A buyer at an international trade fair picks up a catalog, gives it roughly ninety seconds, and either sets it aside for a follow-up meeting or puts it down for good. In that short window, the buyer is not reading marketing copy; they are scanning for specific, structured information that tells them whether this supplier is ready to be evaluated seriously. A beautiful catalog with vague content fails that scan just as often as a plain one with no content at all.

The company profile: what a buyer checks first

Before a single product page, an experienced buyer looks for a company profile that answers practical questions: where the factory is located, what it manufactures, how long it has operated, and what capacity it can realistically handle. Vague language about passion and tradition, without factual grounding, reads as a red flag to a procurement professional who has been burned by suppliers before. A short, specific profile, factory location, product categories, years in operation, typical order volumes, does more work than a long one built on adjectives.

Product specification sheets: what belongs on each

Every product in an export catalog needs its own specification sheet, not a shared paragraph describing a whole range. A useful sheet includes the product name and format, net content and available sizes, the full INCI ingredient list for cosmetics, shelf life and storage conditions, and the country of origin. Buyers evaluating a range side by side are comparing these sheets line by line, and a missing field, especially a missing INCI list, is often enough to move a product to the bottom of the pile without a single follow-up question asked.

Certifications and compliance documents

A catalog does not need to reproduce full certificates, but it should clearly list which certifications and compliance documents exist and are available on request: organic certification where applicable, cosmetic safety assessments, halal certification for relevant markets, and any documentation tied to the destination market's own regulatory requirements. Buyers rarely take a claim about a certification at face value; what builds trust is naming the certifying body and being ready to send the underlying document the moment it is requested, not making the buyer chase it down.

Speaking the buyer's language: MOQ, lead time, and Incoterms

Nothing signals an inexperienced exporter faster than a catalog silent on the terms a professional buyer needs to plan around:

  • Minimum order quantities: stated per product or per product family, so a buyer can immediately judge whether their target volume is realistic.
  • Lead times: production time separated clearly from shipping time, since buyers plan inventory around both.
  • Incoterms: the specific terms offered, such as FOB or EXW, since this determines who arranges and pays for freight, insurance, and customs at each stage.
  • HS codes: at least for the main product categories, since these determine duties and are one of the first things a buyer's customs broker will ask for.
  • Sample policy: whether samples are available, how they are requested, and what a buyer should expect from that process before committing to a first order.

Packaging and private label capability

A catalog aimed at buyers who want to launch or supply their own brand needs a clear section on private label capability: what packaging formats are available as standard, what customization is possible on labels, boxes, and closures, and what the process looks like from an approved design to a finished production run. Buyers weighing several manufacturers often decide based on this section alone, since it tells them how much creative and operational flexibility they will actually have once they commit to a supplier.

Assil Ouargane manufactures natural Moroccan cosmetics and food products under private label with export documentation and specification sheets built for exactly this kind of evaluation, and a quote request through the website is the direct way to receive a current catalog.