List of Sourcing Companies in the United Kingdom: Top 7 Agencies

Importing custom designed products from Asia doesn’t always require that you look overseas. In some cases, you can find the best partner closer to home. In this article, we list some of the UK’s leading Asia sourcing and product development companies.

What are the benefits of working with a UK based sourcing company?

If you’re looking to import goods from, for example, China, it’s natural to assume a Chinese sourcing agency know more about their own country – compared to one based outside. While that may be true to some extent, importing products from Asia involves a lot more than finding the right supplier.

In reality, most sourcing companies know little about UK safety standards, product labeling, VAT and customs procedures, which can have severe consequences for you as an importer.

A sourcing agency based in the UK, on the other hand, is far more likely to understand these requirements. Besides, sourcing agencies headquartered in the UK always have subsidiaries or other forms of representation in Asia.

Sourcing Company Overview

Tiger Global

Tiger Global is sourcing and manufacturing agency founded in 2008, primarily focused on fabrics, garments, molded plastic products, and other consumer goods.

It is based in the United Kingdom and China. The company is associated with several well-known brands such as Costa Coffee, Myprotein, Virgin Pure, Bubblepix, Dr. Zak’s and Million Mile Light.

The services offered by Tiger Global include:

• Global Sourcing and Manufacturing
• Development and Manufacturing of Garments and Fabrics
• Offering Supply Chain Solutions
• Commercialize and innovate new Businesses in the market
• New Product Development

Address: Unit 3, Stirling Court, Stirling Way, Borehamwood, WD6 2BT

China Sourcing And Supply

China Sourcing and Supply is a UK-based sourcing company established in 2003. It specializes in the importing of products from China and sourcing them for companies in the UK and eight other countries.

China Sourcing and Supply provide a comprehensive list of end-to-end services for its clients. These include:

a. Confirming product details like specifications, packaging and artwork, certification requirements, and order quantities.

b. Comparing samples that include matching factory samples with samples provided by the customer and choosing the best-suited one.

c. Guarantee factory commitment

d. Confirm factory ISO standards as well as the factory’s production capacity, experience, ethical standards, and other certifications.

d. Quotations, factory inspections, and pre-shipping product inspections.

e. Logistics and shipping

China sourcing and supply is involved in the sourcing of products of diverse categories. These include:

• Cosmetics/skincare
• Garden-Landscaping
• Gifts and seasonal parties
• Hotel supplies
• Pregnancy healthcare
• Tableware-Cookware
• Machinery parts
• Building supplies
• Bike-auto accessories
• Power tools
• Sports items
• Production machines
• Bathroom and kitchen tiles
• Bamboo and wood products
• Flooring and furniture
• Stationary
• Industrial workwear

Address: St Pauls House, Albany Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex.

Sourceselling.com

Founded in 2003, SourcingSelling is a UK owned company specializing in imports and exports. They have offices in Shanghai, China as well as in Nottingham, United Kingdom.

The company employs over 100 people. They offer their clients a number of services which include:

• Product Sourcing
• Quality Control
• Manufacturing
• Shipping and Logistics
• Supplier verification

They also offer Amazon FBA Product Sourcing and ships directly from China to Amazon FBA warehouses around the world.

Address: 198 Beardall St, Nottingham, NG15 7JU, England

Carmel Clothing

Carmel UK is a UK based clothing manufacturing and sourcing company established in 1998. Their head office is located in London, while they have three international offices in Vietnam, China, and Romania.

They manufacture a diverse range of clothing products which include:

• Outerwear (coats, macs, parkas, both formal and semi-casual)
• SmartWare (jackets, dresses, trousers, and skirts)
• Carmel softs (blouses, dresses, printed and plain bottoms)
• Carmel Kids
• Jersey

Carmel Clothing offers its clients the following services:

• Pricing and Sourcing
• Quality Control
• Delivery Solutions (offer both CIF and FOB terms)

Carmel’s clients include world-renowned brands such as Next, Primark, Topshop, Debenhams, Sainsbury’s and many more.

Address: Unit 1, 55-57, Holmes Road, London, NW5 3AN

Spiral

Established in 1993, Spiral UK is a sourcing company and design consultancy based in London, United Kingdom, and New Delhi, India. The company specializes in home furnishings from India.

It offers a number of services to its clients including design development, product development, merchandising, cost management, quality control, compliance, logistics, and shipping coordination.

The products that they manufacture include all categories of homeware such as

• Textile
• Furniture
• Accessories
• Lighting
• Kitchen Appliances

Address: Spiral Product Design, 8 Primrose Mews, Sharpleshall Street, London, NW1, 8YW

Design2Market

Design2Market is a UK based product development company founded in 2010. The company helps to develop new ideas for products and then sources manufacturers for the production of those products. D2M has offices in Cheltenham and London.

D2M offers a variety of services to its clients. These services include:

• Feasibility Assessment
• Patent Search
• Concept Development
• Computer Aided Design that includes developing a 3D model of the product to visualize how it will look after production
• Patent Drawings that include developing images that are important when applying for a patent
• Prototyping
• Sell Sheet
• Manufacturing Design
• Packaging design
• Sourcing a manufacturing partner for the client’s product

Compared to most companies in the industry, Design2Market is more engineering and product development oriented.

Address: The Office Paddington,19 Eastbourne Terrace, Paddington, London, W2 6LG

Easy Imex

Founded in 2004, Easy Imex is a sourcing agency that is UK owned but operates from Shanghai, China. They specialize in sourcing and product development.

The Easy Imex team includes 20 sourcing managers and logistics coordinators. It also includes 30 quality control managers all around China.

Easy Imex sources a great variety of products. These include:

• Gym and Outdoor products (exercise bikes, rowing machines, trampolines, etc)
• Furniture (hotel, office, desks, beds, etc)
• Pet products (dog shoes, dog bowls, dog and cat houses, etc)
• Home and Garden Products (garden equipment, home appliances, kitchen utensils, etc)
• Apparel (swimwear, sportswear, gym clothing, shoes, etc)

The services they offer their clients include:

• eCommerce sourcing
• Procurement sourcing
• Product development
• Quality control
• Shipping

Address: 2nd floor, Building Yi, No 152, Yi Li Road, Shanghai, China

Comparison Table

	Tiger Global	Sourcing & Supply	Sourceselling
Sourcing from	China	China	China
UK HQ	Borehamwood	St Leonards-on-Sea	Nottingham
Main Products	Textiles, plastic products, other	Home, garden, other	Various
YoR	2008	2003	2003
Website	Link	Link	Link
	Carmel	Spiral	D2M
Sourcing from	China, Vietnam	India	China
UK HQ	London	London	London
Main Products	Textiles	Textiles, Home	Various
YoR	1998	1993	2010
Website	Link	Link	Link

How do I know which sourcing company I should work with?

In the end, it all comes down to the type of product you intend to manufacture in Asia. For example, some companies focus exclusively on textiles, while others have a service-oriented approach.

Do you want to manufacture your product in Asia?

We can help you go from idea to delivered product in 6 step:

• Product specification
• Supplier sourcing
• Product samples
• Placing your order
• Quality control and lab testing
• Shipping

You can book a free consultation today to learn more.