How to Sell Your Products in Israel — Guide for Foreign Brands & Manufacturers

Israel is a small but affluent, highly import-dependent market of around 10 million consumers with strong purchasing power and openness to foreign brands. For manufacturers and exporters, it's an attractive market — but selling there means clearing a few specific hurdles that don't exist in many other countries.

Why sell in Israel?

Affluent consumers with high spending power and appetite for imported goods.
Import-reliant economy — a large share of consumer products is imported.
Concentrated market — a relatively small number of wholesalers and retail chains, so the right relationships go a long way.

The 4 things you must handle to sell in Israel

1. Importer of record

A local entity must legally import the goods. More →

2. Customs & VAT

Clearance at Haifa/Ashdod, duties and 18% VAT.

3. Standards (SII)

Many products need Israeli Standard (ת״י) approval — CE is not enough. More →

4. Hebrew labeling

Mandatory local labeling and documentation.

Two ways to enter the Israeli market

Option A — Set up your own operation

Open an Israeli company, register for VAT, build a warehouse and a local sales team. This gives you full control — but it's slow, expensive, and risky before you've validated demand.

Option B — Work with a local distribution & sales partner (recommended)

A local partner acts as your importer of record, handles customs and compliance, warehouses your goods, and actively sells them to Israeli buyers. You enter the market quickly and with low risk, with no local entity required. This is exactly what we do — see our Sell-in-Israel partnership.

Step by step

Choose a local partner who knows your category and the Israeli buyers.
Agree commercial terms — distribution, exclusivity, pricing.
Handle compliance — SII standards and Hebrew labeling.
Import & clear customs — your partner acts as importer of record.
Distribute & sell — to wholesalers and retail chains, with reporting.

See the full step-by-step process.

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming CE is enough. It isn't — Israel has its own mandatory standards.
Shipping before compliance is sorted. Goods can get stuck at customs.
No Hebrew labeling. A frequent cause of clearance delays.
No local relationships. Israeli buyers buy from partners they trust.

The shortcut: instead of solving all of this alone, use one local partner who does it end to end. See how we bring foreign products to Israeli buyers →