Samples. The cost that keeps repeating, because they go out before the buyer is qualified.
Three jars in a box, heading to a country outside the European Union, travel as a fully fledged customs shipment. With an invoice, a declared value and a commodity code, even when the goods are a gift.
A free sample is still a shipment. To a non-EU country you need a pro forma invoice with a declared value, a description of the goods and the customs code. The Turin Chamber of Commerce points out that the company supplying the goods must keep proof that the export took place, just as for a sale.
The cost that hurts doesn't come from the courier. It comes from repetition: samples sent out for enquiries that haven't been qualified yet, which at best lead to a second shipment in the right format.
The rule that halves the cost comes before the box: nothing ships until you know which product, which format, which country and which channel. That's four questions, and anyone genuinely interested answers within a day.
This piece is part of the guide to export operations for small food producers and covers the fifth of its eight steps: sampling, the first real cost of a deal abroad.
The template, to download
For free samples of low value, a priced list or a pro forma invoice showing at least the cost of the goods supplied is enough for customs purposes. These two files are that pro forma, with the two statements people filling it in usually forget already printed on it.
| File | Contents | Link |
|---|---|---|
| ItalianWord, to fill in | The working copy. Header, goods lines, the two statements, totals, and what to keep afterwards. |
|
| EnglishWord, to fill in | Same fields, same order. This is the version that travels, because the customs agent at the other end reads it. |
|
| ItalianPDF, to print | For filling in by hand, or for passing round without risk of changes. |
|
| EnglishPDF, to attach | The copy you attach to the shipment once the details are final. |
The files are free. There's no form in the way, we don't ask for an email address, and we don't get notified when anyone downloads them. The description of the goods you write on it must match the one on the transport document: descriptions that don't match are the number one cause of checks.
A free sample is still a customs shipment
Outside the European Union there's no such thing as a “courtesy parcel”. The goods cross a border, so they have to be described, valued and declared. The Turin Chamber of Commerce, in its section on free samples, puts it plainly: for free samples of low value, for customs purposes it's enough to draw up a priced list or a pro forma invoice showing (at least) the cost of the goods supplied.
On the value to state, the same source suggests referring to the market value of the goods, citing Article 74 of the Union Customs Code. And it adds the point almost nobody considers: as a precaution, the Italian company supplying the goods must hold proof that the export took place.
A sample that leaves without a paper trail is a shipment that, six months later, you can't prove anything about.
Two things have to be written explicitly on the pro forma: that the goods are a free sample of no commercial value, and that the value shown is for customs purposes only. An unrealistic token value, such as one euro for a box of preserves, doesn't speed anything up: it makes a check more likely, and the check is the delay.
The documents you actually need
- The pro forma invoice. With a description of the goods, quantity, customs code, origin, net and gross weight, value for customs purposes only, and the free sample statement. The description has to be the same one you use on all the other documents, otherwise you get the same consistency problem as with a commercial shipment.
- The transport document from the courier or freight forwarder, and the export customs declaration, which produces the proof of exit you need to keep.
- Any health documents. Import requirements depend on the product and the destination country, not on the shipment being free: if a certificate is needed for that product and country, it may be needed for three jars too. The time it takes to get a health certificate is why this question needs asking on day one, not the day before collection.
- The label. A sample meant only for internal technical assessment is one thing; a sample the buyer wants to show a customer or put on a trial shelf is another, and at that point that country's labelling rules come into play. It's worth asking what the samples are for before you pack the box.
The sum nobody does
The cost of a sample has four lines, and only one of them shows: transport, documents, hours and repetition. Ask a producer how much they spent on samples last year and in most cases they don't know, because that spending has no line in any report: it's scattered across couriers, Chamber fees, the warehouse and someone's time.
| Cost line | Contents | Where it's underestimated |
|---|---|---|
| Transportthe visible line | Express shipping to a non-EU country, with customs paperwork. For a few kilos it can cost more than the goods inside. |
It's the only line anyone looks at, which is why it becomes the wrong yardstick for judging the whole operation. |
| DocumentsChamber of Commerce fees | Individually they cost little: at the Lecce Chamber of Commerce, a certificate of origin with a copy costs €10, a free sale certificate €3 in administrative fees. |
The cost isn't the fee but the wait: two or three working days to issue, which nobody had put in the calendar. |
| Hoursthe invisible line | Preparing, packing, filling in the pro forma, following up the paperwork, dealing with the courier, getting back in touch two weeks later. |
They don't get counted because they're done by someone already on the payroll, at a moment when they were doing something else. |
| Repetitionthe line that turns the sum on its head | The same shipment done again because the format was wrong, or sent for enquiries that weren't really enquiries. |
It doesn't show up anywhere, because each time it looks like a one-off. |
The total cost of a single sample shipment takes ten minutes to work out from your invoices. The number that really matters, though, is a different one: how many samples went out last year, and how many of them led to an order. That ratio tells you whether the problem is the product or the way enquiries are selected, and they're opposite problems.
The rule that halves the cost: qualify first
The sample goes out once the buyer has answered four questions. The rule is decided once, not case by case. It isn't rude. A serious enquiry finds those questions reasonable and answers within a day, and it's exactly the same filter described in the signs that a foreign buyer is serious.
Samples go out early for an understandable reason: they seem like the quickest way to move a conversation forward. The practical result is that they go out to anyone who has written, before you even know whether they sell your category.
Subject: [product] samples - a few details before we ship Dear [name], Happy to send samples. So that we can send you the right ones, could you confirm four things? 1. Which reference and which format are you interested in? 2. Which country will the product be sold in, and through which channel (retail, foodservice, distribution)? 3. Are the samples for internal tasting only, or will they be shown to a customer? 4. Full company address and contact for the courier, and who covers shipping costs? As soon as we have these, samples leave within [X] working days. Kind regards, [name] - [company]
The third question is the one producers forget most often, and it changes what goes in the box: an internal tasting can travel in plain packaging, while a sample meant for the buyer's own customer has to be presentable and, in some cases, labelled to that country's rules.
The fourth question sounds rude, and isn't. Many established importers have a contract with a courier and prefer to use their own account, because it costs both sides less. A buyer who offers this unprompted is telling you something useful about how interested they are.
Free supplies to non-EU countries have their own tax treatment, and being able to rely on it also depends on proof that the goods have left the EU. This page doesn't give tax advice. Which document to issue, which statement to include and which proof to keep are decisions to make with your accountant, before the first sample shipment and not at the end of the year.
The sample log, six columns
Six columns are enough: to whom, when, what, what it cost, who paid for shipping, what happened next. It's something you can sort out straight away, and it needs no software.
It does two things worth far more than the effort of keeping it. First: at the end of the year you know what it really costs to win a foreign buyer, a number you also need to work out what your first export order costs. Second, and less obvious: you notice the samples after which nobody ever got back in touch, the quietest loss in the whole sequence, because it produces no email to read.
When sample shipments run into dozens and the follow-ups pile up, that log is the obvious first candidate to stop being a spreadsheet: every buyer's status visible without piecing it together from your inbox, with a reminder about who's been quiet too long. With the rule set out in Ethics: the system prepares and flags, but no message reaches a buyer until a person has read and approved it.
We don't give a figure for the cost of a sample shipment, because, honestly, there isn't one: it changes with the weight, destination, courier and documents required. We give the structure of the sum, which you can reuse, and the only fees that can be checked: the Lecce Chamber of Commerce's, read from its fee schedule.
We don't quote conversion rates from samples to orders. There are figures going round on this, but we couldn't trace them to a primary source about small Italian food exporters, so they're left out. The ratio that matters is yours, and you get it from the six-column log described above.
The English text is written to be copied and doesn't reproduce correspondence with a real client.
Questions and answers
What documents do you need to send food samples outside the EU?
A pro forma invoice with description, quantity, customs code, origin, weights and value for customs purposes only; the courier's transport document; the export customs declaration. The Turin Chamber of Commerce states that for free samples of low value it's enough to draw up a priced list or a pro forma invoice.
Add any health documents the destination country requires for that product. And keep proof that the export took place, just as for a sale.
What value do you declare on a free sample?
You have to declare a value even if you're not being paid, because customs at the destination needs it. The Turin Chamber of Commerce says to refer to the market value of the goods, citing Article 74 of the Union Customs Code.
Two statements go on the pro forma: that it's a free sample of no commercial value, and that the value is shown for customs purposes only. An unrealistic token value makes a check more likely, so it slows things down instead of speeding them up.
Do samples need a health certificate too?
They might, and it doesn't depend on the goods being free. Import requirements are set by the destination country according to the product, so if a health certificate is needed for that product and country, the requirement can apply to three jars too.
The way to find out in advance: ask the buyer in writing, since they're in touch with customs at the destination, and confirm it with the relevant service at your ASL, which is the body that issues certificates on the Ministry of Health's templates.
How much does it cost to send samples abroad?
There's no figure that applies to everyone, and we don't publish one. There's the structure of the sum, and it has four lines: express transport with customs paperwork, documents, the hours of the person who prepares it, and product leaving the warehouse without an invoice.
Individually the documents cost little (at the Lecce Chamber of Commerce, a certificate of origin with a copy is €10, a free sale certificate €3). The lines that turn the sum on its head are the hours and the repetition.
When should you send samples to a foreign buyer?
After four answers: which product and format they're interested in, which country and channel it would be sold through, whether the samples are for internal tasting or for one of the buyer's customers, and who the shipment is addressed to and who pays for transport.
Shipping earlier does two kinds of damage at once: you pay for a shipment that often leads nowhere, and you send the wrong format to someone who really was interested, forcing a second shipment. Qualifying comes before the box.
Notes on sources
- Turin Chamber of Commerce, Campionature gratuite · Invio in Paese extra Ue (in Italian). The source, given here as a faithful paraphrase, of: a priced list or pro forma invoice being sufficient, the reference to market value (Article 74 of the Union Customs Code), and the precautionary requirement to hold proof that the export took place.
- Lecce Chamber of Commerce (in Italian), fee schedule and issuing times for export documents: certificate of origin with a copy €10, issued within two working days; free sale certificate €3 in administrative fees, issued within three working days. These are that Chamber's fees: yours may charge different amounts, so check them on its website.
- Ministry of Health, Certificazioni per esportazione (in Italian): health certificates can be signed only by the official veterinarian or the SIAN officer of the local health authority for the area.
- No conversion rate from samples to orders is quoted here: the figures going round can't be traced to a primary source about small Italian food exporters. When the source doesn't hold up, the number doesn't get published.
How many samples went out last year, and how many led to an order.
Do the sum by hand the first time: it teaches you more than any tool. At Itria we start from the outside and build tailored digital systems for exporters. For you, that means more enquiries, fewer losses and less manual work. Drop us a line about what's slowing you down. We'll make the first move: we'll look at what a buyer sees when they search for you, and tell you what we found. Even if we never end up working together.