Frequently Asked Questions
Ordering, provenance, pricing, Incoterms, documentation and account opening — answered as process, not promises.
Straight answers to the questions trade buyers actually send us
Below are the questions that reach our export desk most often — from first-time importers placing a trial pallet, and from distributors checking how we work. Where an answer depends on a figure we explain how it is set.
Cases per pallet, pallets per container, remaining shelf life and transit time all move with format, allocation and destination, so publishing them would mean revising them. Each is confirmed in writing on the pro-forma, before any money moves.
The questions that open most enquiries
MOQs vary by product and destination, but we work flexibly — from a single mixed pallet for smaller buyers to multiple full container loads for large distributors. Tell us your requirements and we'll advise the most cost-effective option.
Yes. Every product we supply is 100% authentic, sourced within the EU and delivered in original manufacturer packaging with full batch traceability. We never deal in counterfeit or imitation goods.
We export to over 60 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas. If you're unsure whether we ship to your market, just ask.
Lead times depend on product availability, order size and destination. Sea freight typically takes 2–6 weeks door-to-door; air freight is available for urgent orders. We confirm exact timings with every quotation.
We work with all common Incoterms including EXW, FOB, CIF and DAP. We'll recommend the best terms for your route and handle the corresponding documentation.
Send your product list, quantities and destination through our contact or registration form, or by email. We return a detailed, itemised quotation within 24 hours.
Orders are confirmed against a proforma invoice and settled by secure bank transfer. Established buyers may qualify for flexible payment terms.
Absolutely. Consolidating mixed brands and categories into a single shipment is one of our core strengths — it lowers your freight costs and simplifies customs clearance.
Order structure: cases, pallets, mixed loads and containers
Can I order a mixed pallet across several brands?
Yes. Mixed-brand and mixed-variant pallets are standard, and the usual way to trial a range without committing a container to one line. Composition is agreed before quotation, because it changes the pick and the packing list — so a confectionery enquiry can carry the beverages range that surrounds a first order on the same booking.
How many cases fit on a pallet, and how many pallets in a container?
Both depend on the format — can, PET, glass, carton, pouch — and on whether the load weighs out before it cubes out. Detergent and bottled water exhaust permitted weight long before space; crisps do the opposite. Case count, pallet configuration, gross weight and pallets per container are confirmed on the pro-forma.
What is the smallest order you will quote?
Small enough to be a genuine trial, large enough to ship economically. There is no single figure: a pallet of laundry powder and a pallet of razor cartridges are not the same commercial object. Give us the brands and destination and we will name the smallest workable order.
Provenance: satisfying yourself the stock is genuine
How do I verify that a wholesale supplier's stock is authentic?
Ask for four things and watch what comes back: original manufacturer packaging with intact batch coding; the market version and label language of the allocation; a documented purchase chain inside the EU; and batch and best-before dates in writing before payment. A supplier who gives all four verbally but none on paper has answered you.
Do you claim brand appointment or exclusivity?
No. We are a distributor of genuine, EU-sourced brand-owner stock — not a licensee or appointed agent of any manufacturer — and every brand name we use belongs to its owner. We offer provenance you can check, and our sourcing position explains why the stock we hold for a first order is genuine.
Is everything you supply produced in the EU?
Most is EU-produced and sourced within the single market. Some lines are not: a water bottled outside Europe, or a spice grown outside it, is imported into the EU and re-exported by us. We say which is which, because it decides your origin paperwork — EU preferential origin under a EUR.1 certificate follows place of manufacture, not the brand's nationality.
Pricing and payment mechanics
Why is there no price list on this website?
Because a published FMCG price would be wrong within the week and misleading on the day it went up. Offers move with what is allocated, the format, the order structure, destination duty treatment, the Incoterm and how regularly you buy. We quote against a stated requirement, so the figure you get is one we hold.
What determines the number on my quotation?
Roughly in this order: what is allocated when you ask; format and pack size; order structure, from case to mixed pallet to full container; the Incoterm, which decides who carries freight and insurance; destination duty and labelling; and whether this is a one-off or a programme.
How is an order confirmed and paid?
Against a pro-forma invoice. It carries the goods, quantities, pallet composition, batch and dating, Incoterm, document set and delivery scope; nothing material sits outside it. Settlement is by bank transfer, and any other instrument is agreed case by case and written onto the pro-forma.
Shipping, Incoterms and routing
Which Incoterm should I ask for?
EXW if you have a forwarder and want control from our door. FOB if we handle export formalities and hand over at Antwerp or Rotterdam. CIF if you want the sea leg and insurance in one figure. DAP for delivery to your address. The logistics desk covers routing a first order to your port in detail.
Can several brands and categories travel in one container?
Yes, and usually cheaper: one booking, one export file, one clearance event. Consolidation across categories is what we are built for; the catalogue shows what else ships alongside a first order when you are deciding how to fill the balance of a load.
How is a load protected before the container is sealed?
Pallets are wrapped and secured for the lane rather than the warehouse: corner protection and strapping where the stack needs it, void fill and dunnage where movement is the risk, stowage planned around heat-sensitive lines. What is applied appears on the loading plan.
Documentation, duty and destination compliance
Which documents travel with a shipment?
Commercial invoice, packing list and export declaration as standard, the transport document matched to the Incoterm, plus a Certificate of Origin and — where goods qualify on EU preferential origin — a EUR.1 movement certificate. We set out the paperwork that ships with a first order document by document.
Can stock be held before it ships?
Staging an order rather than dispatching it the moment it is picked is normal, particularly when phasing releases or waiting on an import licence. Duty-suspended storage for a first order behaves differently from ordinary warehousing — worth understanding before you plan a programme around it.
Can you provide halal, certification or inspection paperwork?
Product-level certification travels with the goods where the manufacturer issues it, and we confirm what exists for a line before you commit. We do not promise certification a producer does not provide. Third-party inspection requirements should be raised at enquiry.
Opening an account and placing a first order
Who can buy from FMCG Depot?
Trade buyers only: importers, wholesalers, cash-and-carry operators, retail chain buyers, regional distributors and export houses — not consumers. You can open an account to place a first order and receive trade pricing with a named contact on the export desk.
What should a first enquiry contain?
Brands and formats, indicative quantities, destination port or delivery address, the Incoterm you work on, and anything your market demands on labelling or certification. If the Incoterm is undecided, say so — choosing well often beats shaving the unit price.
Do you supply samples before a bulk order?
Sample availability depends on the line and what is allocated, so it belongs with the desk rather than a blanket policy. Where samples are impractical we confirm the exact pack, market version, artwork language and batch coding in writing — which answers most of what a sample proves.
Ready to get started?
Register as a wholesale buyer, or send us your requirement for a first order — brands, volumes, destination, Incoterm — and the desk will return a costed offer.
Where to read further
If a question here touched on paperwork, terms of sale or a specific corridor, these references go deeper.