Services
UAE product registration,
approvals and route to market.
Everything a foreign manufacturer, exporter or agency needs to sell a product in the United Arab Emirates — company formation and trade licence, importer code, MoIAT and municipality approvals, Arabic labelling, customs clearance, warehousing, distribution and staffing.
Company setup and import licensing
Before any product can be imported, a UAE entity has to exist with the correct trading activity on its licence, and that entity has to be registered with customs. Choosing free zone or mainland, and choosing activity codes, decides what you are legally allowed to import, store and sell later.
Company formation and trade licence
Free zone or mainland company setup in Dubai and the wider UAE, with activity codes chosen for what you actually intend to trade — not the cheapest package.
- Free zone company formation (L.L.C-FZ, FZE, FZCO)
- Mainland company formation and DED licensing
- Trading activity selection and licence amendments
- Establishment card and corporate bank account support
Importer code and customs registration
Your licence has to be linked to a customs client code before a single carton can be declared. We register the entity and set up the import channel that matches your route.
- Customs client code registration and renewal
- Free zone versus mainland import routing
- Corporate tax and VAT registration
- Licence renewals and annual compliance calendar
Product registration and approvals
This is where most market entries stall. Requirements are decided by product category, not by company: some goods need a conformity certificate, some need registration with a municipality, some need testing in an approved laboratory, and some need none of it. We confirm which applies to your product before anyone quotes a price.
Conformity route assessment
A written assessment of exactly which approvals your product needs, who issues them, how long they take and what they cost. Always the first piece of work.
- Category and HS classification review
- Whether MoIAT registration or an ECAS certificate applies
- Municipality registration requirements for food and cosmetics
- Document list with owners, lead times and cost range
MoIAT, ECAS and scheme registration
Preparation and filing of the product file for regulated goods, followed through to certificate — including the manufacturer declarations that most files are returned for.
- MoIAT product registration and ECAS conformity certificates
- Manufacturer declarations and authorisation letters
- Technical file preparation and submission
- Responses to queries and resubmission until issued
Laboratory testing coordination
Where testing is required, we arrange it with accredited laboratories in the UAE — and where your existing reports are acceptable, we say so instead of selling you tests.
- Accredited laboratory selection and sample handling
- Assessment of existing overseas test reports
- Shelf-life, ingredient and safety testing coordination
- Reading test results into the registration file
Arabic labelling and artwork review
Arabic is mandatory on consumer goods, and the panel has to match what the laboratory actually found. We review your existing artwork and correct what would be rejected.
- Arabic ingredient panels and translation review
- Artwork review against the submitted product file
- Per-SKU labelling where variants differ in formulation
- Sticker labelling applied locally where reprinting is not practical
Import, warehousing and first sale
An approved product still has to arrive, clear customs, be stored somewhere and reach a buyer. Classification decides your duty rate and your paperwork, so it is worth getting right before the container sails.
Customs clearance and import documentation
HS classification, declarations and the certificates your category demands, handled with your freight forwarder rather than around them.
- HS code classification and duty assessment
- Import declarations and certificate of origin
- Health, halal and free-sale certificate coordination
- Port and free zone clearance follow-up
Operations, supply chain and order management
The day-to-day running of a product business once stock is on the ground — demand planning, order flow, deliveries and the systems that stop all of it living in someone's inbox.
- Stock planning, replenishment and demand forecasting
- Order processing, fulfilment and delivery scheduling
- Supplier, freight forwarder and 3PL coordination
- Distribution routes and last-mile delivery partners
- Process automation: order to invoice, inventory sync, reporting
Warehousing, repacking and relabelling
Storage arranged on pallet positions you can audit, plus repacking work done locally — which is often what rescues a shipment that would otherwise be rejected or sent back.
- Third-party logistics and pallet storage contracts
- Repacking, multipacks and promotional bundles
- Arabic sticker labelling on arrival
- Inventory, order fulfilment and returns handling
Distribution, people and growth
Approval gets you the right to sell. Everything after that is commercial. We stay involved, working with distributors, retailers, agencies and recruiters we already deal with in the UAE.
Distributor and retail introductions
Introductions to distributors, retail buyers and marketplace account managers, with the pitch prepared and the meetings attended together.
- Distributor search, shortlisting and introductions
- Retail and supermarket buyer meetings
- Marketplace listing on regional e-commerce platforms
- Distribution agreement review and pricing structure
Staffing, visas and PRO services
Ten years of UAE human resources and government relations work: finding the people and handling the paperwork that follows them.
- Sales staff, merchandisers and promoters, part-time or full-time
- Recruitment support with agency partners
- Employment visas, renewals and government liaison
- Payroll and labour compliance support
Marketing, events and brand awareness
Launch visibility delivered with marketing agencies in Dubai, so your brand arrives with something behind it rather than sitting on a shelf unnoticed.
- Launch campaigns with agency partners
- In-store activation and sampling
- Trade show and exhibition presence
- Arabic and English content adaptation
Ongoing operations
The recurring work that keeps a UAE entity in good standing once the excitement is over.
- Licence and visa renewal calendar
- Corporate tax and VAT filing support
- Marketplace account reconciliation
- New SKU registration as your range grows
Common questions
Questions we are asked most
Does my product need MoIAT registration?
It depends entirely on the product category. Some goods fall under a conformity scheme and need registration and a certificate before they can be sold. Others need only correct labelling and customs clearance, and some need registration with a municipality rather than MoIAT. We confirm which applies to your specific product in writing before any work is quoted.
Do I need to set up a company in the UAE to import?
In practice, yes. Import declarations are made against a licensed UAE entity with a customs client code, and product registrations are usually held in the name of the importer. If you prefer not to set up your own entity, the alternative is appointing a UAE distributor who imports and registers in their name — which is faster, but means the registration and the customer relationship belong to them.
Will my existing laboratory test reports be accepted?
Often, yes. Reports from laboratories accredited under internationally recognised schemes are commonly accepted, though acceptance is at the reviewing authority's discretion and depends on the tests performed. Where your reports cover what is required, we will say so rather than arrange testing you do not need.
How long does product registration take in the UAE?
The range is wide because it depends on the route. Labelling-and-clearance products can be ready in weeks. Registration with existing reports typically takes longer, and registration requiring local testing is the longest, because testing is done per variant rather than per brand. The assessment gives you a realistic range for your product before you commit.
Does every product variant need its own label and testing?
Usually yes, where the variants differ in formulation. Two flavours of the same product can have different ingredients, which means different ingredient panels and sometimes different test reports. This is the most common reason a market entry costs more than the owner expected, so we identify it early.
Can you introduce us to distributors in the UAE?
Yes. We shortlist and introduce distributors, retail buyers and marketplace account managers, prepare the commercial pitch and attend the meetings with you. Introductions are most effective once your product is approved, because a buyer will ask for the certificate in the first conversation.
How do you charge?
By stage, not by the hour. You commit to one stage at a time — Launch, Register, Sell or Scale — agreed and paid before the work starts, so nothing waits on paperwork between us. Government and laboratory fees are separate and paid at cost, with nothing added to them.
Not sure which route your product is on?
Send us the product, the country it is made in and how many variants you have. You will get a written answer, free, within one working day.