How Turkish cosmetics brands can enter the U.S. market
Updated
Turkish cosmetics brands start the U.S. market with an advantage: a product file built for EU-aligned rules covers much of what FDA expects. What does not carry over is the U.S. label, MoCRA registration and listing, the drug status of SPF and some claims, U.S. color additive rules and a duty picture with no free trade agreement.
Türkiye has a serious cosmetics industry, and many Turkish brands already export widely. The U.S. is a different kind of market: larger, more crowded, and governed by a system that looks familiar from Europe but works differently in the details that matter at the border and on the shelf. This guide covers what is specific to Turkish brands. The general U.S. framework is in FDA cosmetics requirements for foreign brands.
Where Turkish brands start from
According to İKMİB, Türkiye's essential oils, cosmetics and soap subsector exported about $2.08 billion in 2024, up 8.5%, and its exports to the U.S. were about $135 million, up about 18% (İKMİB, Chemist magazine, 2025/1). The figure includes essential oils and soap, so it is not cosmetics alone, but it shows that U.S. demand for Turkish products in this space is real and growing from a modest base.
On the regulatory side, Türkiye's Cosmetic Products Regulation took effect on November 8, 2023 and further aligns Turkish rules with the EU Cosmetics Regulation, Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. A Turkish brand selling legally at home therefore usually has a notification in ÜTS, a responsible person in Türkiye, a safety assessment and report, and a Product Information File. That is a strong foundation. It is not a U.S. approval, because the U.S. does not approve cosmetics at all (color additives aside), and it does not replace the U.S. filings.
What your EU-aligned file carries over
| Türkiye / EU-aligned | U.S. counterpart | Carries over? |
|---|---|---|
| ÜTS product notification | MoCRA facility registration and product listing with FDA | The data helps; the filing is separate |
| Responsible person in Türkiye | Responsible person = company named on the label; U.S. agent for the foreign facility | Different roles, plan both |
| Safety assessment and safety report | Records showing adequate substantiation of safety | Largely, as evidence, if it covers the U.S. formula and use |
| Product Information File | Safety records plus adverse event records | Largely |
| Ingredient list in INCI order | Ingredient list in descending order, colors last | Mostly, check naming and order |
| Metric net quantity | Both U.S. customary and metric units on the front panel | No, relabel |
| EU-permitted colorants | FDA-approved color additives, many batch-certified | Not automatically |
| Sunscreen as a cosmetic | Sunscreen as an OTC drug | No |
The gaps that catch Turkish brands
Color additives
The EU and the U.S. keep separate lists of permitted colorants. In the U.S., color additives need FDA approval before use, and many synthetic colors must be batch-certified by FDA. FDA maintains an import alert for color additive violations, so a lipstick, eyeshadow or tinted cream that is fine in Istanbul can be detained at a U.S. port. Check every colorant against U.S. listings before you ship.
SPF and drug claims
Under EU-aligned rules, a sunscreen is a cosmetic. In the U.S. it is an OTC drug, with monograph UV filters, a Drug Facts label, drug manufacturing standards and drug establishment registration. The same intended-use logic applies to claims about hair growth, acne treatment or changing skin structure. If a product's main promise is one of these, leave it out of the first launch or treat it as a separate drug project.
The label
Beyond the dual-unit net quantity, a U.S. cosmetic label needs English, the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer or distributor ("Distributed by" if it is not the maker), a U.S. adverse event contact (a domestic address, domestic phone number or electronic contact) and country of origin in English. If Turkish text stays on the pack, all mandatory information must appear in Turkish as well. For a first test, compliant U.S. stickers applied before sale are often the quicker route; Abanro does this through its labeling service.
MoCRA and California
Your factory registers with FDA and names a U.S. agent, and the responsible person lists each product and reports serious adverse events within 15 business days. FDA charges no fee for this. Details are in our MoCRA compliance guide. If you sell in California, its own ingredient bans and reporting rules also apply; see California beauty market entry.
Soap, kolonya and barber products
Three product types common in Turkish ranges need particular care.
- Olive oil and natural soaps. In the U.S., a bar counts as "soap" only if most of it is alkali salts of fatty acids, those do the cleaning, and it is sold only as soap. Then the Consumer Product Safety Commission regulates it, not FDA. Add a cosmetic claim such as moisturizing or skin softening and it becomes a cosmetic, with cosmetic labeling and MoCRA duties (FDA: cosmetic, drug or soap). Decide which you are selling before you write the pack.
- Kolonya and fragrance. Alcohol-based fragrances are typically regulated as dangerous goods for air freight (perfumery products with flammable solvents are UN1266, Class 3), and California sets VOC limits for personal fragrance products. Ship by sea where you can and give your forwarder a safety data sheet.
- Barber and shaving products. Shaving preparations fall under heading 3307, one of the few dutiable cosmetic headings (4.9% general rate for shaving preparations). Products sold only to licensed professionals must say so on the label. How salons and barbershops buy is covered in selling haircare products to U.S. salons.
Duties and the 2026 tariff picture
Türkiye is not one of the U.S. free trade agreement partners, so there is no preferential rate to claim. Most perfumes, makeup, skincare and hair products under HTSUS headings 3303 to 3305 carry a 0% general (MFN) duty before any additional tariffs. Shaving, deodorant and bath products under heading 3307 generally carry MFN duties of about 2.4% to 6% depending on the subheading.
Since July 24, 2026, Section 301 tariffs of 10% or 12.5% apply to goods from 60 economies, including Türkiye, subject to exemptions listed by USTR. For Türkiye the rate is a flat 12.5% added to the MFN rate, not netted against it. Rates and exemptions can change, so ask your broker for the total on each 10-digit code before you set prices. Also note that the $800 de minimis exemption is suspended indefinitely: even small shipments now need a customs entry and may owe duties. The full import process is in how to import cosmetics into the USA, and the pricing effect in how to price imported beauty products for U.S. retail.
Natural, halal and heritage claims
Turkish brands often sell on natural ingredients, hammam tradition and, for some markets, halal certification. All three can work in the U.S. if the claims are accurate.
- "Natural" and "clean" have no federal cosmetic definition, and FDA does not define "organic" for cosmetics (organic agricultural ingredients fall under USDA's National Organic Program). The FTC has acted against "all natural" claims on products with synthetic ingredients such as dimethicone and phenoxyethanol (FTC, 2016). If your formula contains a synthetic preservative, say "with olive oil", not "100% natural".
- Halal is voluntary in the U.S. and handled by private certifiers, with no single national standard. A valid certificate can help with some buyers and shoppers; it is a commercial choice, not a legal requirement. Gulf brands face the same question, covered in how Saudi beauty brands can expand into the USA, along with shipping perfume and oud.
- Heritage is the safest claim of all when it is true: where the product comes from, how it is made and what tradition it draws on.
Channels that fit Turkish brands
Turkish ranges often combine skincare, body care, haircare, shaving and fragrance at accessible prices. That suits beauty supply stores, barbershops and salons (shaving, haircare, back bar products), boutiques and gift-oriented specialty stores (soaps, hammam sets, kolonya) and specialty retailers serving customers who already know Turkish brands. Each channel buys differently: a barbershop owner decides fast on a demo, a boutique buyer wants margin, testers and a sell sheet. Choose one or two channels for your first products rather than all of them.
A lean first step
The traditional route is a U.S. importer or distributor. It can work, but it usually means accepting a distributor's margin and minimum order quantities before you have U.S. sales data, and you learn little about who buys and why. Building your own presence means a U.S. entity, an office, a local sales hire and a warehouse lease, plus trade show budgets, all before the first reorder.
Abanro's Beauty & Personal Care program is the step in between. For $3,950 for three months, one SKU included ($1,900 per additional SKU, including its first pallet), we introduce your products to up to 25 selected salons, barbershops, beauty supply stores, boutiques or specialty retailers in Southern California. Part of the inventory is used for targeted sampling and introductions, part is offered for real retail sale and shelf placement with participating retailers. An initial regulatory readiness screening, storage of the included pallets, handling, pickup, a dashboard and monthly reports are included. Specialist regulatory assessment, lab testing, FDA registration or listing where it applies, customs clearance and duties are quoted separately and approved by you first. We take 25% commission only on sales we generate during the three months, before sales tax, and the inventory stays yours.
We are based in Orange County, near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Abanro handles the customs clearance process for you as part of the same shipment. For storage, prep and fulfillment on their own, see our page for Turkish brands.
Before you ship, confirm four things: every colorant is U.S.-permitted, no product depends on an SPF or drug claim, the label meets U.S. rules, and your broker has given you a total duty figure for each product. With those settled, a Turkish brand can put its products in front of U.S. buyers quickly and let real orders, not assumptions, shape the next step.