Finding a buyer is usually the easy part. Most first-time food exporters underestimate everything that has to happen before and around that — licensing, market-specific compliance, packaging adaptation, and the documentation that goes with every shipment. India's food and beverage exports crossed USD 50 billion in 2024–25 (APEDA), and a meaningful share of that growth is coming from mid-sized brands exporting for the first time. Here's the actual process, step by step.
Step 1 — Get Your FSSAI Central License
Food exporters need FSSAI Central License regardless of domestic turnover, since export activity falls under central jurisdiction. See our guide on FSSAI registration for food businesses if you're not yet registered at the right level.
Step 2 — Get an Import Export Code (IEC)
An IEC, issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, is mandatory for any business importing or exporting goods from India, food included. This is a one-time registration, not renewed per shipment.
Step 3 — Register with APEDA, If Applicable
Exporters of agricultural and processed food products covered under APEDA's scheduled list need an RCMC (Registration cum Membership Certificate) from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority. Whether this applies depends on your specific product category.
Step 4 — Understand Destination Market Requirements
Every export market has its own regulatory framework — BPOM in Indonesia, FDA in the United States, GCC standards across the Gulf, EU food safety regulations across Europe. These cover ingredient permissions, labeling format, and certification needs like Halal or Kosher where relevant. Skipping this step is the single most common cause of shipments getting held at customs.
Step 5 — Adapt Your Recipe or Formulation for the Target Market
A product that's fully compliant in India can fail a destination market's ingredient rules outright — a permitted preservative in one country can be restricted in another. Recipe formulation work for export often means reformulating around the destination market's specific restricted-ingredient list, not just translating the label.
Step 6 — Sort Out Export-Specific Packaging and Labeling
Beyond standard FSSAI requirements, export labeling often needs the destination country's language, specific net-quantity formats, and sometimes country-of-origin marking the importing country requires on its own terms, separate from India's rules.
Step 7 — Find Buyers and Distribution Partners
Trade shows, export promotion council networks, and B2B sourcing platforms are the most common ways first-time exporters find buyers. A distributor relationship is usually faster to establish than direct retail listings, though it typically means a lower margin per unit in exchange for market access you don't have to build yourself.
Step 8 — Handle Shipment Documentation
Each shipment typically needs a certificate of origin, a commercial invoice, a packing list, and — depending on the product and destination — a phytosanitary or health certificate. Getting this wrong doesn't usually block the export permanently, but it can delay a shipment at the port for days or weeks.
How Long Does It Take to Export Food Products from India?
| Activity | Typical Time |
|---|---|
| FSSAI Central License | 30–60 days |
| IEC | 1–3 days |
| APEDA Registration | 1–7 days |
| Label Adaptation | 1–2 weeks |
| Export Documentation | Few days, per shipment |
| Total Time (first shipment) | Approximately 1–3 months |
Several of these can run in parallel rather than back-to-back — FSSAI Central License and IEC registration, for instance, don't depend on each other, which is why exporters who start both early often reach their first shipment closer to the lower end of this range.
Common First-Time Exporter Mistakes
| Mistake | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Assuming domestic compliance covers export | Shipment held at destination customs over an undeclared ingredient or labeling gap |
| Skipping market-specific formulation review | Product rejected entirely for using a restricted ingredient in the destination country |
| Underestimating documentation lead time | Shipment delayed waiting on a certificate that should have been requested weeks earlier |
| No local market research before committing | Product launched into a market where local taste preference or price point doesn't match what was shipped |
The exporters who move fastest aren't the ones who skip steps — they're the ones who start the licensing and market-research steps in parallel with finding a buyer, instead of waiting until a deal is confirmed to begin compliance work that takes weeks either way.
A Real Example — Reformulating for a Specific Export Market
An Ahmedabad-based snack brand had a confirmed buyer interested in their product for the UAE market, but their existing formulation used a preservative permitted in India that needed substitution for Gulf market compliance. Rather than delaying the deal, the reformulation work ran in parallel with the buyer negotiation and documentation process, so the product was export-ready by the time the deal closed instead of adding weeks afterward.
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Explore Export ConsultingFrequently Asked Questions — Exporting Food from India
The following are some of the most common questions first-time exporters ask about the process.
Yes, both are required. The IEC is needed for any export activity from India, and FSSAI Central License is specifically required for food exporters regardless of domestic turnover.
Only for products covered under APEDA's scheduled list of agricultural and processed food products. It's worth checking whether your specific category falls under this list before assuming it does or doesn't apply.
IEC registration is typically quick, often a matter of days. FSSAI Central License and APEDA registration, where applicable, can take longer, so it's worth starting these well before a shipment deadline.
Not always, but it's worth checking the destination country's ingredient and additive rules for every new market, since restrictions vary significantly even between countries with otherwise similar regulatory standards.
Small and mid-sized businesses export regularly. The licensing requirements are the same regardless of company size, though larger volumes may justify direct retail relationships rather than working through a distributor.
A distributor typically offers faster market access and handles local relationships, in exchange for a lower margin per unit. Direct export usually means more control and margin, but requires building those market relationships yourself.
No, this depends entirely on the destination market and product category. Halal certification matters significantly for Gulf and Southeast Asian Muslim-majority markets, while it may be irrelevant for other destinations.
Typically a certificate of origin, commercial invoice, packing list, and — depending on product and destination — a phytosanitary or health certificate.
FFCAE supports both — full end-to-end export readiness, or specific stages like formulation adaptation or compliance documentation if you already have other parts of the process handled.
Trade shows, export promotion council networks, and B2B sourcing platforms are the most common starting points, often combined with market-specific introductions through an experienced export consultant.
Written by the FFCAE team, who run formulation adaptation and export documentation in parallel often enough to know that's the difference between a deal that ships on time and one that doesn't. 13+ years of experience, 1,087+ clients, 20+ countries served.
