US market entry for UK & Australian consumer brands
Enter the US without losing what made your brand work at home.
Landfall helps ambitious UK and Australian consumer brands figure out the US opportunity, localize what needs changing, and build the ecommerce, growth and retail engine to make it work.
Free 30-minute call with founder Jason Steinberg — no pitch deck, no obligation.
Already selling in the US? →The problem
Why most international brands stall in the US
The US isn't just a bigger version of your home market. Entering the US is not a translation job. It is a market-entry job. The brands that win rebuild their creative, commerce stack and channel mix for how Americans actually shop.
You don't know where to start — or who to trust.
US entities, a commercial address, state sales tax, corporate banking, 3PL contracts. Vetting half a dozen American providers in the dark burns months and cash before you sell a single unit.
Your brand doesn't need translating. It needs localizing.
Tone, visuals and value propositions rarely carry over directly. What worked at home often falls flat with US buyers — and misses local trends and viral moments.
Your home-market checkout isn't necessarily built for US buyers.
US sales tax nexus, local payment methods, returns and trust signals are different. A checkout that converts at home can leak revenue here.
The channel strategy that worked at home may be wrong here.
Launching only on your home-channel playbook ignores Amazon Prime, TikTok Shop and retail media networks where Americans actually discover and buy.
Shipping can turn a great product into a bad US business.
US consumers expect fast, free delivery. Without local 3PL nodes and landed-cost logic, conversion and margin collapse.
Your calendar, inventory and cash flow don't map onto the US one.
Prime Day, Black Friday and the gifting season dwarf most home-market peaks — while fiscal years, buying seasons, sales spikes and customer-support hours all shift. Drops and forecasts need to run on a US rhythm, not a shifted version of your home one.
Most founders don't need to solve all of this alone. Landfall starts with the sequence — what matters first, what can wait — and brings in vetted US partners for entity setup, accounting and sales tax, business addresses and banking, fulfillment and returns, and direct-response creative, all coordinated against one US P&L.
Why Landfall exists
Hands-on support by an operator who's been in your shoes
Learn more about the team and specialists behind themLandfall is run by an operator who has spent his career building and running consumer businesses for the world's largest brands and start-ups alike. With a specialty in eCommerce and performance marketing across DTC, Amazon and retail, Landfall's experience spans beauty, CPG, fashion and technology; owning the results along the way.
Brands don't need another strategy deck. They need someone who understands the US market, a real operator who connects the decisions that determine whether the business actually works — and brings the right US specialists in at exactly the right moment.
That's why Landfall exists.
Experience across
and moreMost advice on US expansion is either generic theory or disconnected tactics. Jason looked at Stimmie through the lens of a real operator — connecting our market positioning, creator strategy, and cash flow implications into one coherent plan. Having someone in our corner who understands the US market inside and out saved us months of second-guessing.
Steph Nightingale
Founder, Stimmie
Launching a connected tech product in the US requires getting your ecommerce, logistics, and acquisition working together from day one. Jason didn't just give strategic guidance — he helped test our market fit, stood up our Shopify infrastructure, locked in our US 3PL, and built our media testing roadmap. He's a true operator who owns the outcome.
Thomas Serval
Founder & CEO, Kolibree
What we do
The pieces of a US launch we can help you connect
Strategy, creative, ecommerce and channel execution — structured as one launch system instead of handoffs between agencies.
Should we enter the US at all?
Should we launch DTC, Amazon, retail — or some combination?
Do we need US infrastructure — an entity, a warehouse, a team?
What actually needs to change for American consumers?
How much should we invest before we know the model works?
Landfall helps you answer those questions before you start spending heavily.
Book your US callFigure out the opportunity
- US market sizing
- Positioning
- Pricing
- Customer definition
- Channel strategy
- Competitive landscape
Make the brand US-ready
- Ecommerce build
- Checkout readiness
- Localization
- Creative adaptation
- Offers and promos
- Fulfillment setup
- Measurement framework
Launch and learn
- Paid acquisition
- Amazon US
- Retail and wholesale
- Creator and influencer
- Testing roadmap
- Channel economics
- 90-day growth plan
What your US business needs changes as you grow
You don't need everything on day one. The work evolves stage by stage — and the plan should too.
| Stage | What you actually need |
|---|---|
| Exploring | US opportunity and market assessment |
| Preparing | Localization, unit economics and channel plan |
| Launching | Ecommerce, acquisition, fulfillment and measurement |
| Finding traction | Channel optimization, Amazon and retail expansion, team |
| Scaling | US leadership, specialized functions and operating infrastructure |
We don't pretend to do everything ourselves. When a specialist is needed — legal, tax, regulatory, fulfillment, or otherwise — we bring the right people into the process.
Coordinate the compliance work
We coordinate the US tax, regulatory and compliance work required for launch, working with the appropriate specialists where needed — so product and legal are ready before media spend turns on.
One US business. Not six disconnected projects.
Ecommerce, acquisition, Amazon, retail, creative and operations all affect the same number: the US P&L. Landfall connects the pieces so decisions get made against the economics of the whole business, not individual channel metrics.
The 60-day sprint
Validate the US opportunity before you scale
A 60-day working engagement to determine whether — and how — your brand should enter the US.
We audit the opportunity, sharpen the US proposition, test the biggest assumptions, identify what needs to change, and provide you with a practical 90-day launch plan that we can then help execute.
Book your US callWeek 1–2
Audit & positioning
Review your current site, creative, unit economics and channel readiness. Define the US value proposition and ideal customer profile.
Week 3–4
Creative & offer testing
Build US landing-page variants, ad hooks and offer structures. Micro-test with a small paid media budget before scaling.
Week 5–6
Commerce & fulfilment setup
Configure checkout, tax nexus, payments and 3PL routing. Fix the leaks that kill conversion on cold US traffic.
Week 7–8
Launch plan & next 90 days
Finalise channel mix, launch sequencing and a 90-day growth roadmap. You leave with a validated plan, not a deck. You execute or let us help.
Sample deliverable: fictional brand
What the Sprint actually looks like
Every phase answers one question, ends in something you keep, and carries the operator knowledge first-time US entrants usually learn the expensive way. It all leads to one decision: go, or not yet.
Fern & Fable · US Market Entry Sprint
UK DTC skincare · £2.4M revenue · no US entity
Weeks 1–2
Unit economics & landed cost
“Can a US order make money before a dollar goes on ads?”
The operator's call
The US $800 duty-free de minimis no longer applies. Shipping orders from the UK now pays duty on every parcel, so we model landed cost both ways (cross-border vs. a US 3PL) before anything else.
You receive
US P&L model · landed-cost build-up
Gate 1: Contribution margin clears $20/order? If not, we stop or re-scope.
Weeks 2–4
Proposition & compliance
“What does a US buyer need to hear — and what are we legally allowed to say?”
The operator's call
Skincare now needs FDA facility registration and product listing under MoCRA, and 'clinically proven' claims need US-grade substantiation. File the US trademark now: Amazon Brand Registry depends on it.
You receive
US positioning brief · compliance & claims checklist
Weeks 3–6
Controlled demand test
“Will cold US traffic buy, at a cost the margin can carry?”
The operator's call
$12k across Meta + TikTok, US-only landing pages. We judge on new-customer CAC against contribution margin, not platform ROAS, and set the stopping rules before spend starts.
You receive
Channel test matrix · creative hook readout
Gate 2: New-customer CAC under breakeven? If not, we stop or re-scope.
Weeks 5–8
Operating model & launch plan
“What has to be true on day one, and who does it?”
The operator's call
Sales tax works state by state (economic nexus, often $100k in sales). A single 3PL placed centrally reaches most US buyers in 2–3 days. Amazon goes later, priced in line with the DTC site, so it doesn't eat into DTC margin.
You receive
3PL RFQ shortlist · 90-day launch plan · vetted partner bench
Week 8: Go / no-go readout
| Criterion | Bar set in week 1 | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contribution margin / order | ≥ $20.00 | $28.10 | Pass |
| New-customer CAC (test) | ≤ $28.10 | $26.00 | Pass |
| First-order ROAS vs breakeven 2.4 | ≥ 2.4 | 2.6 | Pass |
| 90-day repeat rate (UK cohort proxy) | ≥ 25% | 31% | Pass |
| Compliance: MoCRA listing, 2-state nexus | Fixable pre-launch | 6 weeks | Condition |
Decision: Go, with one condition.
Launch DTC from a central US 3PL once MoCRA listing and nexus registration are done. Hold Amazon until the trademark is filed and Brand Registry is live. First orders run on thin margin ($2.10 after CAC); repeat purchases carry the profit, so retention flows go live before paid scale.
Illustrative sample with fictional data. Every sprint is built on your brand's own numbers.
What happens after the Sprint?
If the answer is “go”
You launch with the plan, the unit economics and the sequencing already worked out — and choose how much of the execution Landfall helps carry.
What you keep either way
The US market audit, the unit economics model, the test results and the 90-day launch plan are yours to keep and execute — with us or without us.
If the answer is “not yet”
You'll know what needs to change before you spend significantly more capital.
Markets we serve
Built for the UK and Australia, open to other English-speaking brands
From domestic ceiling to US scale
- Seasonal inversion. Flip hero collections and campaign timing to Northern Hemisphere seasons.
- Timezone cover. AU-friendly account management paired with US-based execution.
- Past the $1M USD ceiling. Audit unit economics, set up US 3PL nodes and deploy high-volume media buying.
Strongest in A-beauty, skincare, suncare, activewear, wellness, beverage and sustainable lifestyle.
Read the Australia → US guideFrom .co.uk credibility to .com growth
- VAT to sales tax. Move from UK VAT thinking to US state nexus and local tax compliance.
- Tone transplant. Keep British brand authority while adding US direct-response muscle.
- Fulfilment nodes. Route inventory closer to US demand centres to meet 2-day expectations.
Strongest in premium CPG, fashion, home, health tech and heritage brands seeking US authority.
Read the UK → US guideEngagement
Start with the Sprint
Almost every engagement begins the same way: the 60-day US Market Entry Sprint. One fixed fee, one defined outcome — a validated go/no-go decision and a practical 90-day launch plan.
The starting point
The 60-day US Market Entry Sprint — $15,000 fixed
Landfall audits the opportunity, sharpens the US proposition, tests the biggest assumptions and provides you with a practical 90-day launch plan that we can then help execute. You leave with a validated plan, not a deck.
Book your US callWhere it goes from there
Most go decisions turn into one of two working relationships. Which one depends on your team and how hands-on you want Landfall to be.
If it's a go
US growth partner
Ongoing strategic and operational support as you launch and scale — for brands that know the US is the right move and want an operator to help make it happen.
If it's a go
Alongside your team
Senior US experience working with founders and existing teams rather than replacing them — for brands that already have people in place.
The math
What it would cost otherwise
A US launch touches ecommerce, Amazon, creative, fulfilment, tax and compliance. You can buy each piece separately — here is how the math usually lands.
Landfall Commerce
$15,000
One fixed fee. The 60-day US Launch Sprint.
- One senior operator accountable end to end
- Strategy, localisation, ecommerce, Amazon, creative, fulfilment and operations coordinated against one US P&L
- Specialist partners brought in only where they earn their place
- A clear go / no-go answer before you spend big
Full-service agency
$60,000–$150,000+
Indicative first-year spend at US-retainer rates.
- US retainers commonly run $10,000–$25,000+ per month for strategy, ecommerce and paid media
- Amazon management is usually billed separately — $2,000–$5,000 per month
- Creative and localisation are scoped as add-ons, not included
- Agencies rarely cover tax, compliance or fulfilment — you still assemble those yourself
Assembling it yourself
$40,000–$80,000+
Indicative first-year spend — plus every hour you spend coordinating it.
- US ecommerce build & localisation$15,000–$40,000
- Amazon agency or consultant$2,000–$5,000/mo
- US tax & accounting compliance$3,000–$10,000/yr
- Direct-response creative$5,000–$15,000/mo
- 3PL setup, shipping & returnsOnboarding + per-order
- Vendor relationships to manage5–8 contracts
Every extra vendor is another contract, another handoff and another point of failure — and no one is accountable for the whole US P&L. Landfall coordinates specialist partners where they are needed and stays accountable for the result.
Ranges are indicative US market rates for brands of typical sprint size, not quotes. Your exact scope and partner pricing are confirmed during the sprint.
FAQs
Common questions about US market entry
Book your US call
Tell us about your US launch
Share a few details, then pick a time for your US call straight away.
Free 30-minute call with founder Jason Steinberg. We'll talk through your US opportunity and whether the 60-Day Sprint is the right starting point. No pitch deck, no obligation.