How to Find Importers to Export To and Get Them to Reply

Published by

David Argüello

CEO of Hurus AI · LinkedIn

Finding importers is not the problem. There are trade shows, directories, chambers of commerce and LinkedIn. The problem is different: getting the right importer, in the right market, to reply. This guide follows that order. First you choose where. Then you find who. Then you filter. And finally you open the conversation.

Importer and distributor are not the same thing

The importer buys the goods and brings them into their country. They handle customs, documentation and logistics. The distributor places the goods in the channel: stores, hospitality, wholesalers. Sometimes they are the same company and sometimes not. Before you search, decide which one you need. If you export a branded product that wants in-store presence, you probably need both, or an importer with its own distribution network.

Step 1. Choose the market with data, not intuition

Before you look for names, check what each market requires of you. Access2Markets is a European Commission portal that gives you, by product and country, the tariffs, product requirements, customs procedures and rules of origin. It covers the EU countries and more than 140 international markets. With that, you know whether your product can enter and under what conditions before you spend a single email.

Ask yourself three more things. Is there real consumption of your type of product in that market? Is direct competition already established? Can you meet labeling and health requirements without redoing the product?

Step 2. Where importers show up

• Industry trade shows. Exhibitors and professional visitors are active importers and distributors. Review the exhibitor lists and the conference programs.
• Chambers of commerce. Spanish chambers abroad and those in the destination country know the local buyers and can point you in the right direction.
• ICEX and the trade offices. If you are a Spanish SME, you have public support to go international. Ask which services cover your product and your market.
• Industry associations in the destination country. They often publish their members.
• The brands that already compete with you. Look at who distributes them in that country. That company already knows the product and the channel.
• LinkedIn. Search by job title (purchasing, category manager, import director) within the companies you have already identified.

A long list is not a good list. You will do better with forty well-chosen names than with four hundred copied from a directory.

Step 3. Filter before you write

Not every importer is right for you. Before you make contact, answer these for each candidate:

• Which categories and brands do they carry today? If they already have your direct competitor on an exclusive, they are not your customer.
• Which channel do they sell to? Hospitality, large retail, specialty stores, online. It has to match yours.
• What size and coverage do they have? A regional importer will not give you a whole country.
• Are there signs they are looking? A trade show they are attending, a launch, a new category, a sales job posting. That is the moment they open the door to a new supplier.

That last filter is the one most often overlooked and the one that pays off most. An importer who is expanding their range will listen to you. The same importer six months later, with the catalog closed, will not.

Step 4. The first message

An importer receives dozens of supplier proposals. To get a reply, your message has to be short, specific and easy to answer. These are the four parts.

• Why them. One sentence showing you know their catalog or their channel.
• What you offer. What the product is and what sets it apart, in one or two lines.
• What needs to be decided now. One small step: a fifteen-minute call or sending samples. Never a contract.
• How to continue. Your name, your title and a single link or contact detail.

Example opening: "Hi Marta. I see you carry premium oils for hospitality and that you are going to the next industry trade show. We are extra virgin olive oil producers in Spain and we are looking for an importer for Germany. Shall I send you a spec sheet and a sample for you to try?"

It takes several attempts. A single reply rarely comes the first time. Prepare a sequence of messages across different channels (email, LinkedIn, phone) with something new in each one, not the same text repeated.

Mistakes that cost you replies

• Writing to everyone with the same text. The importer notices in the first line.
• Talking about yourself, your story and your factory before saying what they gain.
• Showing up without clear terms: minimum orders, lead times, Incoterms, exclusivity. If you don't have them, it shows.
• Asking too soon. An exclusive or a large order in the first message closes the door.
• Giving up after a single attempt.

And if you don't have time to do it yourself

All of the above can be done with your own team. But it takes hours per market: choosing, researching, filtering, writing and following up on each conversation. That is why some companies outsource it. At Hurus, we detect which importers are at the moment of opening up to a new supplier, and our team opens the conversation in their language, with context, until the meeting is on your calendar. You show up to close.

If you want to check whether your product fits a specific market, tell us which one and we will look at it together.

Full guide: B2B prospecting for food and beverage manufacturers: 2026 guide

Last reviewed: October 18, 2026.