Questions ?
Most founders ask the same questions before they commit. Why China? Why CBEC? What happens if it doesn't work?
This page answers them all — plainly, and in one place. Some answers are commercial, some practical, a few uncomfortable. All of them are honest.
If your question isn't here, ask it. We'll answer it the same way.
About China Entry
1. Why China? Isn't the market already saturated?
It's saturated with brands competing on price and provenance. It's not saturated with small Western brands that have a specific point of difference and a real story.
Domestic Chinese brands now hold 57.4% of the market — so competing on "imported" status no longer works. What works is ingredient efficacy, a clear point of view, and content that earns trust on Xiaohongshu.
That's why we start with social validation and not a storefront. If the product doesn't earn attention on its own merits, no amount of infrastructure will save it. And we all know about customers, they are always hunting better products.
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2. Why cross-border e-commerce instead of general trade?
Speed and cost.
General trade requires NMPA registration — $10,000+ per SKU and 12–18 months. CBEC bypasses that for most cosmetics categories. You submit home-market ingredient lists and safety certifications instead.
That means your product can be in China in four to six weeks, and you can find out whether the market wants it before committing to the full pathway.
CBEC is a validation channel, not a forever strategy. Once you know the product works, you graduate to general trade — which is what Step 03 is for.
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3. Why not just find a distributor?
Because a distributor takes 50–75% margin, controls your pricing, and owns the customer relationship. You'd never know whether the product succeeded because of the brand or because of the distributor's network.
We also strongly advise against signing a distributor too early. Before you have revenue, a customer base, and leverage, you'll sign an exclusive agreement on terms you'll regret — three to five years, minimum purchase clauses you can't meet, no clean exit.
Exclusivity is something you grant, not something you accept.
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About the Model
4. Why four gates instead of one service?
Because each gate costs less than the one after it, and each answers a different question.
- **Pre-Step** answers: can this formula legally enter China?
- **Step 01** answers: can we deliver what we say?
- **Step 02** answers: does China actually want the product?
- **Step 03** answers: can you own and run this yourself?
If any gate fails, you stop — with the smallest possible loss. Most brands spend RMB 500,000+ before they know whether China wants their product. We'd rather you spend RMB 25,000 first.
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5. Why do you put your name on the import?
Because it's the strongest possible signal of confidence.
We are the importer of record. Customs, compliance, stock holding, fulfilment — all under our entity. If the import goes wrong, it goes wrong on our record, not yours.
That also means you don't need a Chinese company, a Chinese bank account, or a Chinese team. You need stock. We handle everything else.
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6. Why don't you build the Tmall storefront first?
Because a Tmall Global storefront costs around RMB 60,000 just to build — before a single yuan of traffic, before a single creator post, before you know if anyone wants the product. And then you're competing with ten thousand other brands on the most crowded shelf in the world.
Launching Tmall with no audience means paying for every visitor through ads. Launching it after twelve months of Xiaohongshu and Douyin presence means organic traffic already exists.
Every agency sells the storefront first. We build the audience first.
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About the Pre-Step
7. Why do I have to do ingredient screening before Step 01?
Because shipping a formula that customs will reject is the single most expensive mistake in China market entry.
The screening checks every ingredient against China's CBEC Positive List, the IECIC inventory, the prohibited and restricted substances lists, and Tmall Global's platform standard. It also reviews whether your marketing claims trigger "special cosmetics" classification — which CBEC cannot support.
RMB 25,000 for 2 SKUs is less than half the cost of Step 01. It's the cheapest insurance in China market entry.
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8. What if my formula fails the screening?
Then you've spent RMB 25,000 and one week — not RMB 65,000 and a month of shipping.
We tell you exactly what's wrong, what would need to change, and whether the product can enter via CBEC at all. Some brands reformulate and re-screen at no additional cost. Some route to general trade. Some stop.
All three are better outcomes than shipping stock that gets seized.
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9. What ingredients commonly fail?
The most frequent blockers:
- **Hydroquinone** — banned in cosmetics, often found in whitening products
- **Glucocorticoids** — 41 types banned, often hidden in anti-acne products
- **Retinoic acid / Tretinoin** — restricted; requires general trade
- **Mercury compounds** — now fully prohibited
- **New cosmetic ingredients** — anything not on the IECIC inventory of 8,972 approved ingredients
We also flag claims issues. "Cleanses," "tones," "treats" — language that triggers special cosmetics classification — cannot be supported via CBEC.
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About Cost
10. Why is your pricing published when most agencies don't publish theirs?
Because the first thing a founder wants to know is what it costs, and making them sit through a discovery call to find out wastes everyone's time.
Our pricing:
- **Pre-Step:** RMB 25,000 for 4 SKUs
- **Step 01:** RMB 65,000
- **Step 02:** RMB 80,000 + RMB 35,000 monthly retainer
- **Step 03:** from RMB 250,000
If these numbers don't fit your budget, we'd rather you know in the first minute than in the third meeting.
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11. What's not included?
A few things, all billed at cost with no markup:
- Product cost — you supply the stock
- Shipping to our receiving point
- Platform desposit of opening front store and commission and fees and taxes
- Creator fees where paid campaigns are used
- Tmall/JD storefront build — approximately RMB 60,000
- Lab testing per SKU — RMB 15,000–40,000
- Government and legal fees
We list them separately because hiding them inside our fee would be dishonest. You should know exactly what you're paying for and to whom.
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12. What's the total cost to full independence?
Roughly RMB 810,000+, depending on how many SKUs you register and how long Step 02 runs.
That breaks down as:
| Stage | Cost |
|---|---|
| Pre-Step | RMB 25,000 |
| Step 01 | RMB 65,000 |
| Step 02 (6 months) | RMB 290,000 |
| Step 03 (with transition + retainer) | RMB 390,000+ |
| Storefront platform refundable deposit (RMB25,000@each) + lab fees | RMB 150,000+ |
That's what a real China operation costs. The difference is that you spend it in sequence, only after each stage earns the next one.
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About Risk
13. What if Step 02 doesn't work?
Then we tell you to stop at Month 6.
If the audience plateaus, the content doesn't compound, and the market has told you something — we say so. You've spent RMB 290,000 and six months. Not RMB 500,000 and a year of your life.
We will not sell you Step 03 if Step 02 hasn't worked. We'd rather lose the revenue than take you somewhere you shouldn't go.
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14. What if I decide not to continue after Step 01?
That's a valid outcome too. You'll have your stock, your accounts, your documentation, and a clear picture of the market. Take it and use it however you like.
The Pre-Step and Step 01 exist precisely so you can make that decision with real evidence, not a guess.
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15. What if the formula passes but the product doesn't sell?
Then you've learned something real. And you've learned it in six months for RMB 290,000 — not in twelve months for RMB 1 million. However, when we take you as a client, we also look at the market potentials of it, therefore, it will sell, the question is how many.
Some products have great formulas and no market. Some have modest formulas and a specific audience that loves them. The only way to know which one you have is to test it.
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About the Team
16. Are you actually in China?
Two of the three operators are based in Shanghai — Kain, who runs social and creators, and Kelvin, who runs screening, customs, and compliance. They are inside the market, not advising from a distance.
Cristo is based in Hong Kong and runs the import strategy and the handover.
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17. How many clients are you running?
We're currently serving our first six brands — three in Step 01, three in Step 02. We document every step, and their results will become our case studies.
We're deliberate about intake capacity. Step 02 is high-touch, and we'd rather run three clients brilliantly than ten clients adequately.
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18. Why should I trust a team with a short track record?
You shouldn't — not on trust alone. That's why every engagement starts with the Pre-Step.
RMB 25,000. One week. A written report. If the report is rigorous and the thinking is sound, you continue. If it isn't, you stop and you've lost nothing significant.
We'd rather be measured on the work than on a list of logos.
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About Fit
19. Who is this for?
Small Western brands — beauty, skincare, wellness, lifestyle — that are:
- Successful in their home market
- Curious about China but not ready to commit RMB 1 Million+
- Unwilling to build a storefront before they have proof
- Looking for a fast, honest answer about whether the market wants them
**Ideal size:** €300K+ in annual revenue. Founder-led. One to three hero products with a clear point of view.
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About Getting Started
20. How do I start?
Send me your product and full INCI list. Within a week, I'll tell you:
- Whether your product is eligible for CBEC import
- Which gate fits — Pre-Step, Step 01, Step 02, or Step 03
- A realistic timeline
- What it would cost
- What I can't promise
If it isn't feasible, I tell you before you spend anything.
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21. How long until I know if China wants my product?
Pre-Step: 5–7 days.
Step 01: 4–6 weeks.
First market signal: end of Step 01.
Full verdict: Month 6 of Step 02.
That's the honest timeline. Anyone promising faster is guessing.
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22. What happens after I send my product?
Within a week, you receive a written assessment. It's not a pitch deck — it's a factual answer to whether your product can enter China via CBEC, which path fits, and what it would cost.
If we're a fit, we move to the Pre-Step. If we're not, you walk away with useful information and we part ways cleanly.
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