Launching a product in the US: from the idea to the first American customer

A European product that has proved itself at home has a real chance in the US. The founders who launch well treat the US as a new market with its own rules, and they work through them in a sensible order: they test demand before they commit, protect the name before they print it, find out which agency regulates the product, get the labels and the import route right, and only then spend on the launch itself.

Phase one: prove that Americans want it

Most failed launches we see did not fail on regulation. They failed because the product was right for Europe and slightly wrong for America: the wrong size, the wrong price point, the wrong message, or a feature that solves a problem American buyers do not have. Before you invest in inventory, find out.

• Talk to buyers, not friends. Twenty conversations with people who would actually pay, in the region you plan to sell in first, tell you more than any market report.
• Adapt the basics. US units of measure, US sizes, US mains power and plugs for anything electric, and packaging and instructions written in American English.
• Price in dollars from the start. Work backwards from the shelf price Americans expect, through the retailer or marketplace margin, freight, duties and your own margin. If the numbers only work at a European price, you know early.
• Run a small paid test. A landing page with a pre-order or a waiting list, aimed at one US metro area, measures interest in dollars and email addresses.
• Choose the first channel. Direct to consumer, a marketplace, a distributor, or retail. Each needs different margins and paperwork. Our page on US sales channels compares them.

If you take pre-orders, the FTC's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule applies to you. You need a reasonable basis to ship within the time you state, or within 30 days if you state none. If you cannot, you must tell the customer, offer a free way to cancel, and refund within seven working days after cancellation for orders paid by cash, check or third-party credit card. Many first launches slip, so plan the notices before you open the order page.

Phase two: protect the name before you print it

Your brand may be registered in the EU and still be free for someone else to use in the US, or already taken here by a company you have never heard of. Search the US register before you finalise packaging, domain and advertising.

The US Patent and Trademark Office charges a base application fee of $350 per class of goods or services, under the fee rule in force since January 18, 2025. Surcharges apply if you use free-form descriptions instead of the USPTO's ID Manual ($200 per class, and $200 for each further 1,000 characters) or if the application lacks required information ($100 per class). One rule catches many Europeans: an applicant whose domicile is outside the United States must be represented by a US-licensed attorney before the USPTO (37 CFR 2.11). From Munich, Milan or Madrid, the application goes through a US-licensed attorney.

Patents, designs and trade secrets follow their own rules and timelines, and an invention that you have already shown publicly may have lost protection in some systems. Our guides to registering a US trademark and to protecting intellectual property in the US go further.

Phase three: find out who regulates your product

The US has no single CE mark that opens the whole market. Depending on the product, one or more federal agencies set the rules, and some states add their own. The common cases for European founders:

Two recent changes deserve attention. Since July 8, 2026, importers of most consumer products that need a CPSC certificate must electronically file the certificate data with US Customs and Border Protection at entry. The CPSC says this creates no new testing requirement, but a shipment without the filing now has a problem at the border. Products entered from a Foreign Trade Zone follow on January 8, 2027.

And the FCC's definition of marketing is broad. It includes importing a device for sale and, for online marketplaces that also provide warehousing or fulfilment, listing the device. An unauthorised gadget can be blocked before a single unit sells.

For cosmetics, the FDA exempts certain small businesses from registration and listing, but not for products that touch the eye's mucous membrane, are injected, are for internal use, or alter appearance for more than 24 hours. Check before you rely on the exemption.

Phase four: labels and claims that survive scrutiny

Two federal rules govern where your product says it comes from, and they point in different directions.

Country of origin. Every article of foreign origin imported into the US must be marked conspicuously, legibly and permanently with the English name of its country of origin, so that the final buyer can see it (19 U.S.C. 1304). "Made in Germany" or "Made in Italy" is often a selling point, so this rule is usually welcome. Mark it in English, on the product or, where the law allows, its container.

Made in USA. If you later assemble or manufacture in the US, be careful with the claim. The FTC allows an unqualified "Made in USA" only where the product is all or virtually all made in the US: final assembly or processing here, all significant processing here, and all or virtually all components made and sourced here. The FTC's Made in USA Labeling Rule of 2021 backs this up with civil penalties for false labels, including seals and marks used online and in catalogs. Qualified claims such as "Assembled in USA" can be accurate where there is significant US processing, and the FTC gives examples like "Designed in USA, Made in Finland" for products whose design and manufacture happen in different places.

Beyond origin, keep every claim on the box and the website provable: performance, health, environmental and comparative claims all need evidence before you make them. If customers will review the product, the FTC's rules on reviews apply from the first day, as we explain in our guide to marketing a small business in the US.

Phase five: getting the goods into the country

Many European brands tested the US by shipping parcels directly to customers, taking advantage of the duty-free treatment for shipments of $800 or less. That route has closed.

• Since August 29, 2025, duty-free de minimis treatment is suspended for goods from all countries, by Executive Order 14324, and Executive Order 14388 of February 20, 2026 continued the suspension. CBP states that shipments of $800 or less now need formal or informal entry and that all applicable duties, taxes and fees must be paid.
• The One Big Beautiful Bill Act removes the $800 commercial exemption from the statute itself with effect from July 1, 2027 (19 U.S.C. 1321, as amended).
• Informal entry is generally available up to $2,500; above that, or for certain goods, a formal entry is required.

For a serious launch, most of our clients therefore import in bulk through their own US company acting as importer of record, with a customs broker, and fulfil from a US warehouse. That also makes returns, marketplace logistics and sales tax far easier. Duties depend on the product's tariff classification and origin, and tariff policy has changed often since 2025, so check the rates for your goods close to the shipping date. Our page on US tariffs on European imports explains the mechanics.

Phase six: liability, insurance and the company that carries them

American product liability law is stricter than many Europeans expect, and US courts and juries handle these cases differently from courts at home. Read our guide to product liability, CPSC compliance and recalls before you ship.

Three protections belong in place before launch day:

1. A US company that imports, sells and holds the inventory, so that the risk of the US business sits in the US business. An LLC or a corporation formed for the purpose is the normal choice.
2. Product liability insurance written for the US market. Retailers, distributors and many marketplaces ask for a certificate of insurance before they list you. Our guide to business insurance in the US covers the policies.
3. A recall plan. Know who decides, how you would reach customers, and how you would talk to the CPSC. A company that has thought this through reacts in hours instead of weeks.

Phase seven: launch week and the first ninety days

With demand tested and the paperwork done, the launch itself is the easiest part. A sequence that works for many of our clients:

Keep an eye on sales tax from the first sale. Once you sell into a state above its economic nexus threshold, or hold inventory there, you register and collect. Our overview of US sales tax covers the thresholds. And keep your European habits on customer service: American buyers expect quick answers and easy returns, and a European company that offers both stands out.

A checklist before the first container leaves Europe

• Demand tested in one US region, with a price that works in dollars.
• US trademark search done, application filed through a US attorney.
• Regulator identified: CPSC, FDA, FCC or another agency, and any state rules for your category.
• Certificates issued and, for CPSC products, the eFiling data ready for the customs entry.
• Country of origin marked in English; no unqualified Made in USA claim unless it is all or virtually all true.
• US company formed to act as importer of record, with an EIN, a customs broker and a US bank account.
• Product liability insurance bound, certificate available for retailers.
• Pre-order terms and delay notices ready under the FTC's mail order rule.
• Sales tax registration plan for the states you will sell into first.

None of these steps is unusual, and every one of them is easier before launch than after it.