Coupang Partners with Sartori Cheese to Expand US Dairy Exports
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Sartori Cheese has partnered with Fortune 150 retail and technology firm Coupang to expand distribution of its artisanal cheese across South Korea, targeting a consumer base of more than 51 million people. The arrangement builds on Coupang’s export pipeline, which generated over $5 billion in overseas sales of U.S. Goods and services in 2025 alone.
Through Coupang’s Rocket Fresh online grocery service, the Plymouth, Wisconsin-based manufacturer is introducing flagship lines including SarVecchio Parmesan and BellaVitano varieties directly to Korean households. Bert Sartori, chief executive of the fourth-generation family-owned company, noted that the digital platform allows the producer to reach Asian buyers faster and at greater scale after more than a decade of developing international sales.
South Korea stands as Wisconsin’s third-largest overseas agricultural market. Coupang absorbs the primary operational hurdles of cross-border trade for Sartori by managing international marketing, shipping logistics, customs paperwork, foreign regulatory compliance and last-mile delivery across the country.
Cold Chain Distribution from Plymouth to South Korea
Exporting perishable dairy across the Pacific requires strict temperature control and fast customs processing. Coupang takes over ocean and air freight logistics, customs filings, regulatory approvals and last-mile cold-chain delivery for the American producer, bypassing domestic wholesale distributors.
Sartori produces its cheese in Plymouth, Wisconsin, sourcing 150,000 gallons of milk daily from Majestic Crossing Dairy and other family farms located within 75 miles of its plants. The manufacturer converts local raw dairy into finished cheese wheels within hours of collection before packaging them for international transit.
Coupang Builds Cross-Border Export Corridor
Coupang generated more than $5 billion in overseas sales of American goods and services in 2025 alone. The retail operator deploys automated fulfillment facilities, robotics and artificial intelligence routing across its South Korean hub network to absorb cross-border volume from thousands of American suppliers.
“Coupang generated more than $5 billion in overseas sales of American goods and services in 2025 alone.”
The company also runs a parallel trade corridor connecting American brands directly into Taiwan. By managing regulatory compliance and inventory intake centrally, Coupang acts as both merchant of record and logistics carrier for food businesses that lack overseas offices.
Direct Import Threatens Traditional Importers
Coupang’s end-to-end import model cuts out South Korea’s traditional multi-tiered food brokerage cartels. Conventional food importers usually take hefty margins while struggling to guarantee cold-chain integrity across urban delivery networks, leaving foreign specialty brands confined to high-end department store basements.
Rocket Fresh changes that distribution math by placing short-shelf-life dairy directly onto consumer doorsteps within hours of ordering. Rival platforms now face heavier pressure to source overseas agricultural goods directly rather than buying through local intermediaries.
Building Out Fresh Fulfillment Infrastructure
The Wisconsin partnership follows heavy capital expenditure by Coupang into automated regional distribution centers across South Korea over the past three years. The platform poured billions of dollars into automated sorting machinery and temperature-zoned storage facilities to protect perishable grocery margins.
Those investments turned Coupang from a general merchandise marketplace into South Korea’s dominant online grocery seller. The company now uses that infrastructure to win exclusive digital distribution arrangements with foreign agricultural cooperatives and specialty food makers.
Volume Targets in Korea
Attention turns to how fast Coupang can scale fresh dairy turnover across secondary Korean cities. Competitors will watch whether Coupang extends the Sartori cold-chain template to replicate similar direct-import arrangements for European and Australasian dairy producers.
Questions & Answers
Q.How does Coupang manage the logistics of exporting fresh cheese to South Korea?
How does Coupang manage the logistics of exporting fresh cheese to South Korea?
Coupang absorbs the main cross-border operational challenges by managing international freight, customs clearance, foreign regulatory compliance, and last-mile cold-chain delivery. This end-to-end service allows Sartori Cheese to bypass traditional wholesale distributors and food brokerage cartels entirely.
Q.Which Sartori products are being introduced to the South Korean market?
Which Sartori products are being introduced to the South Korean market?
Sartori is introducing flagship lines including its SarVecchio Parmesan and BellaVitano varieties directly to South Korean households through Coupang’s Rocket Fresh online grocery service. The cheese is manufactured in Plymouth, Wisconsin, using milk sourced from local family farms.
Q.How does this direct-import model impact traditional South Korean food importers?
How does this direct-import model impact traditional South Korean food importers?
The model cuts out South Korea’s conventional multi-tiered food brokerage networks, which typically demand hefty margins and struggle with cold-chain maintenance. Competitors face increased pressure to source foreign agricultural produce directly rather than relying on local intermediaries.
Q.Does Coupang operate similar cross-border trade corridors in other markets?
Does Coupang operate similar cross-border trade corridors in other markets?
Coupang runs a parallel trade corridor that links American brands directly into Taiwan. The company acts as both merchant of record and logistics carrier, using automated fulfilment hubs and central compliance management to support food producers without overseas offices.