For food and food supplements, the label must show the name and address of a Food Business Operator (FBO) that is established in the market where the product is sold. That means a UK address on UK packs and an EU (Netherlands) address on EU packs — not one address for both.
Expandly is a registered FBO in both regions, so you can use our UK entity on your UK products and our EU entity on your EU products. Amazon (and other marketplaces and enforcement bodies) will require this to be included, for compliance, so it is important to adhere to these rulings when launching your products in these regions.
What is a Food Business Operator (FBO)?
For any food or food supplement, labelling law (Food Information to Consumers Regulation 1169/2011, Article 9(1)(h), read with Article 8 — retained in GB and mirrored in the EU) requires the pack to carry the name and address of the food business operator responsible for the food information.
The FBO is the accountable business under whose name the food is sold, responsible for the accuracy of the food information and for food safety and traceability. The address is how enforcement authorities and consumers identify and contact that responsible business.
The critical rule: the FBO named on the label must be established in the market where the food is placed on sale. If the business under whose name the food is marketed is not established there, the law requires the importer into that market to be named instead.
Because the UK and the EU are now separate markets, this means:
- Food sold in Great Britain needs a UK-established FBO on the pack.
- Food sold in the EU needs an EU-established FBO (or the EU importer) on the pack.
A single address cannot satisfy both. This is why you need two.
How Expandly acts as your FBO
Expandly provides the in-market FBO in each region so you don't need your own legal establishment in the UK and the EU. So the correct approach is:
- On packs for the UK market, print the Gee Expandly Ltd address.
- On packs for the EU market, print the Gee Europe BV address.
- If you sell into both, you need both addresses — usually on separate market versions of the artwork, or both shown and clearly attributed (UK / EU) where a single pack serves both.
To avoid confusion across product types
The "locally-established responsible business" idea runs through several regimes, but the term and the role differ by product type, and the wording on the label should match:
- Food / food supplements → Food Business Operator (FBO) — the subject of this article.
- Cosmetics → Responsible Person (with CPNP notification in the EU / SCPN in GB).
- Medical devices → UK Responsible Person (UKRP) in GB / EU Authorised Representative in the EU.
- General (non-food) products → responsible economic operator under product-safety law (GPSR).
In every case you need a UK entity for GB and an EU entity for the EU — but please don't label a food product with "Responsible Person"; on food it should read as the FBO name and address.