from China?
Can you start your own food distribution company?
If you’re looking to grab a piece of the multibillion dollar pie, you might want to start your own food distribution business, but the model has completely changed over the last decade.
How to start your own beverage distribution business?
So, if you have decided to start a beverage distribution business, then you have to be sure that you carry out detailed feasibility studies and also market survey. This enables you to properly locate the business in a location with the right demography, network with beverage retailers and household and then hit the ground running.
Do you have to register as a facility to import food?
However, all imported food is considered to be interstate commerce. If you are importing food products, conducting internet sales, and/or shipping food products outside of your state, you must register as a facility. Be sure to carefully review the regulations to understand how they apply to your unique set of circumstances. What Does FDA Regulate?
How much is the food distribution industry worth?
They’re the companies that stock your corner store with your favorite type of chips and make sure the local pub never runs out of hamburgers. In the most basic terms, they purchase products from a manufacturer and sell them to retailers and restaurants, and the industry is worth $424.7 billion a year.
