Starting a little import business Italy UK

[Louis Balfour]

I am thinking of doing this as a side hustle, just for the fun of it.

I have spotted no gap in the market, I have never imported anything commercially from anywhere and my spoken Italian is appalling.

So, what shall I do?

[vaud]

For regular email communications (not contracts) Google translate is adequate.

[Louis Balfour]

vaud said:

For regular email communications (not contracts) Google translate is adequate.

Part of the appeal is that it will sharpen up my language skills.

Of course, that may result in me going over to negotiate for silk and leather goods, and returning having ordered several million tons of obsolete fridge components and a container of Renato Carosone LPs on minidisc.

[vaud]

Louis Balfour said:

Part of the appeal is that it will sharpen up my language skills.

Of course, that may result in me going over to negotiate for silk and leather goods, and returning having ordered several million tons of obsolete fridge components and a container of Renato Carosone LPs on minidisc.

And two tons of Mostarda di frutta (I’m in for a kilo)

[spikeyhead]

Someone I know went into a garage in France and asked for a 13mm nut, except what he actually asked for was 13,000 hazelnuts.

What could possibly go wrong?

[ayedubya]

Louis Balfour said:

I am thinking of doing this as a side hustle, just for the fun of it.

I have spotted no gap in the market, I have never imported anything commercially from anywhere and my spoken Italian is appalling.

So, what shall I do?

my missus is a native italian speaker (from the Marché region) if you're after some translating services... she too looking for some 'side hustle-type' work

[Bubbas Grill]

Apparently I once asked for a large giraffe in an Italian restaurant....

[Louis Balfour]

ayedubya said:

Louis Balfour said:

I am thinking of doing this as a side hustle, just for the fun of it.

I have spotted no gap in the market, I have never imported anything commercially from anywhere and my spoken Italian is appalling.

So, what shall I do?

my missus is a native italian speaker (from the Marché region) if you're after some translating services... she too looking for some 'side hustle-type' work

What, and spare myself the indignity of Italian businesspeople laughing at my pitiful grasp of their language?

At the moment I am thinking silk products. Based upon minimal research.

[nebpor]

Louis Balfour said:

What, and spare myself the indignity of Italian businesspeople laughing at my pitiful grasp of their language?

At the moment I am thinking silk products. Based upon minimal research.

Be much cheaper sourcing silk from Asia, no? Albeit I can imagine Italian silk goods being of a higher standard ....

[bazza white]

Many euro business owners/employees will speak English. English is the international language of business.


I found the Italians pretty decent to do business with. Used to import quite a bit from various companies. Only one had poor English but wasn't an issue.



It's not so straightforward importing from the EU now. Effort okay for large quantities but if your importing small quantities it can be a pita. No more DHL'ing a few boxes overnight. Not sure if it's got any better as I knocked it on the head.

[Louis Balfour]

bazza white said:

Many euro business owners/employees will speak English. English is the international language of business.


I found the Italians pretty decent to do business with. Used to import quite a bit from various companies. Only one had poor English but wasn't an issue.



It's not so straightforward importing from the EU now. Effort okay for large quantities but if your importing small quantities it can be a pita. No more DHL'ing a few boxes overnight. Not sure if it's got any better as I knocked it on the head.

What were you importing?

[bazza white]

Louis Balfour said:

bazza white said:

Many euro business owners/employees will speak English. English is the international language of business.


I found the Italians pretty decent to do business with. Used to import quite a bit from various companies. Only one had poor English but wasn't an issue.



It's not so straightforward importing from the EU now. Effort okay for large quantities but if your importing small quantities it can be a pita. No more DHL'ing a few boxes overnight. Not sure if it's got any better as I knocked it on the head.

What were you importing?

Audio equipment and the same from Germany.

[Louis Balfour]

bazza white said:

Louis Balfour said:

bazza white said:

Many euro business owners/employees will speak English. English is the international language of business.


I found the Italians pretty decent to do business with. Used to import quite a bit from various companies. Only one had poor English but wasn't an issue.



It's not so straightforward importing from the EU now. Effort okay for large quantities but if your importing small quantities it can be a pita. No more DHL'ing a few boxes overnight. Not sure if it's got any better as I knocked it on the head.

What were you importing?

Audio equipment and the same from Germany.

Have you ceased that too?

[Bannock]

What's your sales channel, OP?

[Louis Balfour]

Bannock said:

What's your sales channel, OP?

I don't know. That will depend upon what I decide to import.

[bazza white]

Louis Balfour said:

bazza white said:

Louis Balfour said:

bazza white said:

Many euro business owners/employees will speak English. English is the international language of business.


I found the Italians pretty decent to do business with. Used to import quite a bit from various companies. Only one had poor English but wasn't an issue.



It's not so straightforward importing from the EU now. Effort okay for large quantities but if your importing small quantities it can be a pita. No more DHL'ing a few boxes overnight. Not sure if it's got any better as I knocked it on the head.

What were you importing?

Audio equipment and the same from Germany.

Have you ceased that too?

Yes the arse fell out of the market. Closed the lot up. Did look into importing again a few years ago but just after Brexit and seems to much effort for a micro business.

Edited by bazza white on Wednesday 10th May 15:13

[StevieBee]

vaud said:

For regular email communications (not contracts) Google translate is adequate.

DeepL is better: https://www.deepl.com/translator

Teams has a live translation captioning function. A bit hit and miss but handy for keeping a general ideal of what's being said.

Find out who your local DiT (Department for International Trade) rep is. Speak to them. They have numerous support services for new importers and exporters (though weighted more to export).

Italians can appear to get all emotional but are generally decent people to trade with but in my experience, they like to establish relationships. Establish your primary contacts and go and see them face to face. Have a meal with them and drink some wine with them. It's a few hundred quid and a bit of time that will be very well spent.

[Louis Balfour]

StevieBee said:

DeepL is better: https://www.deepl.com/translator

Teams has a live translation captioning function. A bit hit and miss but handy for keeping a general ideal of what's being said.
[quote]

I am still looking for something that will translate live TV news from Italian to English. Any ideas?

Find out who your local DiT (Department for International Trade) rep is. Speak to them. They have numerous support services for new importers and exporters (though weighted more to export).

This sounds like a good tip.

[Geoffcapes]

Bubbas Grill said:

Apparently I once asked for a large giraffe in an Italian restaurant....

I think I know what you were trying to order!

[ReverendCounter]

I got told off at Lidl for buying too many of one of their seasonal products - tinned stuffed vine leaves, delicious, but they never get enough in.

So - tinned italian food.

Go to Italy, find out which of the most delicious food can be bought tinned.

Bring some back, go to a food market, set up a stall, offer samples, show which tins it comes from, sell the tins, get an idea if it works - tinned italian food stall and or sell to deli type places.

Some of the following *may* be useful as suggestions - I save these and make my own notes when reading about other peoples suggestions - but admittedly a lot of it isn’t available tinned (breads/sandwiches, cake etc) so ignore those.


Italian Food

Schiacciate - type of flatbread with different ingredients ‘typical Tuscan focaccia’ but Sicilian? - can have different fillings or toppings on it/in it - stuffed flatbread

Coda Alla Vaccinara - traditional stew

Trippa - tripe but made in a way that makes it delicious apparently

lampredotto - sandwich made with tripe, slow cooked, tender, marinated/braised

Trappizzino - pizza/sandwich hybrid?

Suppli - fried street food: rice, breadcrumbs, mincemeat, tomato sauce, cheese,

Aracini - larger than suppli with more variety in fillings

Panuozzo di Gragnano - pannini/sandwich, flat, with different fillings

‘Tuscan guanciale (a variety of bacon, but wayy fattier and made from another cut of pork)’

Taleggio (mildly aged, semi-soft italian cheese with a distinctive taste) and honey... I've been longing for that since then.

Osso Bucco - slow cooked veal or beef

Porchetta - roast pork

Peposo

Peposo dell’Impruneta con Gremolata e Risotto Bianco

tagliere misto - cured meats + cheeses etc

piadine (flatbread)

Crescentina - trad bread, Bologna

Prosciutto crudo/cotto - crudo is raw and cured ham made from high-quality pork legs. It comes in a deep red colour, marbled with fat. Salty, fragrant, buttery, and soft, thin slices of Prosciutto Crudo melt in the mouth. Cotto is cooked.

Mortadella - sausage with origins in Bologna, Italy. It's composed of cured pork with least 15% pork fat cubes, whole or chopped pistachios, and spiced with black pepper and myrtle berries

Regional food, not an exhaustive list but some ideas:
Turin - Agnolotti, tajarin
Genoa - trofie al pesto, focaccia, pansoti
Milan - risotto alla milanese, ossobuco, cotoletta, cassöeula, minestrone
Emilia-Romagna/Bologna - lasagne, ragù alla bolognese, tortellini, cappelletti, gramigna, gnocco fritto, mortadella, prosciutto
Rome - pizza al taglio, pasta alla gricia/amatriciana/carbonara/cacio e pepe, carciofi fritti, porchetta, supplì, saltimbocca, maritozzo
Naples - pizza, babà, sfogliatella, cuoppo misto, ragù napoletano, pasta patate e provola, spaghetti alle vongole, baccalà, fritti di pasta
Florence - bistecca alla fiorentina, pappa al pomodoro, ribollita, lampredotto, castagnaccio, cantucci, schiacchiata, ragù al cinghiale
Puglia - orecchiette, panzerotto, pasticciotto, taralli, focaccia pugliese, brasciola
Sicily - arancino/a, sfincione, pasta alla norma, cuscus, pasta con le sarde, cannolo, pasta chi vruoccoli arriminati

Cassata - cake, apparently delicious