Cohort one is live in Nepal

Nepal is a high-conviction cohort one market: a small but rapidly modernizing CPG sector, a creator economy that punches well above its size on TikTok and Instagram, and a tightly clustered retail landscape where a small number of distributors and modern-trade chains drive most velocity. We build Nepal-first alongside the US not because it is the largest market — it isn't — but because the cohort one methodology can be proven end-to-end here in tighter loops than anywhere else.

Retail landscape: Bhatbhateni Super Market, Big Mart, Salesberry, and Saleways dominate modern-trade in the Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara. Traditional kirana stores still account for the majority of FMCG sell-through outside Tier-1 cities and remain the priority channel for the cohort one Nepal launch playbook. Daraz NP is the parallel digital channel where most cohort one brands will run sampling-validated launches.

Regulatory notes: DFTQC (Department of Food Technology and Quality Control) labeling, allergen disclosure, and category-specific claim review are automated for Nepal in cohort one. NS (Nepal Standard) certification handled in coordination with Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Supplies (MoICS) before the first batch ships. Cross-border import documentation from India / China handled end-to-end when sourcing from those origin points.

Creator economy: Nepali and English-language creators across Kathmandu, Pokhara, Lalitpur, and Bharatpur — TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts dominate the format mix. Cohort one creator onboarding covers the long-tail mid-tier band (50K–500K followers) where engagement is highest and per-follower conversion economics are structurally strongest for CPG launches.