Buy European! Are EU Products booming due to US-Tensions?

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"We never expected the interest would be so great!" Laura Catz, co-founder of the"Goeuropean" website, is herself somewhat surprised by the success of the project: a site where you can search for European alternatives to the often more well-known American products. Just over a month after the website went online, it is now registering around 20,000 visitors a day. More and more people seem to be turning to European and Luxembourg products in light of the US government's anti-European stance.

As the young Romanian explains in a telephone interview, the project is the result of a lot of frustration – and a team of over 60 volunteers from all over Europe who got to know each other via Reddit: "It was mainly a reaction to the news and developments in the world, which made me feel powerless and useless. With my job in marketing, I felt like it was hardly possible to make a difference. But then I found the – then still small – subreddit BuyfromEU, where people were talking about rethinking our buying habits in favour of more European products. In the discussions, people kept saying that 'someone' should to set up a website or database to collate all the alternatives that had been collected on the sub (subpage of the forum, ed.) – from washing machines to email providers."

Although she has no background in web development, Catz used beginner-friendly no-code tools to put together a first version of the site in no time at all, where visitors can search for European products by category, country and keyword. A little later, she posted the link on Reddit "expecting that maybe two or three people would say 'that's neat'". However, ever since, her inbox hasn't stopped blowing up. Because while the members of the sub were discussing the site, they reached out with a number of suggestions for improvement, albeit ones that require more coding knowledge. "When I explained to them that I couldn't do it on my own, I received ten messages from developers across Europe within three days, all offering me their help."

"60 random people"

Two weeks later, around 60 volunteers from all over Europe were involved in the project, most of whom only knew each other through their online tags and communicated via online platforms. To date, they have collected and categorised over 1,200 European products and services in their free time and without payment, as well as creating a browser extension to help with purchasing decisions. In future, Catz hopes that the site could also help to find gaps in the market for European products.

he impetus for the page was international politics and, above all, the abrupt turning away of the USA from Europe. Nevertheless, Catz emphasises: "It is very important to me to say that we are not trying to organise a boycott with this website. What we want is to give European companies more visibility." She is well aware of the slight irony that the project was launched on an American platform. But until there is an alternative, "we have to think pragmatically."

A sign of European cooperation

While the separate fast-growing BuyfromEU subreddit, which now has 191,000 members, remains a discussion platform complete with memes and internet humour, GoEuropean is trying to be a more sober service platform. In addition to logistics, this also requires a work ethic. Deciding which of the products suggested by users can be considered "European" is complicated, especially in a world where ownership is neither transparent nor static, confirms Catz: "Our voluntary data team is already very large. They check all entries and make sure the information is correct. Nevertheless, it sometimes happens that people suggest brands that they know from their childhood and that seem very German, for example, but later we receive an email that this company was bought up by an American group last year. That's why we're discussing intensively what 'European' means in this context and where our boundaries lie." At the moment, around 1,800 other suggestions submitted by users are still waiting to be reviewed.

But the project is already a sign that not only is there a growing interest in European alternatives, but, as Catz says, "a bunch of random people from across all of Europe can build something together, even though they don't know each other. Simply because they are motivated, talk to each other and find solutions. I think that's also an important message for our politics, that we need to be united as Europeans."

Products and services from Luxembourg can also be found on the site – albeit still relatively few. These include the Letzshop sales platform, listed as an alternative to Amazon. A comparison that elicits a smile from Philippe Herremans, coordinator of Luxembourg for Shopping GIE, which is primarily known for this platform. According to Herremans, the site, which was founded in 2018, experienced an explosive boom during the coronavirus pandemic with growth rates of up to 1,000 per cent. Today, user numbers are rising more slowly again, but still steadily.

Offering local shops a local platform

Letzshop's main goal is not so much to highlight Luxembourgish products, but rather to help local shops establish an online presence as a second pillar where they can sell their goods from all corners of the world. Nevertheless, they also recognise that local products are becoming increasingly popular: "We have therefore launched a new section and page dedicated to 'Made in Luxembourg'. This naturally serves to emphasise the Luxembourgish products that local retailers sell, as there is definitely a demand for them, " confirms Herreman. Particularly popular products are, of course, food and beverages, especially chocolate.

The fact that "local" sells is also demonstrated by a marketing strategy that would hardly seem credible for international industrial titans: The sellers advertise not only with their products… but with their faces! Photos of the traders and craftspeople in their shops and at work increasingly adorn the shops' online presence. A recipe for success, says Herremans: "We want to make the people behind the shop visible so that customers in the shop also recognise the people they have seen in the photo on the internet. This allows us to create more human contact. This also increases trust in the shop, which is very important when buying online. You have to have a certain amount of trust in the shop you're buying from."

The price that customers have to pay for this proximity is usually somewhat higher than on foreign platforms, the coordinator admits. "But many people are prepared to accept this in order to support the local economy, and also because it often is the more ecological and ethical choice." According to Herremans, it is not possible to tell from the statistics whether Letzshop is also seeing a trend towards more European and Luxembourg products. "But if we notice that there is a demand from enough customers to find certain European products, it is quite possible that we could add a filter to make this easier. We will be guided by demand."

The fact that this demand clearly exists abroad can be seen above all in America's once most closely allied neighbour: Canada. Here, not only are more and more shops removing American products or turning them upside down to inform customers about their origin, but the iconic national maple leaf flag is also clearly printed on Canadian products, to highlight them.

The Luxembourgh equivalent: a small but popular crown

The Luxembourg equivalent of this is the "Made in Luxembourg" crown. The label, which celebrated its 40th birthday last year, is highly regarded according to Gilles Reding, Directeur Conseils et Services at the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Clémence Higel, who is responsible for awarding it. Over 1,800 Luxembourg companies can now boast the icon, and the number of requests continues to rise every year. According to Reding, this is a sign that companies recognise added value in the "positive image of the crown", as they are clearly identifiable as Luxembourgish, both for private customers and for other companies. Around 85 per cent of the companies that request the seal receive it – the main requirement (which is regularly checked on site) is that the registered office is located in Luxembourg and that "substantial" work steps are carried out here, among other things.

"The trigger for this strong demand was definitely the pandemic and this trend has been maintained, of course also due to the increasing value placed on sustainability. People are clearly looking for local and regional products when shopping. Nevertheless, price still plays a decisive role, of course, " says Reding. It is still too early to talk about the effects of the latest foreign policy developments on the value of the logo.

While the seal is "only" a sign of the origin of the product or service and says nothing directly about the quality, it nevertheless implies, according to Clémence Higel, that it was produced under good working conditions and according to high quality standards due to Luxembourg legislation. At the same time, "short communication channels and delivery routes are becoming increasingly important to customers" and, due to the size of the country, these are virtually guaranteed with the label.

While the trend of returning to local products and services has been growing steadily since the pandemic, it remains to be seen whether the heavily strained EU-US relations will strengthen it in the long term, whether for ideological or ethical reasons – or simply because various products risk becoming more expensive due to tariffs. However, those involved are keeping a close eye on developments and would welcome a customer base that buys even more locally with open arms. This would be even easier if the many Luxembourg products were listed on GoEuropean. Anyone can add alternatives here.