Private Label VS. White Label

Have you ever heard the terms private label or white label? Have you ever wondered what they meant, or what the differences between them are? There are many people who use these terms interchangeably, but they are vastly different from one another. I will explain the differences between these terms, which one might be better for your business, and even some examples of the two.

What is a Private Labeled Product?

Private label products are products that already exist, but are modified in a way that the product becomes unique. An example of this would be a regular stock hand held mirror that you would modify by adding lights around it so you could have a better vision of yourself in bad lighting or at night. This would add a unique selling point and take it from a stock product that already exists, to a more unique product that would solve a problem.

These types of products require more communication with the manufacturer, longer completion time and overall more work, but it is a better return when it comes to customer satisfaction. Since your product will be more unique than a copied stock product, more people will want to buy it because it will have better perceived value and if you market correctly, you can charge premium prices for your products.

White Labeled Products Are Different.

A product that is white labeled has very little modification to the product, if any at all. This means you would take a stock cell phone car mount and either change the color of the mount from let’s say black to red, or just change the outside packaging. Other than these changes, the product looks no different than the stock product. This would be considered the easiest option, but also the hardest to sell since there is nothing that makes this product unique or solves a problem for the customer.

White label products are for someone who does not want to go through the long process of back and forth with a manufacturer, a startup who would like to test the waters or someone who does not have much time to market, but still wants to put products out.

There are other options when white labeling products such as marketing a stock product to a different audience. For example, you can take a stock door length shoe holder and instead of marketing it as a shoe holder, market it as a utility closet organizer and switch categories. You could even market this as a snack holder for your pantry and market to the kitchen category.

Where Can You Find White Label Products?

There are a handful of ways to source white label products. The most common would be through Alibaba, but there are other ways to source as well: Yiwo, The Canton Fair (if you want to look at products first hand) AliExpress and more

Examples of Popular Private Label Brands

These are only a few, but this goes to show that if you do it correctly and have a strategic marketing plan, you can become a big name as well.

Do You Want to Learn How to Source Your Own Products?

You can learn everything from A to Z when it comes to private label, white label and inventing your own products. Join us at The Canton Fair Experience for a hands on learning experience like nothing you have ever experienced.