From Santa Barbara to nine countries in the UK and EU
Teeccino had already proved the model in four markets and knew the health-conscious buyer existed in Europe. Getting there meant VAT registrations in several countries, ingredient and label compliance in each one, packaging in the right language, and more Amazon seller accounts than anyone wants to manage by hand. Expandly took the compliance and registration work. Teeccino now sells in nine countries across the EU and UK.
Teeccino is a caffeine-free herbal coffee and tea brand from Santa Barbara, California, selling through stores, distributors, wholesale, its own website and Amazon. It was already established in the US, Canada, Australia and Mexico. Europe needed tax registrations, ingredient and labelling clearance, and localised packaging before a single listing could go live. Expandly handled that work, market by market, and Teeccino is now trading in nine.
- Santa Barbara, California
- Herbal coffee and tea
- Already selling in 4 markets
- Now live in 9 UK and EU countries
- Omni-channel: retail, wholesale, DTC, Amazon
A dream, a kitchen experiment, and America's number one coffee alternative
Teeccino began with Caroline MacDougall and a dream about a caffeine-free cappuccino. Caroline had already spent years developing herbal teas for Celestial Seasonings, Yogi Tea and Republic of Tea, so the instinct behind it was not a hunch. The products are made from roasted ingredients including carob, chicory and dandelion root, and they are aimed at people who want a full-bodied cup without the caffeine.
Based in Santa Barbara, California, Teeccino is a pioneer in the herbal tea and herbal coffee industry and describes itself as America’s number one coffee alternative. Appreciation of the brand has widened from older adults to younger millennials, and that shift is what pushed the company to look at new markets.
It sells everywhere its buyers shop. In Galen MacDougall’s words, “As an omni-channel brand, Teeccino sells through stores, distributor channels, direct wholesale, and directly to consumers via our website and Amazon, where we have seen significant growth.” The brand was already established in the US, Canada, Australia and Mexico before Europe came into view.
“Our products brew, taste, and look like coffee but are completely caffeine-free.”
Galen MacDougall, CRO, Teeccino Herbal Coffees and Tea
Founded in Santa Barbara, California
Markets already trading before Europe
UK and EU countries now selling
Distinct barriers to clear before launch
Five separate barriers, none of which wait for the others
Teeccino was targeting the health-conscious markets of the UK and EU, and the demand side was not in doubt. The entry side was. Each of the following is a specialism with its own timeline, its own authority to satisfy, and its own way of stopping a launch.
Expansion challenges across borders
Taken from Teeccino’s own account of what they were facing at the start.
VAT registrations
A separate registration in each country, each on the tax authority’s own timetable rather than yours.
Multiple Amazon seller accounts
Every new marketplace is another account, another set of requirements, another thing that can be suspended.
International regulations
Ingredients and claims that are fine at home are not automatically fine in a European market.
Customs
Paperwork that decides whether stock crosses a border or sits at it.
Shipping
Getting product to European buyers at a cost and speed the category can carry.
Compliance first, then the countries in order
Tax registration is the slowest part of any European launch and the one nobody controls. The work was sequenced around that fact rather than against it.
Ingredient and label compliance
Expandly’s compliance experts reviewed the product ingredients and package labelling to make sure they met the regulatory standards of each target market. For a herbal product that means the ingredients themselves, not only the wording on the pack, and the answer can differ between one EU country and the next.
VAT registration
Registrations were run market by market. Germany and Spain took longer than expected, because both sit with the tax authorities rather than with us or with Teeccino. That is worth saying plainly. What we control is that the registration is filed correctly, chased, and that the rest of the launch keeps moving while it clears.
Packaging and language
Rather than wait on the tax offices, the time was used to get packaging design completed in the correct language for as much of the EU as possible. The UK was the priority, followed by Italy and France. Packaging has since been completed for Poland, the Netherlands and Sweden. Language work done early is the difference between a registration clearing and a launch happening the same week.
Amazon marketplace setup
Multiple Amazon seller accounts were one of the barriers Teeccino named at the outset. Opening the additional marketplaces turned out to be the step that changed their view of the opportunity, and it is now the growth channel they are putting advertising behind.
Nothing idle while the tax offices worked
The order matters more than the speed. Slow steps start first, and the parallel work fills the wait.
Ingredients and packaging assessed against the regulatory standards of each target market.
VAT registrations filed country by country. Germany and Spain ran long, sitting with the tax authorities.
Correct-language packaging completed in parallel. UK first, then Italy and France, then Poland, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Additional Amazon marketplaces opened as each market cleared.
Selling in nine countries across the EU and UK, with advertising now going behind the Amazon growth.
“The reliability of Expandly to respond to emails and stay on top of each project along the way has been very satisfactory and the team have been really hands on, from onboarding to compliance.”
“There have been a few complications and hold ups completing VAT for Germany and Spain, as we are at the mercy of the tax authorities and things have taken a little longer than expected.”
CRO, Teeccino Herbal Coffees and Tea
“It was really refreshing to work with Teeccino. From a compliance perspective they applied the learnings and made the changes successfully first time. They were well coordinated with dedicated resource and this significantly helped both parties bring down the compliance journey time.”
Head of Compliance, Expandly
Nine countries online, and the shelf next
Teeccino is selling in nine countries across the EU and UK. The plan is to support the Amazon growth with further advertising and to build the brand in stores as well as online. Product launches are being phased, starting with their top-selling teas, with herbal coffee grinds to follow.
Ecommerce compliance and registrations were always the first step rather than the whole ambition. With those in place, the conversation has moved to logistics and to getting the product into physical retail across the UK and Europe.
“We are now selling in 9 countries across the EU and UK. The plan is to support our Amazon growth with further advertising and to grow the brand not just online, but also in stores.”
“Opening additional marketplaces on Amazon was an eye-opener for us. We anticipate 10-20% growth just from international markets.”
“We aim to build our partnership with Expandly to utilize their logistics for the brick-and-mortar side of the business, not just e-commerce.”
“With Expandly’s continued support, Teeccino is well-positioned to achieve its ambitious growth targets and bring our unique herbal brews to a global audience.”
“I’ve watched the company grow since it was a kitchen experiment after my mom’s dream in the mid-90s. It’s been an amazing journey to see it flourish over the years.”
“Consumers are looking for new taste experiences and alternatives to traditional beverages. Teeccino fills that cup perfectly.”
CRO, Teeccino Herbal Coffees and Tea
What Teeccino's Rollout
Teeccino is a US brand with proven demand, an established home operation and several international markets already running. That is the profile of most brands who come to us, and four things from this launch carry straight across.
Tax offices set their own pace
Germany and Spain ran long. No provider can promise otherwise. What matters is what you get done while you wait.
Europe is not one market
Nine countries meant nine sets of requirements and packaging in the right language for each.
Ingredients are a market access question
For food, drink and supplement brands the formulation itself is reviewed, not just the wording on the pack.
Marketplaces multiply the admin
Every country you open is another seller account with its own compliance obligations attached.
Teeccino’s own read on it was that opening the additional Amazon marketplaces was the eye-opener. The compliance work is what made those marketplaces available.
Selling across the EU and UK, with packaging completed for the UK, Italy, France, Poland, the Netherlands and Sweden.
countries trading
The same compliance and registration sequence, run for thousands of brands before this one.
brands taken into UK and EU markets
The UK, Netherlands and Germany come as standard. Teeccino now trades in all three.
markets included from day one
The same sequence, every brand, every market
We do not improvise a plan for each customer. The Global Expansion Pathway (GEP™) is a six-stage sequence, and it exists because each stage answers a question the next one cannot be attempted safely without. Teeccino’s work sat in compliance and channel. Logistics is the stage they are moving into next, as they take the brand from ecommerce into physical retail.
See how the Global Expansion Pathway works, or read more of our case studies.
Find out what your own launch would involve
Five questions, then a personalised snapshot: which markets fit your product, what compliance you are facing, and what to do first.
This page describes work carried out for one brand. Tax, compliance and logistics requirements vary by country, product category and sales channel, and your own launch will look different. Talk to our team about your situation.