Interesting in Accessing the US Market but want to do a trial first?
For a limited time, Plants Without Borders is offering 5 exporters a Proof-of-Concept trial Membership. We will work with these exporters over the course of 3 months to determine the feasibility of the export market. The program over the 3-month Membership is made up of the following steps:
1. Logistics
We strongly recommend that our Sellers take full ownership and responsibility of the entire supply chain from their farm to the customer's door.
Here are the steps a shipment must complete to enter the United States:
- The shipment is received by the US Department of Homeland Security at the Port of Entry.
- The shipment is directed to a US Department of Agriculture Plant Inspection Station.
- The plants are inspected.
- The customs broker makes an online filing with Customs and Border Protection.
- The customs broker physically clears the shipment and hands it off to a logistics provider for last-mile delivery.
2. Compliance
Determining who will be the Importer of Record.
3. Productization
You will upload your inventory into a Google Sheet that is provided to you. The Google Sheet will be formatted for use with Shopify. The Google Sheet must include the following to be considered complete:
- Plant or flower names
- Price for quantities of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, and 500
- Images with direct links (ends in .jpg or .png)
4. Marketing
The purpose of Marketing is to tell the story of you, your business, and your products. Before your inventory is uploaded and made available, you will be required to submit the following content for online Marketing:
- Pictures/videos of the facilities
- Interviews in writing with the Owner or Workers
- Quotes/statements from the Owners or Workers
5. Sales
Your inventory is made available for purchase. We will use manual methods to perform outreach to Buyers.
6. Collect Buyer Feedback
Steps 1-4 will take about 1 month. We will repeat steps 5 and 6 until the 3 months have ended.