Coupang’s John Dempsey meets with U.S. brands, sellers and manufacturers at the ECRM trade show in Dallas, helping American businesses expand overseas with a simplified cross-border model.
Coupang, a U.S. technology and Fortune 150 leader in global commerce, recently brought its international expansion expertise directly to American retail manufacturers and sellers at ECRM’s Center Store Grocery Sessions in Dallas. As part of a coast-to-coast road show this year, Coupang is meeting suppliers face-to-face with a clear mission: help U.S.-based businesses break into international markets faster. By simplifying the complexities of cross-border exporting and commerce, Coupang is making global selling more accessible than ever.
Why Dallas and why now?
ECRM’s Dallas event featured a wide range of categories, connecting with brands across grocery and consumables.
“The grocery category is regularly requested by our overseas consumers,” said John Dempsey, head of U.S. Business Development at Coupang. “In particular, they’re looking for unique products or brands they can’t get in South Korea. What this show allowed us to do is evaluate multiple categories at once and the unique products within them.”
Tyler Barich, ECRM’s Vice President of Food & Beverage, spends time in Dallas with Coupang’s John Dempsey, who connected with 50 vendors looking to expand internationally.
The trade show included U.S. sellers that represent an array of grocery categories from coffee, tea, and cocoa, to baking, spices, breakfast, boxed foods, and snacks. The Coupang team is focused on building relationships with sellers who offer products that resonate with international customers, especially as demand for distinctive U.S. brands continues to grow.
“For example, we were looking for products with protein, including coffees,” Dempsey said. “That’s a subcategory doing well right now, and protein resonates strongly with our customers. Sports nutrition and similar products are also performing well. We also look for special or giftable brands for holidays.”
While attending ECRM tradeshows in Florida, Chicago and Dallas, Coupang met with sellers and manufacturers looking to expand beyond U.S. borders. In Dallas, Coupang met one-on-one with 50 vendors ranging from large American candy manufacturers to a small business run by a husband and wife team. Now with Coupang’s new rapid sign-up process, the number of potential new sellers that signed up to enter the Coupang pipeline increased dramatically compared to past trade shows, Dempsey said.
Making international expansion simple
For businesses that sell through Coupang, the heavy lifting of international commerce is handled. This means sellers don’t need to navigate complicated import/export paperwork or overhaul their packaging to enter a new overseas market.
“We make international expansion easy,” Dempsey said. “If your product meets requirements, it’s very simple. You ship the product to our fulfillment center in Riverside, California. There are no label changes, no formulation changes required. We then deliver your product directly to the customer.”
One of the ways Coupang makes the process simpler is by leveraging air freight in its cross-border model, rather than relying on ocean freight and international shipping, which often comes with a high level of bureaucracy. The result is a faster, more streamlined pathway to sell goods in South Korea, Taiwan, and other Coupang markets without disrupting a brand’s domestic U.S. business.
Coast to coast, opening doors
Dallas was just one stop on Coupang’s broader road show strategy. The team is traveling coast to coast, with upcoming events including Expo West in Anaheim, California, and Prosper in Las Vegas. The company’s message: global expansion doesn’t have to be complicated for U.S. businesses. With Coupang, reaching millions of customers can be as simple as sending your goods to Riverside, Calif., and letting Coupang take it from there.
