[COVID-19 General]
Where are you getting your supply from?
Most of our products are sourced internationally to ensure no interruption with the local supply of PPE, although we try to support local wherever possible (for example, with our 1L sanitizer).
With our 20 years of experience in international trade, we have hand-picked a selection of reliable medical supply manufacturers in China that were all in the industry prior to COVID-19.
Should I wear a mask if I'm not sick?
Health Canada and the CDC both strongly recommend the public to wear masks to prevent further spread, especially in situations where it is not possible to maintain 2 metres distance from others.
How long does it take to receive my order?
Orders are processed and delivered within 24 hours of purchase. We will provide a tracking number and your masks should arrive in 3-5 business days.
Why aren't hospitals and governments ordering these masks directly?
Purchasing and distribution at Provincial and Federal levels are facing bureaucratic impediments and current directives at play are causing gaps in the supply chain. With no time to waste, we have been importing protective supplies since mid-March to support our local essential services, including Airports and Police Services.
[Masks]
What is a protective face mask?
A protective face mask is made with non-woven fabric and melt-blown cloth that covers your nose and mouth and provides barrier protection against large particle droplets and does not effectively filter inhaled small particles, fumes, or vapors. They are not classified as medical devices in Canada, unlike surgical masks. However, they are a regulated product category in China, and test results are shared in the product description.
What is the difference between a protective face mask and a surgical mask?
Although the design and the aesthetics are similar, the key difference is usually in the quality of the meltblown filter material.
Besides the quality of filter material and associated filtration rate, surgical masks also require much more rigorous testing, including fire resistance, fluid resistance, and are even required to be sterilized according to Chinese standards.
How do protective/surgical masks compare to N95 masks?
N95 respirators are tight-fitting respirators that reduce the wearer’s exposure to airborne particles and filter out at least 95% of large and small particles.
Both protective and surgical masks are loose-fitting and do not require a fit test. Since protective and surgical masks do not prevent leakage around the edge of the mask when the user inhales, it is general understood that the primary utility in wearing protective/surgical masks is to capture droplets that the user projects, protecting those around us.
What is the difference between a KN95 and a N95 mask?
NIOSH-Approved N95 masks are the gold standard, and Health Canada lists KN95 as acceptable alternatives.
N95 respirators are tight-fitting respirators that reduce the wearer’s exposure to airborne particles and filter out at least 95% of large and small particles. KN95 masks are made of similar grade filter material that filters out at least 95% of large and small particles. However, KN95 masks do not require fit tests. Ear loop style masks have been reported to have a looser fit and thus, don’t have as tight of a seal.
KN95 masks offer a better seal than protective masks and surgical masks while offering the same comfort for long-term use and are often seen as a moderate balance between protective/surgical masks and N95s.
[Export]
My product is restricted for sale because of [qualifications/consumer law/tariffs/quotas/food products/scientific submissions] in China and can’t be imported. How can you do this through personal exemptions?
If you travel abroad from Canada, you can bring back items in your luggage – duty free and legally – that would be difficult to import in bulk. The same is true for China for online direct-to-consumer deliveries, provided that they are imported by a registered agent like CAC. This is a formal process codified in law in 2015.
Chinese bulk import laws are notoriously cumbersome – our method completely bypasses that for small or midsized importers like you.
How well do you know my market?
Our flagship product is a prestigious Canadian health supplement brand.
Our online customers have money, are accustomed to online ordering, and demand a variety of other products. If we've approached you proactively, it is because there is proven demand by our existing customer base.
I have a TMall shop and reach most of China's consumers from there. What more can you offer?
There is so much more to success in China than TMall! Every product in the country starts there, but if that's all you do, you will not be profitable. TMall's cost structure is just too high, and it is too easy to find competing products.
To really succeed in China, your product needs some combination of:
- on-ground, person-to-person sales through a trusted network
- placement in stores (we can do this even for health products that cannot be imported for retail sale)
- other online channels
- a systematic online branding effort
Casual distributors and TMall partners cannot offer these.
I already have a distributor I trust (or an exclusive one) in China. Won’t you undermine them? I want to talk to them first.
We are a Canadian company selling online. We have a large marketing and distribution office in China, but we typically do not approach brick-and-mortar stores or traditional sales channels. In fact, if our product starts selling online, your brand will be more popular and it will help your distributor. We do not wish to displace them and can work alongside a strategy you set.
To do the registrations correctly, we need to be factory-direct; it will not work through a distributor, though we can provide fulfillment services to them.
We know we should sell something to China, but we want to study it further before we choose a partner. Do we need a contract?
The first thing we will do is test your products with our own staff, our Chinese office, and our top online channel partners.
We need only to become a wholesale buyer, and will guarantee that our product will not be sold into the local market. Your Chinese trademarks and border registrations remain in your name, so you can end the relationship at any time. After some trial sales, we may wish to discuss an investment in branding, but there is no commitment until you are sure.
Mail order deliveries are expensive, so the economics will never work.
Quality products that are factory-direct are sold at a premium in China. Our marketing will reflect this, and we will work with you to control the online prices available nationwide. We grow your brand as a premium product; your volumes might grow more slowly but your partners will be able to make money consistently there.
We have been perfecting our model for more than three years, and we are confident that our shipping costs are as efficient as they could be.
How would we get started?
If you already sell at a Canadian retail store, we will:
(1) import some samples to our China office to verify the border logistics;
(2) share your samples with our internal "product parade" team and some key channel partners in China. At no cost to you, we will report to you their assessment of its market potential;
(3) undertake a price assessment, set against your wholesale prices, to outline the branding effort required for a premium market segment; and
(4) discuss with you your own goals, and make a proposal.
We have spent three years exclusively marketing a prestigious Canadian brand, and have made a company decision to acquire a limited number of new suppliers in the food, cosmetics, baby/maternal product, pet product and health supplement markets.
