A business model in which a producer manufactures goods or services that other companies rebrand and sell under their own name. Documented examples span retail electronics (identical DVD players sold under different UK retailers' house brands), food manufacturing (Richelieu Foods producing frozen pizza and other private-label goods for retailers including Aldi and Sam's Club), banking (smaller banks outsourcing card and check processing to larger banks under white-label arrangements) and software. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core MechanismOne company manufactures a generic product that other companies purchase, rebrand with their own trademark, and resell as if they had made it themselves. 1 Connections
Associated With
The source article names software packages and consumer electronics among the mass-produced generic products most often white-labeled.
Source Wikipedia, White-Label Product
Much apparel and textile manufacturing is produced under white-label and private-label arrangements for brands that do not own the factories.
Source Wikipedia, Textile Industry
Open Questions
Source Wikipedia, White-Label Product
Sources
1. Wikipedia, White-Label Product
Wikipedialead section
a product or service produced by one company (the producer) that other companies (the marketers) rebrand to make it appear as if they had made it
Common use
White label production is often used for mass-produced generic products including electronics, consumer products and software packages such as DVD players, televisions, and web applications.
Common use section, supermarket products
Most supermarket store brand products are provided by companies that sell to multiple supermarkets, changing only the labels.
Wikipedia: White-label product, Richelieu Foods example
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, BJ's Wholesale Club (Earth's Pride brand), and Shaw's Supermarkets (Culinary Circle brand).
lead paragraph, first sentence
A white-label product is a product or service produced by one company (the producer) that other companies (the marketers) rebrand to make it appear as if they had made it.
Associated With: Technology Industry, Common use section
White label production is often used for mass-produced generic products including electronics, consumer products and software packages such as DVD players, televisions, and web applications.
View the Source Wikipedia, Textile Industry
Open Questions (1 open question)
In what year, or in what industry first, did white-label manufacturing emerge as a named practice distinct from ordinary private contract manufacturing?
The source article defines white labeling and names the product categories it is commonly used for (electronics, consumer products, software) under its Common use section, but gives no year or originating industry for the practice itself.
What would resolve this A manufacturing-history or branding-history source giving a specific year, decade or originating industry for when white-label or private-label contract manufacturing first took its modern, named form.
Business HistoryWikipedia, White-Label Product
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a white-label product?
A product made by one company and rebranded by another to look like their own.
A white-label product or service is produced by one company, the producer, that other companies, the marketers, rebrand to make it appear as if they had made it themselves.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.