Brazil market entry for cosmetics, supplements and food brands

The problem for a consumer brand specifically

A cosmetics, supplement or food brand faces a different entry problem than an industrial supplier: the regulatory gate is a real review, not a certification stamp, and the tax rate can more than double depending on which NCM code and which state a product clears through. Cosmetics fall into São Paulo's and Rio de Janeiro's supérfluos ICMS band by default, 25% and 39% respectively, though a specific list of codes, lip products and shampoo among them, is carved out to the general rate. Getting the classification wrong can double the tax line, and it often goes unnoticed until the first shipment clears.

Labelling adds a second, non-negotiable requirement: RDC 81/2008 prohibits releasing an imported product for consumption if it is labelled in a foreign language, so packaging has to be Portuguese from the first shipment, not translated after a pilot batch sells through. What the label then has to say, and in what order, is set by a category-specific act: RDC 752/2022 for cosmetics, personal-care products and perfumes, RDC 727/2022 for packaged food.

What to check before committing to a launch

• Which ANVISA track applies, and whether it is a filing you can sell against immediately or a registration you have to wait for. ANVISA registration covers Registro, Notificação and Comunicação for food, and the article 34 list that decides Registro versus comunicação prévia for cosmetics.
• What the label legally has to say, in what order, before the product can clear customs. Labelling rules covers packaged food under RDC 727/2022; cosmetics label content runs on a separate act, RDC 752/2022, not yet covered on its own page on this site.
• Your real ICMS rate, checked by NCM code and by state, not assumed from the general category. ICMS by state has the carve-outs that can move a code from 39% to 18%.
• Which sales channel fits: your own entity, a distributor, or cross-border marketplace sales under Remessa Conforme. Distribution channels compares them.

How we can help

Regulatory registration maps and files the ANVISA track your product needs. Localization and marketing gets packaging and site copy compliant with the Portuguese-language mandate and the category-specific labelling act, and written for the Brazilian market rather than translated for it. Where a marketplace is the launch channel, marketplace launch compares the cross-border and own-entity routes for your specific product.

Who this fits

A cosmetics, food, or dietary supplement brand evaluating Brazil, from a first ANVISA filing through to a priced, labelled, shelf-ready product.

Sources

• ANVISA cosmetics article-34 nine-group list and comunicação prévia, up to 150-day Registro estimate: RDC 907/2024 articles 34-35, as discussed on ANVISA registration.
• Food supplements (RDC 843/2024) and novel-ingredient authorisation (RDC 839/2023): as discussed on ANVISA registration.
• Mandatory Portuguese-language labelling for imported products released for consumption: RDC 81/2008, ANVISA, primary, confirmed against the act's own text (not the earlier draft of this page, which conflated it with the category-specific content rules below).
• Cosmetics label content and order: RDC 752/2022, in force since 3 October 2022, ANVISA, primary. Not yet covered on its own page on this site.
• Packaged food label content and order: RDC 727/2022, as discussed on labelling rules for imported packaged food.
• ICMS supérfluos band (up to 39% RJ, 25% SP) and carve-outs: ICMS by state.
• Remessa Conforme thresholds: distribution channels.

Facts checked 24 September 2026.