How to sell on Kaufland.de: a guide for brands

To start selling on Kaufland Global Marketplace, you set up a single seller account that immediately opens access to nine European markets (Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland among them), upload offers in each country's language with valid EAN codes, sort out your VAT and packaging obligations (in Germany that means LUCID registration), and handle shipping yourself or through the platform's fulfilment service. This guide walks through the entire entry path step by step: requirements, logistics, integrations, fees and how it differs from Amazon, ending with an entry checklist and an honest answer about when Kaufland genuinely makes sense as an additional channel.

What Kaufland Global Marketplace is (formerly real.de)

Kaufland Global Marketplace is a sales platform owned by the Schwarz Group, the company behind the Kaufland and Lidl retail chains. It grew out of the earlier real.de marketplace: the service began as Hitmeister, operated as real.de from 2016, and was rebranded to Kaufland.de in April 2021. For a seller this means one thing: there is a recognised retail brand with real traffic behind it, not a startup without a track record.

In short, the model is close to Amazon or Allegro: you list the offers, Kaufland provides traffic, payment handling and the brand, and in return it charges a subscription and a commission. If you want to see how Kaufland fits into the wider picture of marketplace channels alongside Amazon, eBay and Allegro, start with our hub.

The companies that most often choose it are those that want to reach German customers without stepping into the most crowded channel, Amazon.de. Competition in many categories is shallower here, so a well-prepared offer gains visibility faster.

Which markets you can sell in through Kaufland

The platform's key advantage: a single registration opens every market at once. As of 24 July 2026 that means nine countries: Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. Spain and the Netherlands are the newest markets, launched in 2026, which is exactly why inconsistent information about them circulates online. Always confirm a country's status in the official seller portal.

You run your offers from a single dashboard and can localise them per market. In practice you do not have to enter everywhere at once: it makes more sense to start on one or two markets (usually Germany plus a test market), refine the process, and only then switch on further countries with a single toggle.

Entry requirements: what to prepare before you start

Registering a seller account requires a full set of company data and documents. Kaufland verifies sellers in line with anti-money-laundering rules, so the list is specific:

• Company and representative details: an identity document for the people representing the company, an extract from the business register (in Poland, KRS/CEIDG) and identification of the beneficial owners (shareholders holding 25% or more).
• Tax numbers: the VAT number of your company's registered seat, and for EU sellers also an OSS number to handle distance sales to other Union countries.
• EAN/GTIN codes: every product needs an official barcode. Without one you cannot create an offer.
• Packaging obligations (EPR): in Germany this is registration in the LUCID database run by the Stiftung Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister plus a contract with a recovery scheme. Other countries have their own packaging registers, and some categories also require WEEE (electronics) and battery notifications.
• An EU return address: your returns address must be located within the European Union.

Important: you do not need a German company or a warehouse in Germany. A Polish company can sell on Kaufland.de and ship goods from Poland, as long as it meets the declared delivery times and keeps its VAT and packaging obligations in order. The EPR and VAT formalities are set up before you launch, not after the first order.

Logistics: your own shipping or Fulfilment by Kaufland

You have two fulfilment models, mirroring FBM and FBA on Amazon.

Your own shipping. By default the seller is responsible for getting goods to the customer. You ship from your own warehouse (including from Poland), choose the carrier yourself and declare the delivery times. This is the cheapest way to start and gives full control, but German customers are demanding about deadlines, so your real delivery times need to be tested.

Fulfilment by Kaufland. The platform also offers its own storage and order-fulfilment service: you store goods in Kaufland warehouses and the platform packs and ships parcels to customers. The model can make sense when you want shorter delivery times on the German market without building your own logistics. Verify the country coverage and current pricing of this service directly in the Kaufland seller portal, because the terms change.

Many sellers start with their own shipping from Poland and switch to fulfilment only once volume and delivery-speed expectations justify it.

Integrations and product feeds

You do not have to enter offers by hand. Kaufland exposes product data in three ways, from the simplest to the most automated:

• Manually in the dashboard: fine for a handful of products or a first test.
• A product file (CSV/feed): upload your catalogue in bulk using the platform's template.
• API and integrators: a connection through the Kaufland API or ready-made integrators (such as BaseLinker, Apilo or Channable) that sync offers, stock levels and orders from one place across the rest of your channels.

If you already sell on several platforms, an integrator is usually the most sensible choice: a single warehouse and a single price base for all channels mean fewer errors in stock and pricing. This is the same area we tidy up as part of marketplace account management.

Fees and commissions on Kaufland

Kaufland's cost model has two components. As of 24 July 2026, according to the official seller portal:

On top of this come costs that Kaufland does not charge but that you have to build into your calculation: VAT and OSS registrations, packaging handling (EPR/LUCID), shipping or the fulfilment fee, and any sponsored campaigns. Always confirm the specific commission rate for your category and the current pricing in the seller portal, because the terms are updated from time to time.

German market specifics: language, service, returns, compliance

Kaufland is first and foremost a gateway to the German customer, and that market has hard rules of its own. It is the most common reason Polish companies' offers fail to sell on DE despite a good price.

Offer language and customer service

The offer content (titles, attributes, descriptions) and communication with the customer must be in the market's language, so on Kaufland.de that means German. This is not about machine translation but about correct, natural language and complete product data. Kaufland also monitors your response time to customer messages as part of account quality, so fast service is not a courtesy but a condition for keeping visibility.

Returns and delivery expectations

The return address must be in the EU, and the German consumer expects smooth returns and delivery times that are kept. Declare realistic times, not wishful ones.

Compliance: VAT, OSS and packaging

This is the formal layer you cannot skip: the VAT number of your registered seat plus OSS, packaging registration in the LUCID database for Germany (and its equivalents in other countries), and, for selected categories, WEEE and battery notifications. The VAT and EPR logic is similar to what we described for selling on Amazon.de, so if you already sell on the German Amazon you have a large part of these obligations ticked off.

Kaufland versus Amazon: the key differences

Kaufland is rarely an alternative to Amazon. It is usually a complement to it. Below are the practical differences that genuinely shape the decision.

Practical conclusion (Amazonway recommendation): treat Kaufland as a second sales engine alongside Amazon, not as its replacement. The same products, shared logistics, a consistent pricing policy, and the results add up instead of cannibalising each other.

Kaufland entry checklist

A set to tick off before your first offer. Order matters: you handle the formalities before uploading products, not after.

• Company data and documents ready (register, representatives, beneficial owners).
• Seat VAT + OSS set up; for EU distance sales, the threshold and procedure checked.
• EPR/packaging: LUCID registration for Germany (plus equivalents in the countries where you launch), and WEEE and batteries where relevant.
• EAN/GTIN codes for the whole range.
• Choice of starting market: usually Germany plus one test market, not all nine at once.
• Offer content in German: titles, attributes and descriptions written for the customer and the platform's search.
• Logistics model chosen (own shipping with realistic delivery times, or Fulfilment by Kaufland) and an EU return address.
• Integration: an API or integrator (BaseLinker, Apilo, Channable) connected to your stock and pricing.
• Profitability calculation: subscription, category commission, VAT, EPR, shipping and margin worked out before launch.

When Kaufland makes sense as an additional channel

Honestly: Kaufland is not for everyone and it is not a miracle source of cheap traffic. Below is our recommendation on when it is worth it and when it is not.

Kaufland makes sense when you already have sales sorted on one channel (usually Amazon or Allegro), stable product data, and you want to reach the German customer at lower competition, and your margin can absorb the cost of a few formalities. It is also a good move when you want to spread risk and avoid depending on a single platform.

Kaufland makes less sense when you are only learning marketplace selling, do not have your EANs and content in order, or your margin is so thin it cannot bear the additional VAT/EPR registrations and the subscription. In that case, close out your first channel first, then add the next ones.

Kaufland is one of several diversification moves. The same "next channel" logic covers selling on eBay (strong on the DE market) and TikTok Shop in Europe (an entirely different, social-commerce channel). Which to choose depends on where your customer actually is.

Marketplace or your own store

It is worth naming one thing plainly at the end: every marketplace, Kaufland included, lends you traffic in exchange for a commission and control over the customer relationship. It is great for scaling sales, but you cannot fully build customer data and a brand on someone else's platform. That is why mature brands run marketplaces and their own eCommerce platform in parallel: marketplace channels deliver volume, while the owned store builds the brand, first-party data and margin without a per-transaction commission. Owned platforms are built by our sister brand Seedlight.

How Amazonway helps with this

Entering Kaufland combines formalities (VAT, EPR/LUCID), content localisation into German, data integration and logistics. At Amazonway we run this as part of the Waypoint framework, where the "New markets" stage (WP 05) is about scaling sales onto further platforms without a proportional increase in work on your side: we plug the same products and processes into the new channel. If you prefer to hand it over entirely, see the scope of our Kaufland sales management or the broader marketplace account management. We do not promise rankings or results, because they depend on your range and market, but we take the formal and operational layer of entry off your hands.

Frequently asked questions about selling on Kaufland (FAQ)

Do I need a German company to sell on Kaufland.de?

No. A Polish company can sell on Kaufland.de and ship goods from Poland. You need your VAT in order (a seat number and OSS), packaging obligations (LUCID for Germany) and a return address within the EU.

How much does selling on Kaufland Global Marketplace cost?

As of 24 July 2026: a subscription of 39.95 € per month plus a sales commission in the 4–16% range depending on the category, both billed in euros. On top of that come VAT/EPR, shipping or fulfilment and any campaign costs. Confirm the current rate for your category in the seller portal.

How many markets can I sell in from one account?

A single registration covers every Kaufland Global Marketplace market: as of 24 July 2026 that is nine countries, including Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. Offers can be localised per market.

How does Kaufland differ from Amazon?

Kaufland has less traffic than Amazon.de, but also shallower competition and a simpler ecosystem. It works best as a second channel alongside Amazon, with shared logistics and consistent pricing, rather than as its replacement.

What is Fulfilment by Kaufland?

It is a storage and order-fulfilment service run by the platform: you store goods in Kaufland warehouses and the platform packs and ships parcels. The alternative is your own shipping from your warehouse. Check the current country coverage and pricing of the service in the seller portal.

Does selling on Amazon.de make entering Kaufland easier?

Yes. If you already sell on the German Amazon, you usually have EAN codes, German content and your VAT and EPR in order, so you tick off a large part of Kaufland's requirements straight away.

Considering Kaufland as an additional channel? Book a free range assessment. We will check your products' potential on the Kaufland markets and show you where to start.