Food & beverage customs brokerage

Move food and beverage shipments across the Canada–U.S. border with accurate classification, complete documentation, and compliance support designed to reduce holds and protect shelf life.

Common cross-border challenges

  • Perishable timelines, temperature control, and appointment-driven deliveries
  • Product and ingredient details that change HS classification and admissibility
  • Labeling, country-of-origin, and traceability expectations
  • Quota, permit, or agency requirements depending on the commodity
  • Duty/tax exposure and landed-cost accuracy for pricing and margin planning
  • Recordkeeping and audit readiness for importers of record

How we help

We support importers, exporters, and distributors with end-to-end brokerage coordination—so your shipments clear efficiently and your filings stay consistent.

  • Customs clearance to reduce delays that can impact freshness and delivery windows
  • Import/export documentation review to reduce rejections, holds, and post-entry corrections
  • Tariff classification (HS codes) support for consistent, defensible product coding
  • Duty & tax consulting to improve landed-cost visibility and support pricing decisions
  • Compliance support for internal processes, recordkeeping, and audit readiness
  • Bonded shipments support when routing, timing, or cash-flow considerations require it

Typical shipment types

  • Packaged foods and ingredients
  • Beverages and concentrates
  • Refrigerated and frozen shipments
  • Bulk and palletized freight
  • Samples for sales and product development
  • Time-sensitive retail replenishment
  • Seasonal and promotional shipments
  • Returns and re-exports (when applicable)

Commonly required documents

Document requirements vary by product and destination. We’ll confirm what’s needed for your specific commodity and shipment profile.

  • Commercial invoice (with detailed product descriptions and ingredients where relevant)
  • Packing list
  • Bill of lading / airway bill
  • Certificates of origin (when applicable)
  • Product specs (e.g., composition, processing method, packaging format)
  • Permits, licenses, or agency documents (as required by commodity)
  • Prior notices or entry data elements (as applicable)
  • Temperature and handling instructions for cold chain shipments

Get a Food & Beverage quote

Email us your product details, origin, destination, and shipment frequency. We’ll respond with next steps and a quote.