ExportkontorLeón · Las Vegas · Network since 2009 DE EN ES Book a call
Market entry for German manufacturers

We find your distributors. And close the deal.

Result of another manufacturer

Under three weeks, under EUR 1,000 in ad spend: a distributor for all of Mexico at the table.

83 enquiries from Mexico in 26 days. For a German stainless steel product.

  • 31of them booked a call directly
  • 66enquiries from the USA, first 7 days

Real numbers from another manufacturer in Baden-Württemberg, documented in the roadmap (PDF); every product tests differently.

Two weeks of testing in the USA or in Mexico, then you decide. If you go ahead, we negotiate with the right distributors in person until the contract is signed.

Email and first name are enough. The roadmap page and the PDF are in German. Whether you want a call afterwards is your decision.

Our own warehouses in León and Las Vegas Network since 2009 Negotiation and close in person, on the ground
GERMANY WAREHOUSE LEÓN FULFILLMENT LAS VEGAS

Mexico hub · connected to the USA and Latin America

01

You already know the situation. Here it is in black and white.

Many business owners no longer say out loud what they have been thinking for a long time. The numbers now say it for them.

32.58 ct
Electricity per kWh for smaller operations

That is what companies with lower consumption paid in the second half of 2025, a good 28 percent more than in 2021. Industrial electricity in the EU costs around twice the US level.

EUR 146 bn
Cost of bureaucracy per year

The ifo Institute puts the economic output lost to bureaucracy each year at up to this amount. Capacity that should be generating revenue goes into reporting obligations instead.

+0.2 %
Growth of the German economy in 2025

After two years of recession. German online retail of goods grew by a meager 1.1 percent in 2024, and 24,064 corporate insolvencies mark the highest level since 2014.

Sources: Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) 2026, IEA Electricity 2026, ifo Institute 2024, bevh 2025.

The problem is not your product. The problem is that your only market has become the hardest one.

02

The home market is the smallest market

The best German brands have been proving it for decades: the revenue is abroad. Share of international revenue in total revenue:

StihlPower equipment, family owned90.4 %
KärcherCleaning equipment, family owned86 %
RavensburgerGames and puzzles, almost 40 % North America70 %

And the Mittelstand? According to KfW, only 23.1 percent are active internationally. Those that are generate 27 percent of their revenue abroad on average.

Germany
83.5 mpeople
USD 2.47 tnprivate consumer spending 2024
Latin America and the Caribbean
662 mpeople
USD 4.87 tnprivate consumer spending 2024

Sources: Stihl Annual Report 2024, Kärcher Year in Review 2025, Ravensburger 2024, KfW Internationalisation Report 2024, World Bank 2024.

03

The 2026 tariff window: your head start on China

5 to 50 %
import tariffs in Mexico since 1 January 2026 for countries without a free trade agreement
1,463
affected tariff lines, among them kitchen, household and consumer goods
EU: exempt
under the EU-Mexico Agreement. The modernised agreement was signed on 22 May 2026 and widens preferential access further.

Since 1 January 2026, Mexico has charged import tariffs of 5 to 50 percent on 1,463 tariff lines from countries without a free trade agreement: China, South Korea, India.

The EU is exempt under the EU-Mexico Agreement. A German product therefore lands at the Mexican border cheaper than its Chinese competitor, at higher quality. That is not a forecast. That is customs law in force.

Shelf space and importers are being allocated right now. Whoever distributes first takes the shelf and the importer.

+20 % e-commerce

growth in Mexican online retail in 2024, to 789.7 billion pesos. The sixth double-digit year in a row.

USD 36.9 bn

in foreign investment flowed into Mexico in 2024, an all-time record. Germany is the third-largest investor.

Your categories

The fastest-growing segments in Mexican e-commerce: household care, garden, DIY and small appliances.

Sources: DOF / White & Case 2025, European Commission 2026, AMVO Estudio de Venta Online 2025, Gobierno de México 2025.

04

One market entry. Two markets.

We do not just open up Mexico for you. With our own warehouses on both sides of the border, your export setup serves Mexico and the USA at the same time, with contacts reaching into South America.

Warehouse León, central Mexico

The base for Mexico and Latin America

Your goods sit where distributors and retail chains call them off. Add to that long-standing contacts across Latin America, from Mexico City to Buenos Aires.

Fulfillment center Las Vegas, USA

US fulfillment from inside the country

Your goods clear customs once in bulk and sit in Las Vegas. Orders from Amazon, eBay, retail or your own store ship the next business day via FedEx or DHL. Run by our fulfillment partner: 15+ years in US fulfillment, 30 staff.

No. 1

Mexico is the largest trading partner of the USA: USD 404.6 billion in goods trade from January to May 2026 alone, 16.5 percent of all US goods trade.

15 %

Uniform US tariff cap on most EU goods since 1 July 2026, with no further surcharges. Your US landed costs are calculable to the cent before you start.

2 markets

One setup, one point of contact, both countries supplied. We handle proof of origin, import and tariff calculation for Mexico and the USA.

Sources: US Census Bureau 2026, European Commission 2026.

05

What we take on: everything, from the test phase to the signature

Not an agency, not a consultancy, not a lead vendor. A market entry partner who closes the deal and gets the goods into the country.

01

Two weeks of testing in the target market

Two small campaigns show your product to the buyers and the trade partners in the USA or in Mexico before a single euro goes into distribution. After two weeks the findings are on the table, and you decide.

02

Partner search through our network

Distributor relationships grown since 2009, backed by targeted campaigns. We do not search at random. We approach the right houses.

03

Qualification, negotiation, signed contract

Led in person and on the ground, until the signature is on paper. Before that, the physical product test in the target market, ahead of the first order.

04

Incoterms, EXW, customs and import

We handle the execution, not just the advice about it.

05

Packaging localisation

As a marketing adaptation, not a product change.

06

Warehousing and logistics

Logistics warehouse in León (central Mexico), fulfillment center in Las Vegas (USA). Next-business-day dispatch via FedEx or DHL. Mexico and the USA from one source.

An agency hands over leads. We hand over a signature.

The physical test

Before a distributor orders, we test your product physically in the target market context. Example: Mexican limes instead of German lemons. Found before the first order, not after it. A detail like that decides whether the first shipment becomes a success or a complaint.

06

Why Exportkontor

Roman Lewcke. Twelve years building his own distribution in Mexico, Latin America and the USA.

With a product of his own (nanocoating) he built distribution in exactly these markets, from the first order to the retail shelf. Not as a consultant, but as a manufacturer with his own capital and his own risk. He knows every step ahead of you from his own experience.

Trained as an Industriekaufmann (industrial business apprenticeship) at Siemens in Mexico, certified by CAMEXA (the German-Mexican Chamber of Industry and Commerce)
Distributor relationships grown since 2009, with access up to retail chains
Developed his own product and sold it in Mexico, Latin America and the USA
Built distribution with his own capital and his own risk, not on a drawing board
07

The comparison: your alternatives

Three common routes into a new market, and what each one leaves out.

Route What you get What is missing
Hire an international export or sales director One salaried person working the market for you. A test in the target market, a network on the ground, a warehouse. Plus fixed costs from day one and the employment protection risk.
German export consultancy A study and a strategy. Partner search and the close.
Meta performance agency Leads. Everything after that: qualification, negotiation, customs, import, warehousing.
Exportkontor Two weeks of testing in the target market, then the findings. After that, if you want it, the mandate: partner search, negotiation, the close, customs, import, warehouse in León and fulfillment in Las Vegas. A guarantee. Nobody serious gives one. The findings are yours, even when they are a no.
08

The entry: two weeks of testing

The test phase consists of two small tests in your target market, not a consulting project.

The end-customer test shows your product to the people who would buy it in the USA or in Mexico and measures whether and how they respond. The partner test shows it to the dealers and importers who could carry it there. Whoever responds is vetted, and with the right candidates we hold the first conversations in person.

After two weeks the findings are on the table.

You see how the market responded to your product and which partners are in the running. You also see what the next step would be. Then you decide whether and how to go on.

01

Check the target market

We check whether your product has a market in the USA or in Mexico and decide whom we address: the buyers and the trade partners.

02

End-customer test

A small campaign shows your product to the people who would buy it there. We measure whether and how they respond.

03

Partner test

A second campaign puts your product in front of the right dealers and importers. Whoever responds is vetted.

04

First conversations, held in person

We talk to the qualified candidates ourselves, in their language and in their time zone.

05

Then you decide

You get numbers, names, notes from every conversation and an assessment. Whether it goes on is your decision.

Two weeks of testing, then you decide.

The roadmap (PDF, four pages, in German) shows what is on your table after two weeks and what happens on which day. Scope and terms of the mandate are discussed on the call, once the findings are in.

09

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to change my product?

No. Localisation is almost always packaging and language. If a physical adaptation is needed after all, you will know before the first order, through our physical test in the target market.

What happens after the two weeks?

You get the findings: which partners are in the running, how they responded, what the next step would be. If they convince you, we talk about a mandate. If they do not, the work ends with the findings.

How long does a market entry take?

Two weeks of testing first, then you decide. The market entry itself realistically takes six to nine months, sometimes longer. We do not sell a package with an artificial end date: the duration and scope of the mandate are set on the call, once the findings are in.

USA or Mexico?

Both are possible, and on the call we decide where your test phase runs. In Mexico, our own warehouse in León and our local partner's network sit there. For the USA, our fulfillment center in Las Vegas is ready, and Latin America we reach through contacts into South America.

How are storage and shipping in the USA billed?

Two line items: monthly pallet storage and a flat rate per shipment, picking and packing included. Both at our Las Vegas fulfillment partner's cost, quoted per product before you start and separate from our mandate.

What if no partner responds?

Then you know it after two weeks and not after a year. We make no guarantees, and you should not believe anyone who does. The findings are yours, even when they are a no.

Who holds the conversations?

The conversations with the distributors are held by Roman Lewcke and Gustavo Orozco von Allwörden in person, in the partner's language. Your own call before the test phase is with Bruno Filkin. No agency, no call center, no lead vendor.

Why a US company?

What you pay us is normally a fully deductible business expense for you. There are no employer social security contributions, no German employment law, full flexibility. You are buying a service, not an employee.

Rather have a written read on your product first?

Does your product fit Mexico or the USA?

The way to the findings is the test phase. Want a written first assessment of your product before that? Fill in the market check. You receive it within 3 business days, personally from the founder. Free and without obligation.

  • Tariff advantage and a realistic route to market for your product category
  • A first read on target market and competition in Mexico or the USA
  • Reply within 3 business days, personally from the founder

Your data goes to Exportkontor only and is used solely to get back to you about your market check.

The next step

Finally someone abroad you can trust.

Two weeks of testing in the USA or in Mexico, then the findings: numbers, names, notes from every conversation and an assessment. Then you decide.