Exploring Opportunities: Selling French Products in South Korea

Hello everyone,

We are a team of French entrepreneurs currently working on a project to launch a website selling French products in South Korea. We have already noticed there is demand, but we are facing many administrative and practical questions.

Our idea is to:

Offer small madeleines,

Add biscuits and other variations,

Provide French artisanal and cultural products (stationery, courses, original creations), in order to create a French artisanal and cultural boutique accessible to Korean customers.

Our questions are about:

The sanitary certificates required for food products.

The customs duties and taxes applicable to small quantities sold directly online.

The specific restrictions on importing pastries and artisanal products.

The best options to start: direct online sales from France (cross-border e-commerce), partnerships with local distributors, or beginning with non-food/cultural products to simplify the process.

We would love to hear your feedback and experiences:

Have you already sold French products in Korea through your websites or platforms like Coupang or Amazon?

What steps would you recommend to test the Korean market without immediately engaging in heavy export procedures?

Do you know of any groups or networks of French merchants who share their experiences on this topic?

We would be delighted to connect with you and learn from your experiences to move forward with this project.

Thank you in advance for your advice and responses, and wishing you all a wonderful holiday season! 🎁✨

Steph, from Paris