Japanese products with large sales at cross -border ECs for the United States

Many businesses that operate EC (electronic commerce) in Japan want to gain further profits by expanding overseas such as the United States.

To put it simply, the number of consumers who buy products will increase significantly, which can earn enormous profits.

However, in light of the overseas expansion, that is, the preparations for cross -border ECs and the types of products that can be sold are limited, it is not easy to start.

Nevertheless, if you understand the rules and understand what kind of product you have overseas, it will definitely be a big business opportunity.

In this article, we will introduce products that are easy to send at cross -border ECs for the United States, products that require permission or ban on imports, and FDA and ADA that you should always remember.

First, I will explain the transaction form called cross -border EC.

At the same time, let's take a look at the benefits that can be brought by cross -border EC.

EC across borders is called cross -border EC.

Even if it is saturated in Japan or a product that has little needs to be sold as an EC, it may be in high demand and low supply overseas.

Therefore, it is a transaction form that has the potential to gain great profits if the aim is qualified.

For your reference, I will check the size of the Japanese BtoC-EC market in the "Market Survey Report on the 4th Final Commercial Transactions" released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2023.

The market size in the product sales field increased by 5.37 % year -on -year to 13.9997 billion yen, the service field was 32.43 % from the previous year to 6,147.7 billion yen, and the digital field was 6.10 % year -on -year to 2,5,974. The result is 100 million yen, a total increase of 2,499 billion yen from the previous year.

As a whole, the scale of the EC market in Japan is continuing to expand.

In addition, various preparations are required to operate the cross -border EC.

First of all, you must check how much the cost of exporting, such as tariffs and transportation costs at that time, and select it from a problem.

On top of that, the target layer is also narrowed down. In addition, it is also essential to build an environment that can be used not only in English but also to multiple languages, to ensure that the exported country's laws and regulations and business habits are enriched, so that the payment methods are diverse, and that can handle multiple languages ​​as well as English.

Only after completing such a preparation, you will be able to stand on the starting line of the cross -border EC.

reference:Market research on electronic commercial transactions in Fourth

There are several benefits assumed by the cross -border EC, but the biggest advantage is that you may be able to acquire potential customers overseas.

The US population is about three times compared to Japan, and the needs of customers are different from Japan.

In Japan, products that are not very demanding have a big hit overseas, and if the number of parameters is large, it is a chance to acquire a great profit.

There is a possibility that the business can be expanded from there, so if it is a product with high demand overseas, it may be a good idea to actively try cross -border EC.

Also, I mentioned earlier that the cross -border EC needs to be easy to prepare, but another advantage is that you do not have to set up a physical base overseas.

As long as the necessary preparations are prepared, trading is possible via the Internet, so it can be operated much lower than actually buying and selling stores.

Next, based on the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, we will look at 27 highly valued "export primary items" based on the "Expanding Expansion Strategy for Expansion of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Foods (Summary)". The following are selected as export primary items.

·beef

・ Pork, chicken / chicken eggs

・ Milk, dairy products and fruit trees (apple, grape, peach, kankitsu), vegetables (strawberry)

・ Vegetables (kansho, etc.)

·cut flowers

·tea

・ Rice, pack rice, rice flour and rice flour products

·lumber

·plywood

・

·sea bream

·scallop

·pearl

・ Soft drinking water

・ Confectionery

・ Sauce mixed seasoning

・ Miso, soy sauce

・ Sake (sake)

·whisky

・ Authentic shochu, Awamori

Of these, we will look at "sake", "tea" and "confectionery".

reference:Expansion and execution strategy for exports of agriculture, forestry and fisheries (summary)

Sake, which is also known as "sake", is widely known overseas as a sake that fits Japanese food.

As described in the documentation of "recent export trends for Japanese sake", which has been published by the NTA, the export amount of 11,57 billion yen in 2014, but increased sales steadily, in 2022. The sales were expanded to 47,489 million yen.

In 2023, factors such as prices and stock adjustments in the United States overlapped, and the export amount of sake decreased, but the popularity of sake overseas is high.

reference:About export trends for recent Japanese sake

In the case of businesses that want to handle or handle sake, this product, which boasts high needs overseas, can be said to be perfect for cross -border ECs, but you need to be careful when exporting.

First of all, when exporting sake, an "export liquor wholesale license" must be obtained, except for the case of "exporting sake manufactured by a brewery manufacturer" and "exported by a liquor wholesale license, etc.". It will not flutter.

For more information, please refer to the "Subsection Wholesale License Application" released by the National Tax Agency below.

reference:Sake wholesale business license request

Also, let's keep the following three points as a point when exporting sake.

・ Find a local business partner and determine the conditions for export

・ Ask a freight transport company that does not have a transportation means, called a forwarder, for procedures.

・ The procedure is complicated as a dangerous substance (because it becomes a flammable liquid under the International Transportation Law) when exporting alcohol is more than 24 % and 250ℓ or more than 70 %.
The National Tax Agency has also published a “sake export handbook” to countries including the United States, so please see it.

reference:Sake export handbook ｜ National Tax Agency

When exporting sake to the United States, it is important to know in advance because there are the following unique American alcohol distribution rules.

・ 3 Tier system

・ Control state vs Open state (or license state)

・ It is prohibited to send alcohol directly to consumers beyond the state.

・ Complex lic car license

reference:Sake export handbook (US edition)
Please refer to the Handbook of the National Tax Agency, as there are other points to note.

Next, let's look at Japanese tea, a popular product overseas.

The exports of Japanese tea are expanding worldwide, but in the United States, both exports and exports are top class.

Looking at the "Japanese tea export status", which is released by the Japan Tea Export Promotion Council, "the total export amount is 2.64 billion yen (up 75.0 % year -on -year)" The export volume is 655.9 t (up 44.3 % year -on -year), and the United States recorded "export amount of ¥ 1,220 million, an increase of 62.8 % year -on -year."

When exporting Japanese tea, it is necessary to understand "standards for residual pesticides in each country", "tariff rate", and "plant quarantine tests".

reference:2024 February 2024 Japan Tea Export Status | Japan Tea Export Promotion Council

Japanese confectionery is one of the most popular products overseas.

This is because it has multiple charms, such as the unique and compactness of the package design, the taste and the length of the expiration date.

Overseas, it is said to be very popular in the Asia -Pacific region, mainly in China.

In performing cross -border ECs, confectionery is cheap and easy to purchase in large quantities, and some products may purchase at a high price, such as sweets with character goods.

Therefore, it will be very promising as a target product for electronic commercial transactions across borders.

Not all products can be exported.

The following "air dangerous goods" and "forbidden items common to all countries" are unable to export, or permission is required for exports.

・ Explosives, dangerous goods

・ Drugs and psychotropic drugs

・ Live animals

・ Vai or immoral item

・ Valuable goods (coins, bank tickets, banknotes, possession securities, travel checks, etc.)

・ Length 1.5m, length + 3m sideline, weight of over 30kg

・ The content is over 200,000 yen (international mail customs procedures are required)

・ Lithium battery (conditions vary depending on the product)

・ Import restrictions for different foods for each country

・ Import regulations on used clothing different for each country

・ Air purifier, water purifier, cartridge

・ Perfume, manicure

·Cup Noodles

・ Import restrictions for different sake for each country

・ Import regulations for different rice for each country

reference:Airlines: About bringing dangerous goods to aircraft -prohibited items based on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

Limited to the United States, there are several products that cannot be exported without approval of the FDA organization described in the following section.

There are many products that cannot be exported by International Speed ​​Mail (EMS), so be sure to grasp them.

※reference:Prohibited

When performing a cross -border EC to the United States, you must be aware of the FDA and ADA law.

I will briefly explain these two.

It is an abbreviation of "Food and Drug Administration: American Food and Drug Administration".

In 1862, the FDA took over the responsibility of "Safety monitoring of agricultural products and chemical analysis for it" in 1862, and has played a role.

Mainly the safety and efficacy of humans and animal pharmaceuticals, biological products, and medical equipment, protection of public health by ensuring security, and ensuring food supply, cosmetics and radiation in the United States. It is an institution.

reference:U.S. Food and Drug Administration

FDA has been granted permission and crackdown on sales and distributions for multiple items such as food and beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and radiation equipment.

Unless this permission is obtained, the target items cannot be sold from Japan to the United States.

The method of obtaining FDA authentication differs for each target item.

Sake, tea, and confectionery introduced in this article fall under food and drinks, so let's look at how to acquire authentication in "food and beverages".

First, register all facilities that manufacture, process, pack, and store food and beverage in the FDA. It is also necessary to specify an agent in the United States.

It is necessary to translate the product label in English, and the label is described in five items: "food display requirements", "food name", "net content notation", "component list", and "emphasis". There are restrictions on packaging, cooking utensils, food additives and coloring that come in contact with food and drink itself, so be sure to understand that point.

Then, the formulation of the food safety plan is formulated and a preliminary notification is applied.

It is a law enacted in the United States on July 26, 1990.

The content is abbreviated as "Americans with Disabouties of Act 1990: Discrimination Prohibition Law", and the contents are as follows.

・ Prohibition of discrimination against people who have a disability in employment and the obligations for necessary care

・ Prohibition of discrimination and access in public services, including states and transportation

・ Prohibition of discrimination and access in places where unspecified number of people are gathered by private businesses, guarantee access, and obligations on telephone companies for telephone companies used

The important thing in the cross -border EC is that the EC site is a "public service".

In some cases, people with disabilities have filed a lawsuit that they have been inconvenient to use EC sites and have violated ADAs, so it is necessary to build an EC site so that even those with disabilities can use it.

We have previously introduced ADA in detail before, so please check it together!

Click here for articles about ADA

So far, we have introduced points and points to keep in mind mainly about cross -border ECs for the United States, but it may be difficult to start a cross -border EC on your own.

However, using SHOPIFY, which has multiple functions that is useful for the operation of cross -border EC, the hurdle will be greatly reduced.

・ Multiple languages ​​and multiple currency functions that support 50 languages ​​and 130 more than 130 countries

・ Compatible with PayPal and more than 100 types of payment methods around the world

・ Simplification of overseas shipping and 50 or more email notification templates

In addition, SHOPIFY has a suitable function for operating cross -border ECs, such as high design and multi -border, so even beginners can start with confidence.

When starting an electronic commerce for overseas and other overseas, when starting a cross -border EC, what kind of products are in demand, and what are the laws and regulations in each country? Let's focus.

And instead of forcing and preparing on your own, it is important to take advantage of the convenient services called SHOPIFY to make your business successful. First of all, please feel free to contact us about the recommended GO SUB for starting a sub -school business using SHOPIFY.

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