How to Verify a Wholesale FMCG Supplier Before You Pay

Sourcing · Published 2026-06-03 · 5 min read

The most expensive mistake in international wholesale is not overpaying. It is paying a supplier who does not ship, or who ships counterfeit stock you cannot legally sell. Both are avoidable with checks that take a few hours and cost nothing.

Verify the company exists and trades

Start with identity. Ask for the full registered company name, registration number, registered address and VAT number, then check them against the public company register in that country. Most EU member states publish this and the EU operates a VAT number validation service that confirms a number is active and matches the company name.

For an EU exporter, ask for the EORI number as well — it is required to export from the union and its absence on a company claiming to export regularly is a serious question. Confirm the bank account is in the same registered company name. A request to pay a personal account, a third party, or a company in an unrelated jurisdiction should end the conversation.

Establish where the stock comes from

A legitimate supplier can explain their supply chain. Ask directly: are you buying from the brand owner, an authorised distributor, or on the open market? None of those answers is automatically disqualifying — legitimate parallel trade exists — but evasiveness is.

Follow up with specifics. Which country was the stock produced for? Is it in original manufacturer packaging? Can you provide batch numbers before shipment? Suppliers who deal in genuine goods answer these without hesitation because they have nothing to manage.

What the packaging tells you

On a physical inspection, the details that matter:

• Batch and date codes must be present, legible and consistent between the outer carton and the individual units. Codes that have been scratched off, over-labelled or reprinted indicate the chain is being concealed.
• Print quality. Genuine packaging has sharp registration and consistent colour. Fuzzy logos, off-shade brand colours and spelling errors are obvious once you compare against a known-genuine unit.
• Language and market markings. Product intended for a different region is not necessarily fake, but it may not be legal to sell in yours — check labelling requirements before you buy.
• Seals and tamper evidence should be intact. Re-taped outer cartons deserve explanation.
• Weight and fill. Counterfeits frequently get the contents subtly wrong even when the packaging is convincing.

Price as a warning signal

There is a floor below which genuine branded goods cannot be sold profitably by anyone. If an offer sits meaningfully beneath the realistic market floor, one of a small number of things is true: the goods are counterfeit, they are stolen, they are close to expiry, they do not exist, or there is a condition you have not been told about.

Occasionally there is a legitimate explanation — a genuine clearance of discontinued packaging, for instance. Ask what it is. A credible supplier will tell you and it will make sense.

Payment terms and red flags

How a supplier wants to be paid reveals a great deal:

• Pressure to pay immediately on a “last available container” is a manufactured-urgency tactic. Genuine stock does not evaporate in an afternoon.
• Payment to a personal or third-party account removes your recourse entirely.
• Untraceable payment methods — cryptocurrency, cash transfer services — are a hard no for a first transaction.
• Refusing any documentary protection. For significant orders, a letter of credit or documentary collection protects both parties. A supplier who will not discuss any structured payment method on a large first order is telling you something.
• No proforma invoice. A proper proforma states goods, quantities, pack sizes, price, Incoterm, delivery timing and payment terms. It is the basis of the deal.

Start small, deliberately

The single most effective control is the trial order. Buy one pallet, inspect it properly on arrival, sell some of it, and only then scale up. The cost of a small first order is trivial against the cost of a container you cannot sell.

Use the trial to test the supplier as well as the goods: were the documents correct and on time, did the quantity match, was communication straightforward when you asked a question? A supplier who handles a small order professionally will usually handle a large one the same way.

Questions worth asking before you commit

• What is your registered company number and VAT number?
• Where is this stock sourced, and for which market was it produced?
• What is the remaining shelf life on arrival, and will you guarantee a minimum?
• Can you supply batch numbers before shipment?
• Which documents travel with the goods, and who issues them?
• Can I inspect, or appoint an inspector, before dispatch?
• What happens if the consignment is short-shipped or damaged?

Hesitation on any of these is information. So is a straight answer.

FMCG Depot is a Belgium-registered company with verified VAT and EORI registration. Every order ships in original manufacturer packaging with full batch traceability and the complete export document pack described in our documentation guide. If you would like to start with a trial pallet before committing to container volumes, that is exactly how we prefer new buyers to begin.

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