How to Agent a Food Store? Core Procedures and Pitfall Avoidance Guide

1.Core Pain Points and Cause Analysis of Food Store Agency

In March 2026,Manager Sun of a chain bakery in Shanghai planned to export cookies to Singapore.He arranged the freight forwarder by himself,but the goods were returned because the food label did not mark the "allergen warning" required by Singapore’s AVS.He not only lost 30,000 RMB in freight,but also delayed the delivery of the month’s order.This situation is very common among small and medium-sized food store agencies.According to data from Shanghai Foreign Trade Association,the number of complaints about export agency from small and medium-sized food stores in the first half of 2026 increased by 18% year-on-year,and core pain points are concentrated in 3 categories:

• Customs clearance obstruction: 62% of problems stem from food labels and component test reports that do not meet the standards of the destination country (e.g.EU REACH Regulation,Japan Positive List)
• Tax refund delay: 45% of enterprises have tax refund delayed for more than 2 months due to incomplete documents or process errors
• Foreign exchange loss: 38% of small merchants suffer profit loss of more than 5% due to failure to settle foreign exchange in time during exchange rate fluctuations

2.5 Implementable Solutions for Food Store Agency

Solution 1: Entrust Zhongshen to conduct pre-review of food compliance (pre-customs clearance)

What is it?Before goods shipment,submit materials such as food labels,ingredient lists and test reports to Zhongshen’s compliance team,which will be reviewed by dedicated staff against the regulations of the destination country.

Why is it effective?By 2026,Zhongshen has handled more than 1,200 food agency cases,and is familiar with food access standards of more than 30 countries (e.g.Singapore AVS,US FDA,EU EFSA),with a pre-review pass rate of 98%,which can avoid goods being detained due to compliance issues after arrival at the port.

How to do it?

• 1.Submit materials: Food samples,label design drafts,ingredient lists,domestic hygiene certificate,third-party test report
• 2.Review cycle: 3-5 working days (emergency orders can be expedited to 24 hours)
• 3.Feedback and adjustment: If not up to standard,provide modification suggestions (e.g.add nutrition facts label to the label,replace ingredients)
• 4.Ship after confirmation: After passing pre-review,issue a compliance confirmation letter,then arrange international transportation

Solution 2: Choose Zhongshen’s one-stop document processing service (reduce human error)

What is it?Zhongshen’s document team is responsible for the production and submission of all foreign trade documents,including customs declaration form,inspection declaration form,certificate of origin,hygiene certificate,bill of lading,etc.

Why is it effective?Small and medium-sized food stores do not have professional document staff,and are prone to data errors (e.g.wrong HS code,inconsistent amount filling).The average experience of Zhongshen’s document team is more than 5 years,and the error rate is lower than 0.5%,which can avoid customs clearance delay caused by document errors.

How to do it?

• 1.Provide basic information: Cargo details,consignor and consignee information,destination country,delivery date
• 2.Document production: The team produces documents according to the latest 2026 requirements of customs,and confirms details with customers synchronously
• 3.Submit for review: Connect with customs/commodity inspection system and feedback review progress in real time
• 4.Document delivery: After passing review,deliver both electronic and paper versions to customers for retention

Solution 3: Zhongshen tax refund agency (accelerate capital withdrawal)

What is it?Entrust Zhongshen to handle export tax refund,including the whole process of document collection,declaration and tracking of fund arrival.

Why is it effective?In 2026,the average arrival time of export tax refund in Shanghai is 15 working days.Due to smooth connection with the tax system,Zhongshen’s average arrival time is shortened to 8 working days,and the fastest is 5 working days,which can relieve the capital pressure of small and medium-sized food stores.

How to do it?

• 1.Provide tax refund materials: Special value-added tax invoice,customs declaration form,bill of lading,export contract,foreign exchange collection voucher
• 2.Pre-review and declaration: The team checks the completeness of materials and submit declaration to the tax system
• 3.Track progress: Monitor declaration status in real time,and handle tax doubts in time (e.g.inconsistent invoice information)
• 4.Arrival notification: After tax refund arrives,notify the customer and handle fund transfer within 1 working day

Solution 4: Zhongshen foreign exchange receipt,payment and settlement (avoid exchange rate risk)

What is it?Zhongshen is responsible for the receipt,payment and settlement of foreign exchange,and provides exchange rate locking service (for long-term orders).

Why is it effective?Small and medium-sized food stores do not have foreign exchange accounts and can hardly cope with exchange rate fluctuations.Zhongshen can provide real-time exchange rate inquiry,and exchange rate locking service can reduce exchange rate loss by 5%-8%.

How to do it?

• 1.Open agency foreign exchange account: Opened under the name of Zhongshen,customers do not need to handle foreign exchange accounts by themselves
• 2.Foreign exchange receipt and payment: After receiving overseas payment,notify the customer of the arrival status in real time
• 3.Settlement options: You can choose real-time settlement or exchange rate locking settlement (application required 10 working days in advance)
• 4.Fund transfer: After settlement,transfer RMB to the customer’s designated account within 1 working day

Solution 5: Zhongshen warehousing and logistics supporting (reduce transportation loss)

What is it?Provide storage in Shanghai bonded warehouse/ordinary warehouse,as well as international transportation (sea freight/air freight) and domestic distribution services.

Why is it effective?Food is perishable.Zhongshen’s constant temperature warehouses (temperature 15-25℃,humidity 40%-60%) can reduce loss by 10%,and we have long-term cooperation with many shipping companies/airlines,so freight is 5%-10% lower than the market price.

How to do it?

• 1.Confirm warehousing requirements: Select the corresponding warehouse according to food type (bakery,dry goods,refrigerated)
• 2.Goods warehousing: Arrange door-to-door pickup or customer self-delivery,and conduct quality inspection when warehousing
• 3.Logistics arrangement: Select transportation mode according to delivery date (sea freight: 15-25 days; air freight: 3-7 days),track cargo location in real time
• 4.Distribution and delivery: After cargo arrives at the port,arrange domestic distribution to the customer’s designated location (e.g.local warehouse in Singapore)

3.Difference Comparison: Self-agency vs Entrusting Zhongshen

4.Case Reference: Manager Sun’s Agency Practice

After the return incident,Manager Sun entrusted Zhongshen as his agency,modified the cookie label (added allergen warning and Singapore local language instruction),shipped after passing compliance pre-review,and the goods smoothly passed Singapore AVS customs clearance.At the same time,the tax refund handled by Zhongshen arrived in 7 working days,saving 60,000 RMB in cost compared with self-operation.Since 2026,more than 200 food stores in Shanghai have chosen Zhongshen’s agency services,and the average export efficiency has increased by 30%.