business Producing hot sauce for export to USA

hi all,

I’m looking to start manufacturing a hot sauce with the intent of selling it in the United States. The entire process from seed to bottle will be carried out in a foreign country, Armenia. FDA regulations are a bit confusing so I’m just trying to see if anyone else here produces sauce in another country and exports to the states. Any advice or your experience will be very helpful.

I have basic questions about facility registration requirements, etc.

This is not a super large scale project at most a few thousand bottles.

Thank you all
 
Greetings ArtSakh! :welcome: to THP.

Depending on what you are looking to gain from selling in the USA, I think it will not be worth your effort. There are a TON of regulations to get licensed, the cost of shipping a product overseas, the cost of packaging, the cost of breakage during shipping which you will be expected to replace, (good luck getting reimbursement from the mail or shipping company), products get held up in Customs if the proper forms have not been submitted (Trust Me! I am just now getting an ingredient shipment that arrived May 8th at Dulles Washington DC instead of Seattle Washington State and it only cost me an addition $1000 to get it out of Customs Jail!)...
plus the fact that a lot of people are hesitant to pay $7 for the bottle of sauce plus shipping on something they have not tried...

It is a real uphill battle for questionable returns.

Now having rained on that parade (I'm SORRY!) you can probably have a nicely profitable business selling in your local area. It seems like processing regulations outside the USA allow for making products in your home kitchen. Selling directly to customer at your local farmers markets and local retail stores is a lot more profitable than shipping overseas, customs, etc.

The spicy foods industry is gaining a lot of traction everywhere. Good Luck and I hope you find a good local outlet for your sauces.

Most importantly... Have Fun!!!
salsalady
 
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