# /case-studies/daelmans — Daelmans · Merchant of Record # https://o1.eu/case-studies/daelmans # Operator One — Merchant of Record for European marketplaces. ## Summary O1 became the legal seller for Daelmans in eight European countries on three marketplaces, and revenue grew about 2.4x from the opening months of trading to the most recent. ## Result 8 countries — Eight European markets across three marketplaces, opened within months ## At a glance - 8 countries: DE · UK · NL · IT · FR · ES · PL · BE - 3 marketplaces: Amazon, Bol.com and Kaufland - One legal seller: Merchant of Record · official listings and buy-box control - About 2.4x: Revenue growth from the opening months to the most recent ## Markets live Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Poland, Belgium ## Marketplaces live on Amazon, Bol.com, Kaufland ## Challenge The stroopwafel needs no explanation. Daelmans has baked them for four generations, in formats for three different buyers: cube and hexa boxes for grocery, gift tins for presents, cases of individually wrapped minis for offices. Shoppers across Europe already look for the product. What the bakery did not have was a direct route to them. Marketplace demand sat country after country with no official seller behind it. Building it alone meant VAT, food compliance, localisation, advertising and returns in eight markets. ## What changed under Operator One - O1 became the Merchant of Record and the legal seller in eight countries, carrying the entities, VAT registrations and fiscal representation so Daelmans did not have to set any of it up. - Food and packaging compliance was handled market by market: producer registrations, labelling and category requirements, so a block in one country never took that country offline. - Around fifty products were built out and localised for every storefront, keeping the grocery, gift and bulk pack formats pointed at the buyers each one is made for. - Official listings replaced whatever else was on the shelf, with buy-box and pricing control held in every market and advertising run behind them. - Customer service and returns were answered locally, while Daelmans kept ownership of its inventory and set its own pricing strategy. - The range went live on Amazon, Bol.com and Kaufland across Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Poland and Belgium. ## Outcome Eight countries, three marketplaces and around fifty products listed, opened within months. Buy box and pricing control held in every market under one legal seller. Revenue grew about 2.4x from the opening months to the most recent, from a standing start in these markets. ## Who this applies to Any brand with a product that travels and an operation that does not is in the same position. The blocker is not the product. It is VAT in eight countries, compliance in every category and market, localisation, and a service desk in languages you do not staff for. O1 carries that layer. The brand keeps its products and its pricing. ## Story A product that travels, a company that could not The stroopwafel is one of the few Dutch exports that needs no explanation. Daelmans has baked them for four generations, in caramel, honey, chocolate and maple, in cube and hexa boxes for grocery shelves, gift tins for presents and cases of individually wrapped minis for offices and vending. Shoppers across Europe already look for the product. What Daelmans did not have was a way to sell it to them directly. Marketplace demand sat in country after country with no official seller behind it. Meeting that demand alone would have meant VAT registrations and fiscal representation in eight countries, food and packaging compliance in each of them, listings localised market by market, advertising, and a customer service and returns desk running in several languages. That is a second business, and it has nothing to do with baking. What O1 did O1 became the Merchant of Record. That means O1 is the legal seller in every market on the list, carrying the entities, the VAT positions and the fiscal representation, and taking on the compliance obligations that come with selling food and packaging across the European Union and the United Kingdom. Producer registrations, labelling requirements and category rules were handled market by market, so a compliance block in one country never took that country offline. On top of that sat the commercial work. Around fifty products were built out and localised for every storefront, with the pack architecture kept intact: grocery formats, gift formats and bulk formats presented to the buyers each one is made for. Official listings replaced whatever else was on the shelf. Buy-box and pricing control were held in every market, with advertising run behind the listings and customer service and returns answered locally. Daelmans kept its products, kept ownership of its inventory and set its own pricing strategy throughout. Reach Eight countries: Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Poland and Belgium. Three marketplaces: Amazon, Bol.com and Kaufland. Around fifty products live across them, opened within months and without the bakery standing up a single new registration of its own. Control One legal seller. Official listings rather than somebody else's version. Buy box held, pricing set by the brand, compliance carried per market so that no category rule quietly closed a country. Growth Revenue grew about 2.4x from the opening months of trading to the most recent. That is growth from a standing start, in markets the brand had not sold into directly before. Why this transfers Any brand with a product that travels and an operation that does not is in the same position. The blocker is never the product. It is eight VAT positions, compliance in every category and every market, listings in languages you do not write, and a service desk you do not staff for. O1 carries that layer. The brand keeps the parts that make it a brand.