Europe's single market, unlocked
Parallel is the B2B marketplace for cross-border trade in A-brands. Buy the same products where they cost less, sell to buyers abroad, and skip the risk: every pallet is inspected and payment is held until it passes.
- Brands
- 266
- Offers
- ~140.000
- Products
- 20.000+
Europe has one market.
Its prices don’t.
The same product can cost more one border over. Part of that gap is brands stopping shops from buying where it is cheaper.
The EU counts that among the ten most harmful barriers in its single market and is preparing action against it. Parallel exists to close the gap, one pallet at a time.
“This is called ‘parallel trade’. It increases competition, lowers prices and increases consumer choice.”
What EU consumers could save on a basket of food if shops could buy from the cheapest EU country, a study for the Commission estimated.2
Where the EU stands
Free movement of goods is one of the EU's founding rules. Once a brand has put a product on the market in the EU, anyone may resell it in any other EU country. Some brands still try to stop that, and the EU is moving against them.
- 1993
The single market opens. Goods move freely between member states.
- 2019
AB InBev fined €200M for keeping cheaper Jupiler from the Netherlands out of Belgian shops.3
- 2024
Mondelēz fined €337.5M for hindering cross-border trade in chocolate, biscuits and coffee.4
- 2025
The Commission names these blocks among the ten most harmful barriers to the single market.5
Parallel received a grant from the European Union's SME Fund.
What Parallel adds
The law allows buying across borders. Doing it safely is the hard part. That is what we built.
Every pallet is checked at one of our hubs before it moves on.
Sellers ship with payment secured. Buyers' money released after goods pass inspection.
Buy from sellers in several countries and pay once.
Build this with us
For wholesalers, retailers and distributors buying A-brands, and for sellers with stock to move. Sign up free with your email, Microsoft or Google.
Questions and answers
Yes. Free movement of goods is one of the EU's founding rules: once a brand has put a product on the market in the EU, it may be resold in any other EU country. Brands that block this get fined, as AB InBev and Mondelēz were.
You decide. Reject it for a refund, or accept it at a renegotiated price.
When you order. Your payment stays with Parallel B.V. and goes to the seller only after your goods pass inspection. Businesses that qualify can also pay the balance in 30 days with Billie.
Signing up and selling cost nothing. Buyers pay a flat €35 per inspected pallet, and delivery at exactly what the carrier charges us.
From our hubs. Every offer names its hub: collect your order there, or choose your country under Ships to and we arrange delivery.
Yes. List an offer with just your email address and it goes live for buyers across Europe. Selling costs nothing.
Sources
- European Commission, Remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager on the Mondelēz decision, 23 May 2024
- European Commission, Half of EU fast moving consumer goods sellers experience supply constraints based on their location, 19 November 2020
- European Commission, Commission fines AB InBev €200 million for restricting cross-border sales of beer, 13 May 2019
- European Commission, Commission fines Mondelēz €337.5 million for cross-border trade restrictions, 23 May 2024
- European Commission, Questions and answers on the Single Market Strategy, 21 May 2025
- European Commission, Commission seeks views on territorial supply constraints, 5 March 2026
- European Commission, Commission seeks views on tackling territorial supply constraints, 28 May 2026