{"id":16493,"date":"2026-11-09T14:07:54","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T13:07:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalegonutrition.com\/?p=16493"},"modified":"2026-11-09T14:07:54","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T13:07:54","slug":"selling-food-supplements-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalegonutrition.com\/en\/selling-food-supplements-in-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Selling beyond Spain: what to decide before you take the step"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Vanessa Cruz, Regulatory Compliance Expert at LegaleGo Regulatory \u00b7 Public register data as of October 2026<\/em><\/p>\n

For many food supplement brands selling in Spain, the Spanish market is a starting point, not a ceiling. Consumers in other EU countries look for similar products, online sales already cross borders, and the work done in Spain (formulation, technical file, labelling) is a solid base to grow from.<\/p>\n

Many of these brands never consider it because they picture a long, bureaucratic process and a full reformulation. In practice, the scope is usually narrower than it seems, as long as one check is made first: a food supplement that is correctly marketed in Spain cannot necessarily be sold as it is in another Member State.<\/p>\n

That prior check is what separates an orderly expansion from one that gets fixed along the way. It rests on three points of regulatory interpretation worth having clear before choosing a country.<\/p>\n

The framework is European; the detail is national<\/h2>\n

EU food supplement law sets a common framework but leaves decisive aspects to each Member State. Vitamin and mineral limits differ from one country to another, and each country also has its own restrictions on botanical ingredients. The same product can comply in one country and exceed the limits of another, without either situation being wrong from each authority\u2019s point of view. That is what happened when Poland set its own maximum levels for vitamins and minerals, and it is also why mutual recognition does not, on its own, solve entry into another market<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Labels work in a similar way. Mandatory information must appear in the official language of each country where the product will be sold, but adapting it is not just translating it: there are national warnings, each authority\u2019s interpretation criteria and, in countries with more than one official language, the need to include several languages on the same pack. In Belgium, for example, the languages depend on the region where the product is sold: French and German in Wallonia, Dutch in Flanders, and French and Dutch in Brussels. And it is not only the pack: digital communication in another country\u2019s language must also comply with its rules.<\/p>\n

Brands often discover, while preparing their second market, that a dose that worked in Spain forces them to create another version of the product. Reviewing every formula and every label against all target countries in a single exercise, before deciding, avoids that medium-term consequence.<\/p>\n

Notifying is not the same as being covered<\/h2>\n

Member States do not handle placing on the market in the same way, and food supplement notification in Europe<\/a> does not mean the same thing in all of them.<\/p>\n

In some countries, notification works as a notice of placing on the market: the company notifies the product, receives the notification receipt straight away and can start selling, without waiting for a response from the authority. This is the case in Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Poland and Luxembourg.<\/p>\n

In others, it works as an authorisation: notifying generates an acknowledgement of submission, the health authority reviews the file, the documents and the label and, if everything is correct, issues the notification receipt; only then can the product be marketed. This is the case in France, Belgium, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, and timelines vary widely: around 14 days in Bulgaria, 4 to 6 weeks in France or Belgium and 2 to 3 months in Hungary or Romania, depending on administrative practice and each file.<\/p>\n

And some countries, such as the Netherlands, Sweden or Austria, do not require prior notification. That does not reduce the product\u2019s obligations: it simply moves all control to later inspection.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Procedure<\/th>\nWhen you can sell<\/th>\nExample countries<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Notice of placing on the market<\/td>\nAfter notifying, without waiting for a response<\/td>\nSpain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Poland, Luxembourg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Authorisation (prior review)<\/td>\nWhen the authority issues the receipt (from about 14 days to 3 months)<\/td>\nFrance, Belgium, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No prior notification<\/td>\nNo prior formality<\/td>\nNetherlands, Sweden, Austria<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>
Indicative classification as of October 2026, based on each country\u2019s administrative practice. Timelines and requirements depend on each file and may change.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

None of these procedures is a guarantee. Even where the authority reviews the product, it is not an approval as such: the document it issues may state expressly that it is neither a guarantee of compliance nor a marketing authorisation, and responsibility always remains with the operator responsible for the product.<\/p>\n

Where notifying is enough, the lack of a response is not a validation either: the authority can request information or act at any later point. What makes a product defensible in an inspection is not the date it was notified but the technical strength of the file behind it at that moment. That is where the real regulatory risk of an international expansion is measured.<\/p>\n

How many Spanish companies already sell abroad: the data<\/h2>\n

To measure how far this is already happening, LegaleGo cross-checked the public food supplement registers of three countries: the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) in Spain, the Compl’Alim platform in France and the Ministero della Salute register in Italy, with data as of October 2026. These are the results:<\/p>\n