Los Angeles · International CPG Trading
We source U.S. consumer brands in OTC, health and beauty, and personal care and place them into international retail across LATAM, MENA, and Asia.
Pelagon derives from the Ancient Greek word πέλαγος, meaning the open sea. The name reflects our view of international trade as navigation, not acceleration. In open water, judgment matters more than speed.
How We Operate
Most international expansions run into the same problems: entering the wrong market too early, selecting a distribution partner based on a pitch rather than a track record, or losing pricing control before the brand has any real leverage. We prevent those problems by owning the process end to end.
We identify which markets and retail channels are genuinely viable for your product. We evaluate pricing, competitive activity, and regulatory classification before any product moves. We then procure directly from U.S. manufacturers under authorized purchase or distributor agreements.
We manage export documentation, freight coordination, and in-country customs clearance through established logistics partners. Product moves from U.S. manufacturer to destination market under our supervision, on documented, compliant terms.
Our in-country distribution partners place product into retail, manage sell-through, and report back. We monitor channel pricing and shelf presence on an ongoing basis so problems surface early, when they are still fixable.
AI Capability
We use AI to get better information faster: on markets, on distribution partners, and on what is happening in the channel once product is live. It does not replace judgment. It makes the judgment better.
Before sourcing product for a market, we pull real data on category performance, competitive activity, and whether the regulatory and commercial path is realistic. It takes days instead of weeks and the data is current.
We evaluate distribution partners on what they have actually done: which brands they carry, how those brands show up in retail, what their import and clearance history looks like. A partner who presents well can look very different in the data.
We track pricing and listings across online and offline channels in active markets. If product appears somewhere it should not, or pricing starts to slip, we see it early before it compounds into a larger problem.
AI tools give us better information than we could get any other way at this speed. We use them across every trade relationship. But the decisions on which market to enter, which partner to place, and how to structure the purchase agreement are still made by people who have done this work before.
Before You Reach Out
We work with a selective number of manufacturers at any time. If the following describes where you are, there is likely a fit worth exploring.
Your product has proven sell-through in the U.S. market. You are not testing whether the product works. You are deciding where to take it internationally and how to do it without building a problem you have to fix later.
OTC, health and beauty, or personal care. Categories where distribution quality, channel control, and regulatory structure determine whether the international trade relationship is worth having.
You care about who controls the registrations, how pricing holds across channels, and whether there is a real exit if the distribution relationship stops working. You are building a trade business, not just shipping product.
You want an honest read on whether the market, the partner, and the structure make sense before committing. Getting it right matters more to you than getting there fast.
CPG Categories
OTC, health and beauty, and personal care. Categories where distribution quality, channel structure, and regulatory compliance determine whether an international business is worth having. Compliance is part of the picture in all three. But it is never the whole story.
Over-the-counter products, medicated personal care, cosmeceuticals. These categories require more structured market entry than standard FMCG. Registration ownership, labeling compliance, and distribution partner accountability are non-negotiable. We have direct experience navigating these requirements across multiple markets.
Vitamins, minerals, supplements, sports nutrition, and functional wellness. One of the fastest-growing FMCG segments globally. Market selection and distribution partner quality matter enormously here. Where regulatory classification is a factor, we know how to navigate it before product moves.
Skincare, haircare, color cosmetics, fragrance. Fast-moving, trend-sensitive, and highly competitive in international retail. The brands that win internationally control their channel, their pricing, and their positioning from day one. We structure distribution to protect all three.
Functional foods, better-for-you snacks, beverages, and natural products. One of the most competitive FMCG segments internationally. We identify the right retail and foodservice channels, source product under authorized agreements, and build pricing structures that hold up as volume scales.
Markets
We focus on high-growth consumer markets where distribution is complex, retail is demanding, and the consequences of a poorly structured entry are significant. These are not easy markets. That is exactly why operational experience in them matters.
Every country has its own retail structure, its own import requirements, and its own way of doing things. LATAM rewards patience and punishes brands that move too fast across too many markets at once. For OTC, health and beauty, and personal care, the structure of entry matters even more than the speed. Direct trade experience across Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Central America.
Strong consumer demand, high purchasing power in the GCC, and a retail environment that is evolving quickly. FMCG and personal care categories are growing fast across the region. Pricing control and the right distribution relationships are what separate a profitable trade business from one that never gains traction. Experience covers the GCC markets, Egypt, and selected North Africa markets.
High potential, high complexity, and real consequences for getting the initial entry wrong. Consumer demand for U.S. FMCG and wellness brands is strong across the region. We focus on controlled, well-structured entry for OTC, health and beauty, and personal care, with in-country distribution partners who have active retail infrastructure and documented import history.
When Regulation Is Part of the Picture
Not every FMCG category requires pre-market regulatory approval. But for OTC, health and beauty, and personal care, compliance is a real factor in market entry. We know these frameworks well enough to plan around them before product moves.
Latin America is not one market. Every country has its own regulatory framework, and navigating them requires country-specific knowledge. COFEPRIS in Mexico is one of the more demanding examples: registration timelines are real, classification disputes are common, and distributor-held registrations are one of the most frequent problems we inherit.
The UAE sits at the center of MENA distribution for personal care and health products. The Emirates Authority for Standardization and the Ministry of Health both play a role depending on product classification. Getting this right upfront is what separates a smooth entry from a customs hold that derails the launch timeline.
Regulatory requirements vary significantly across Asian markets. The Philippine FDA governs OTC and personal care product registration for our primary market. In China, the NMPA governs cosmetics, health foods, and OTC drugs with long registration timelines and extensive documentation requirements.
Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration and Health Canada both operate rigorous pre-market frameworks for health and OTC products. Both require specific registration pathways and labeling compliance that need to be planned well in advance of any product movement.
Regulatory requirements change. The above reflects our working knowledge as of early 2026. We verify current requirements before any product moves.
The Company
Pelagon Trading is a Los Angeles-based international trading company. We work with U.S. consumer brands across OTC, personal care, and health and wellness that are ready to move product into international retail. We purchase directly, export under our own logistics infrastructure, and place through vetted in-country partners with active retail relationships.
The issues we focus on are not glamorous: whether the market is the right fit for your category, whether your distribution partner has actually cleared product and built shelf presence before, and whether your pricing architecture will hold up as volume scales. For brands in OTC, health and beauty, and personal care, we also manage the compliance and registration side. But that is one part of what we do, not the whole thing.
Being U.S.-based matters more than most manufacturers realize. When you work with Pelagon, your trading partner is domestic. Contracts are governed by U.S. law. Payments are made in U.S. dollars through a U.S. bank account. Disputes are resolved here, not across twelve time zones. You are not chasing a foreign distributor for a remittance or trying to enforce an agreement in a jurisdiction you have never operated in. The accountability is local. The reach is international.
We work with a selective number of manufacturers at any time. The work requires full attention on every line, and we are not interested in taking on more than we can execute properly.
Partners
Pelagon Trading places product through a network of vetted in-country distribution partners. Each partner is selected on the basis of active retail relationships, documented import history, and demonstrated category experience. We do not work with partners who present well but have not built real shelf presence. The following are our current operating partners.
Sienna Sales & Marketing Inc. is a registered Philippine importer and distributor with an active national retail footprint. Product sourced and exported by Pelagon Trading from the United States is received, customs-cleared, and placed into retail by Sienna. They bring established relationships across the Philippines' leading pharmacy, personal care, and grocery chains, with presence expanding into Singapore.
Aussie Health Ecogreen Pte Ltd is a Singapore-based distributor and authorized importer of health, wellness, and personal care products. Operating under the Oz Health retail brand, they carry over 300 products across supplements, health food, snacks, and skin and hair care, with a focus on natural and premium-quality brands. Their retail and e-commerce presence makes them an effective launch partner for U.S. brands entering Singapore and the broader Southeast Asia market.
LSM Trading is a leading distributor of retail, health, and personal care products across the GCC and MENA region. Based in Dubai with extensive warehousing infrastructure and established buyer relationships across the region's top retail chains, LSM operates across mass market, professional beauty, and grocery channels. Their omnichannel capability spans physical retail, e-commerce, and marketplace platforms, giving U.S. brands immediate access to one of the world's most commercially active consumer markets.
GPP is a full-service distributor with 50 years of experience in the Mexican market, reaching over 21,000 points of sale nationwide. They operate across mass retail, pharmacy, department stores, hypermarkets, and digital marketplaces, with a strong track record in personal care and hair care categories. GPP's in-house category management, planogram strategy, and omnichannel execution capabilities make them one of the most sophisticated distribution partners in the LATAM region.
Regulatory Partners
For OTC, health and beauty, and personal care categories, regulatory compliance is a non-negotiable part of market entry. Pelagon Trading works with specialized legal and regulatory partners in key markets to ensure product registrations, labeling requirements, and sanitary authorizations are handled correctly before product moves.
Cohen Abogados is a Mexico City-based regulatory law firm with 12 years of experience navigating the Mexican regulatory landscape across COFEPRIS, PROFECO, IMPI, SEMARNAT, and STPS. Their team of lawyers, chemists, and economists provides end-to-end regulatory strategy and government representation for companies importing and commercializing consumer products in Mexico. Clients include Nestlé, 3M, Danone, Hyland's, and Galderma. Cohen Abogados is Pelagon's designated regulatory partner for COFEPRIS registration, sanitary licensing, and product compliance in the Mexican market.
cohenabogados.mx →How We Think
These are not principles we put on a slide. They are the positions we hold on every trade relationship, every purchase agreement, and every market we enter.
We recommend that product registrations are held by the manufacturer directly, or by Pelagon Trading as the manufacturer's authorized agent. The manufacturer controls the market. Not the distributor.
Pricing architecture is established before product moves. Once product is in market at the wrong price, correction requires fighting retailers, distributors, and market inertia at the same time.
We purchase exclusively through authorized manufacturer or distributor relationships. Every transaction is documented, traceable, and compliant with U.S. export regulations.
Across every category and every market, the single biggest variable in whether an international trade relationship works is partner selection. We evaluate based on what partners have actually done, not what they say they will do.
Entering five markets simultaneously sounds like momentum. It usually means doing all five poorly. We push for depth in fewer markets and expand once the model is working.
Every distribution agreement includes enforceable termination rights with clear transition provisions for registrations, customer relationships, and market access.
The Team
The Pelagon team has backgrounds in international CPG trade and export operations, distribution management across LATAM, MENA, and Asia, regulatory navigation in OTC, health and beauty, and personal care, government relations, and global commercial finance.
The common thread is direct operational experience. We have negotiated the purchase agreements, managed the customs clearances, dealt with the registration disputes, and been inside the markets when the distribution relationship broke down. That experience is what we bring to every trade relationship.
Contact
Tell us about your product and where you are trying to take it. We will follow up directly if there is a fit worth pursuing.
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