White Label Product

What Is a White Label Product?

White label products are sold by retailers with their own branding and logo but the products themselves are manufactured by a third party. White labeling occurs when the manufacturer of an item uses the branding requested by the purchaser, or marketer, instead of its own. The end product appears as though it has been produced by the purchaser.

White label products are easily spotted on store shelves, as they have the retailer's own name (commonly known as the "store brand") on the label. For example, Whole Foods Market's "365 Everyday Value" line of products.

Understanding a White Label Product

White label products are manufactured by a third party, not the company that sells it, or necessarily even markets it. The advantage is that a single company does not have to go through the entire process of creating and selling a product. One firm can concentrate on producing the product; another on marketing it; and another can focus on selling it, each according to its expertise and preference. The major benefits of white label branding are that it saves companies time, energy, and money in terms of production and marketing costs.

Another big advantage of private label brands is that if a supermarket has an exclusive deal with a manufacturer, then the average transportation expenses might be lower than usual and the company would benefit from distributional economies of scale. Because of lower transportation costs, the retailer could sell the product for less and still reap a bigger profit margin.

Private label brands have become increasingly popular, which suggests that consumers are becoming more sensitive to price and less loyal to their favorite traditional brands. In many countries, the growth of private label brands is hurting national brands’ (the manufacturers') market share.

Types of Businesses That Use White Label Products

Retailers

Although technically white label products may appear in any industry or sector, large retailers have done quite well with them. Companies like Whole Foods and Walmart have benefited by selling their own branded products that have been created by other manufacturers.

Multinationals and Mass Merchandisers

In 1998, Tesco (TSCDY), a British multinational grocery and general merchandiser, began segmenting its customers and developing brands that cater to each group. In the United States, retailers were quick to follow Tesco's precedent.

White labeling in the U.S. has worked particularly well for big-box retailers like Target Corporation (TGT), with at least 10 different brands each catering to a specific consumer group and product line, and together bringing in at least $1 billion a year.

Electronics Companies

White Label in the Form of Services

White label products don't always need to be tangible items. Service offerings also have adopted white labeling. Some banks, for example, use white label services like credit card processing when they do not have these services in house. Furthermore, businesses that have no banking operations often extend branded credit cards to their customers, which is also a form of white labeling. For example, L.L. Bean Inc**.** offers its consumers a branded credit card, though the card is actually provided by Barclays Bank (BCS). Macy’s (M) also offers its customers a branded card, and theirs is provided by American Express (AXP).

Advantages and Disadvantages of White Label Products

The concept of white labeling comes with numerous considerations, both positive and negative.

Advantages

Disadvantages

Real World Example

One large retailer that's being creative with branding is Costco (COST), the U.S.-based warehouse club operator, with its Kirkland brand of private label products. Does this mean that Costco makes all of the Kirkland products you see on the shelves? Not at all. They simply contract with various producers that have agreed to put their products into the Kirkland packaging.

A Kirkland-branded product often sits next to the national brand (that actually makes the product) on the shelf: identical products, different names, the national brand selling at a higher price. For example, Costco sells Saran Wrap. Saran is a trade name currently owned by S.C. Johnson & Son. But Costco also sells its own Kirkland Signature stretch-tite plastic food wrap.

Costco has further blurred the line between national brands and private labels by using premium offerings and co-branding strategies with the likes of Starbucks (SBUX), Quaker Oats, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, Inc**.** (PEP), and Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN). Interestingly, both consumer product executives and retail executives tend to believe that co-branding between retailers and traditional national brands is a win-win situation.