White label product
Encyclopedia
A white label product or service is a product or service produced by one company (the producer) that other companies (the marketers) rebrand to make it appear as if they made it.
. Its origins can be traced to vinyl records, when DJs would remove the label from a record so other DJs would not know who made the track, thus creating a white label
record.
White label production is often used for mass-produced generic electronics such as DVD players and televisions. Some companies maintain a sub-brand for their goods, for example the same model of DVD player may be sold by Dixons as a Saisho
and by Currys
as a Matsui, which are brands exclusively used by those companies.
Some websites use white labels to enable a successful brand to offer a service without having to invest in creating the technology and infrastructure itself. For instance, the DVD Rental services of Tesco
are run by LoveFilm
.
Most supermarket private brand
or store brand
products are provided by companies that sell to multiple supermarkets, changing only the labels. In addition some manufacturers create low-cost generic brand
labels with only the name of the product ("Cola"). Richelieu Foods
, for example, is a private label
food manufacturing company producing frozen pizza, salad dressing, sauces, marinades, condiments and deli salads for other companies, including Hy-Vee
, Aldi
, Save-A-Lot
, Sam's Club
, Hannaford Brothers Co., BJ's Wholesale Club
(Earth's Pride brand) and Shaw's Supermarkets
(Culinary Circle brand).
Smaller banks sometimes outsource their credit-card operations to larger banks. The larger bank issues and processes the credit cards as white label cards, typically for a fee, allowing the smaller bank to brand the cards as their own without having to invest in the necessary infrastructure. A current example of this is Cuscal Limited providing white-labelled card and transactional products to Credit Unions in Australia.
History
The name derives from the image of a white label on the packaging which can be filled in with the marketer's trade dressTrade dress
Trade dress is a legal term of art that generally refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging that signify the source of the product to consumers...
. Its origins can be traced to vinyl records, when DJs would remove the label from a record so other DJs would not know who made the track, thus creating a white label
White label
White label records are vinyl records with adhesive plain white labels affixed. Test pressings, usually with Test Pressing written on the label, with catalogue number, artist and recording time or date, are produced in small quantities to evaluate the quality of the disc production...
record.
White label production is often used for mass-produced generic electronics such as DVD players and televisions. Some companies maintain a sub-brand for their goods, for example the same model of DVD player may be sold by Dixons as a Saisho
Saisho
Saisho is an own brand formerly used by Dixons stores in the UK. Originally introduced in 1978, it has since been phased out in favour of Dixons Retail's other brands, Matsui and Logik....
and by Currys
Currys
Currys is an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland and is owned by Dixons Retail plc. It specialises in selling home electronics and household appliances, with 295 superstores and 73 high street stores...
as a Matsui, which are brands exclusively used by those companies.
Some websites use white labels to enable a successful brand to offer a service without having to invest in creating the technology and infrastructure itself. For instance, the DVD Rental services of Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
are run by LoveFilm
LoveFilm
LoveFilm is a UK-based provider of home video and video game rental through DVD-by-mail and streaming video on demand in the UK, Germany and Scandinavia...
.
Most supermarket private brand
Private brand
Private branding is when a large distribution channel member , buys from a manufacturer in bulk and puts its own name on the product. This strategy is, with some exceptions, generally only practical when the retailer does very high levels of volume...
or store brand
Store brand
Store brands are a line of products sold by a retailer under a single marketing identity. They bear a similarity to the concept of House brands, Private label brands in the United States, own brands in the UK, and home brands in Australia and generic brands...
products are provided by companies that sell to multiple supermarkets, changing only the labels. In addition some manufacturers create low-cost generic brand
Generic brand
Generic brands of consumer products are distinguished by the absence of a brand name. It is often inaccurate to describe these products as "lacking a brand name", as they usually are branded, albeit with either the brand of the store in which they are sold or a lesser-known brand name which may...
labels with only the name of the product ("Cola"). Richelieu Foods
Richelieu Foods
Richelieu Foods is a private label food manufacturing company founded in 1862, headquartered in Randolph, Massachusetts, and owned by investment group Brynwood Partners of Greenwich, Connecticut....
, for example, is a private label
Private label
Private label products or services are typically those manufactured or provided by one company for offer under another company's brand. Private label goods and services are available in a wide range of industries from food to cosmetics to web hosting...
food manufacturing company producing frozen pizza, salad dressing, sauces, marinades, condiments and deli salads for other companies, including Hy-Vee
Hy-Vee
Hy-Vee is an employee-owned chain of supermarkets located in the Midwestern United States. Over 100 of its supermarkets are located in Iowa, with additional stores in Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and now Madison, Wisconsin...
, Aldi
ALDI
ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG, doing business as ', short for "Albrecht Discount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany...
, Save-A-Lot
Save-A-Lot
Save-a-Lot is a discount supermarket chain headquartered in Earth City, Missouri, near St. Louis, United States. The subsidiary of Supervalu comprises approximately 1,250 stores in the United States with over $4 billion in annual sales....
, Sam's Club
Sam's Club
Sam's Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. , the Sam's Club chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members...
, Hannaford Brothers Co., BJ's Wholesale Club
BJ's Wholesale Club
BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. , commonly referred to simply as BJ's, is a membership-only warehouse club chain operating on the United States East Coast, as well as in the state of Ohio...
(Earth's Pride brand) and Shaw's Supermarkets
Shaw's Supermarkets
Shaw's, along with companion store Star Market, are wholly owned subsidiaries of Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based SuperValu. Together, Shaw's and Star Market comprise the third-largest grocery chain headquartered in New England; behind Stop & Shop and Hannaford, although Shaw’s is the largest grocery...
(Culinary Circle brand).
Smaller banks sometimes outsource their credit-card operations to larger banks. The larger bank issues and processes the credit cards as white label cards, typically for a fee, allowing the smaller bank to brand the cards as their own without having to invest in the necessary infrastructure. A current example of this is Cuscal Limited providing white-labelled card and transactional products to Credit Unions in Australia.