Start here: Packaging Fast-Track, from €490
Selling on Amazon.de or Shopify? Fixed-fee packaging compliance — LUCID, authorised representative and PPWR — delivered in days.
See packagesUS → Germany · Consumer brands & e-commerce
Germany market entry for US consumer brands — without the guesswork.
From LUCID and packaging compliance to your German go-to-market and first local hire. One advisor with US and German retail experience, on your side.
- Germany market entry strategy →
- US expansion to Germany: costs & timeline →
- Full DACH market entry guide →
- Based near Cologne
- Local presence in Germany, working US hours when needed.
- Trilingual, tricultural
- German, English and Portuguese — genuinely, not on paper.
- One person, accountable
- You work with Denis. No account layer, no handover.
The problem
Germany is not a bigger version of your home market.
Most US companies don't fail in DACH because the product is wrong. They fail because the market runs on rules nobody told them about — and by the time it shows up in the numbers, budget is gone.
Language is not a detail
German buyers expect German — product pages, support, contracts, invoices. Translated-looking copy reads as foreign and costs conversion.
Retail and B2B run differently
Distribution, buying cycles, trade structures and marketplace dynamics don't map onto US playbooks. The same offer needs a different route to market.
Returns are part of the model
Return rates in German e-commerce are structurally higher and legally protected. Pricing and logistics have to be planned around that, not surprised by it.
Payment norms are local
Invoice, direct debit and Klarna carry the volume. A card-only checkout quietly loses a large share of German customers.
VAT and compliance
VAT registration, OSS, packaging and electronics registers, imprint duties, product labelling — small items individually, blocking issues together.
GDPR is enforced
Consent, data processing agreements and tracking setups are scrutinised here in a way US teams rarely plan for.
How it works
Three steps. Each one stands on its own.
Start small, go further only if the case is there.
Germany Readiness Review
Fixed fee from €3,900 · 2 weeks
A focused diagnostic so you can decide on DACH with evidence instead of assumptions.
- Market sizing for your category
- Competitive and pricing landscape
- Channel strategy: retail, distribution, marketplaces, D2C
- Localization and compliance checklist
- A 90-day roadmap you can act on
Execution
Monthly retainer · done with you
We build the entry together — your team stays in control, I do the local work.
- German presence: store, content, localization
- Marketplace and channel setup
- Distributor and partner introductions
- First customer and sales conversations
- Operational and compliance groundwork
Talent
Placement fee on success
The entry only holds if someone local owns it. I recruit your first German hires — with a focus on retail leadership, based on my own retail management experience at Lululemon.
- Country and retail lead
- Store and area management
- Wholesale and key account DACH
Who it's for
US companies serious about Germany.
US consumer brands — beauty, supplements, household, pet and apparel — selling on Amazon.de, Shopify, their own store, or planning German retail. What matters is intent: you've decided Germany is next and want it done properly.
Typically that's a founder, a CEO, or a Head of International / Expansion who needs a trusted person on the ground before committing headcount.
About
Denis Celik — the person you'd want in the room.
Denis Celik founded Celik Advisory and works with every client directly. German upbringing, Turkish father, Brazilian mother. Four years as a college athlete in the United States. An MBA in Finance and retail management at Lululemon. Trilingual in German, English and Portuguese.
That mix is the work: reading two business cultures at once and translating between them — not just the words.
Read the full storyGet in touch
Tell me what you're planning.
A first call is a conversation, not a pitch. If DACH isn't the right move for you yet, I'll say so.
Book a call