Beginner’s Guide: How To Private Label Products?

Private labeling is an attractive business model. It’s appealing to sellers because of the freedom and the guarantee it gives at the same time.

With a private label, you can be confident that customers need your products, and yet you’re a unique brand on your own.

Because of its very appealing nature. It also comes with heavy competition. Not everyone can survive the private labeling world.

In order to succeed, you need to know what you’re doing. How can you successfully thrive with private labeling? But before all that, you need to understand what a private label really is.

In this article, we are going to guide you through. We will help you understand what a private label is, and all the details it entails. We’re excited to go through this with you. We hope that you’re just as enthusiastic about it.

Understanding Private Labels

So before we go any further. What are private labels?

Private labels are products that are made by a third party or a local craftsman and sticking your own brand on it.

The product itself needs to be a generic product. Your purpose is simply to differentiate it from competitors and bigger retailers.

You start with something that everyone needs, something you know is useful, and something people will continue to buy. People are loyal to brands and not products. It’s true that everyone needs food every day, clothes, soap. But they will try out different brands and stick with the ones they like.

If what you sell doesn’t have its own brand, it will be lost in a sea of products.

Now that you know what a private label is, are you ready to make and sell your own? Let’s find out.

Benefits For You

There are many benefits to private labeling. You can even handle over one private label for the products you sell. But is it the right path for you? Well, before you decide, you must first find out what the benefits are.

That way, you’ll know if the benefits are appealing to you. Something you want to work hard for.

1. A higher profit margin
The main appeal to private labeling is the profit margin. Your production cost may be slightly higher than your generic counterpart, but your selling price can be way higher than your competitors. This is what people aim for. Your customers will also be willing to pay more for your product because they trust your brand and your quality. If you can constantly increase the trust, your customer has in you, it will be easier to grow as a business. Grow by branching out to other products within your niche, or increase your sales quantity each quarter.

2. Being exclusive
The next benefit to private labeling is being the only one out there. You may sell an everyday product like sandals. But after you give it your own label, your own brand, you will be the only one out there. It shows exclusivity. Yes, your customers will wear sandals, but they will wear your sandals. It gives customers the sense that they are buying something exclusive, even if the product is generic. It will also be easier for you to compete with your competitors once you’ve determined your unique selling point.

3. Unique branding
Branding on its own is a fun activity. It gives you a sense of ownership. You will have something that’s truly yours. Maybe the product you choose didn’t succeed the first time, you can move to a different product and still keep your brand. Or maybe you want to stick to the same product and try another brand. Having a brand is an investment on its own. It’s also an opportunity for you to be creative and to explore what you like.

4. A defined marketing strategy 
Having a name, or a brand will help your marketing strategy. Let’s say that you’re selling freshly pressed juices. As a generic brand, you can only talk about your product. But as a brand, there are just so many more things you can do. You can talk about colors, you can talk about gardening, you can talk about the different fruits that are out there. You’re not limited to your product because you have this whole identity that you’ve created and used to label your products.

You can use this to create a social presence and explore other hashtags the public is talking about. Being a private label allows you to have an individual voice. This will allow you to appear more relatable and approachable to your customers.

The Risks

There’s a rainbow after each rain, but in this case, with each benefit, there will be risks. If you enjoy reading about the benefits and have decided that you want to try out private labeling. You need to be aware of the risks you’re about to take.

Nothing you do will be without risks, each business, any kind of a business has its own pros and cons. Let’s look at some risks you might face once you invest in private labeling.

1. Quality control
As someone who owns a private label, that’s all that you own. The private label. The products and the manufacturing, now that’s someone else’s responsibility. You control all the details of your brand, but your products? Not so much. Your manufacturer controls that. That’s why it’s important to make sure at the beginning that you like the product you’re going to sell and constantly monitor and control that the quality stays the same throughout your business’s lifespan. This may be a difficult thing and is the main risk of doing private labeling.

2. Reliability & responsibility
Talking about the quality of your product, you must be ready to receive complaints from your customer if your product does not match the ads and the marketing you’ve been working on. It will be your responsibility. But do not fret, each issue has a solution. Whenever your customers complain to you, you can raise this issue with your manufacturer and adjust accordingly. Even so, the risk of it all falls down to you because you’re putting your brand and your name out in the market, and not your manufacturer’s.

3. Staying unique
As a private label, your primary job is to rise above the sea of products. This can be a fun yet challenging thing to accomplish. If you create an image that’s too similar to your competitors, or if you accidentally copied someone else’s ideas because you didn’t do too much research, or you did too much research and you forgot, you can get yourself in a bit of a pickle. It’s risky, people will not trust you and will think that you’re a copycat, even when you’re not. If this happens, you won’t be able to close your sales and people will not spend more money on your generic products.

4. The legality of your operation
Because you are the image that people will see, laws will hold you accountable. If ever your product is against the law for any kind of issue, be it patent rights, regulations, or health and safety law, the law will come for you. They will not be assessing the manufacturers because you are the one who is responsible for the product you sell. This can also be solved by making sure that your product is safe to sell. So be sure to get samples and be satisfied with the sample that your manufacturer sends through.

Is It Right For You?

Now that you know the basics of private labeling, do you think it’s for you? Do you feel confident that the good outweighs the bad?

Private labeling is good for people who want to grow. People who are ready to start small and have plans to expand as they succeed. People who are adaptable. People who are ready to see failure as a learning curve and use it as an advantage when they start their next business project.

Private label allows you to explore different sides of yourself. You can do something technical or detail-oriented with the manufacturers. You must be very precise in knowing what you want, especially when you do product and sample control.

You can also be creative when you’re developing and nurturing your brand. Doing something that other people haven’t done before. Giving added value to something which is commonly used in everyday life. With this creativity you must also limit yourself, choosing something that stands out over everything else that seems interesting to you.

Last but not least, you also get to do actual business. Real marketing. Exploring different selling platforms. Dealing with all kinds of customers. Giving out the best customer service to nurture your brand.

There’s really no limit to private labeling, so do you think you’re the right person to take this on?

The Costs Of Private Labelling

When you’re ready to dive into the world of private labeling, it’s important to know what you need to reach the other side. Here we are going to talk about the costs you would need to start your own private label.

Of course, just like with any other businesses, it’s important to be prepared with a little more in case there’s an emergency necessary spending that we failed to plan for.

Manufacturing Costs

The major cost you will need to spend is for your product. This varies depending on the type of manufacturer you have chosen to work with.

For a private label, usually, you just pay for the finished product and any extra shipping costs. Without knowing the prices for materials or labor. Some manufacturers can work to put your product together in the packaging that you choose, while some others don’t.

When starting your private label, you need to research different manufacturers and may end up with more than one.

There are also some cases where you pay for the materials and the labor, but this may apply to bigger private labels. Small ones usually look at products and packaging and work to put it together and simply market it.

You may also need to pay for the storage you need, or for software to help you keep track of your inventories.

This will cost a few bucks to get you started. But once you have your business up and running, you won’t need to worry too much if you’ve put in the hard work at the start.

Branding Costs

The next thing you need is branding cost. You can definitely work on most of it on your own, but if not you need to find yourself a team.

The first thing you need to think about is brainstorming. Finding the perfect brand and creating a brand portfolio. You can do this with the help of a design consultant. The designer will also be able to design your logo and your packaging for you.

Once that’s set you’ll have to work with a printing and packaging third party to get all that you designed brought to life. You can ask your manufacturer to develop this for you so that you can receive your products in a packed condition. If not, then you have to collect all the different parts and assemble them yourself.

The next thing you need is a branding strategy, again you may need a team for this or you can do this on your own. If you have no experience but are determined to make it on your own, you can join classes or watch online tutorials. All this knowledge may come at a price and that’s included in your branding cost.

Of course, as your business grows, your branding will develop with it, there may be slight adjustments you want to make and extra costs you need to spend here and there. But essentially branding cost is a one-time investment. And it’s as important as the product itself. So don’t skimp out on your branding costs.

Marketing Costs

The last cost you will need to spend is your marketing cost. Now, this might be last, but certainly not least. The marketing cost may not be more than your manufacturing costs but it may be just as much.

Well as a private label, you have more control over your marketing cost. You can choose to spend on certain marketing strategies and various marketing platforms. You can adjust it and be smarter about it, or you can also end up wasting money on unplanned ads.

It’s really all up to you and how well you manage and develop your marketing strategies.

How much you spend depends on the different platforms you choose to market your products, and how you plan on standing above your competitors.

Your marketing cost is something that will never go away. You will always need to market your product. And even if you have a good market and your business is flowing at the pace you want it to, you must make room to continuously innovate.

Because the downfall to any successful business is thinking that it is successful enough. Only the strong survive, and this applies to all things on earth, even businesses.

Finding The Perfect Product

Now that you’ve got your financials in order, it’s time to hit the road. Let’s get started. The first thing you need is a perfect product.

It’s often easiest to find the products that you, yourself use every day. Something you really need and maybe enjoy. Something that you think about and have visions for. Maybe you really like using your cutting board. Now you need to collect, or at least browse the different cutting boards in your area.

Maybe you think that it could use a revamp, or maybe you just want one in another color, maybe another shape. You could start with a cutting board. And then you can branch out to other kitchen appliances.

If you’re more confident and want a variety of products to sell, you can choose a kitchen toolset. And then you can sell them as a set or a la carte.

Next, you want to define your target market. Do you want to target professionals, restaurants and hotels, housewives, or maybe anyone with a cooking hobby? It’s important to first list the potential customers there are out there. Do proper market research.

Once you’ve decided on your target market you can finally choose and patent the product you want to sell.

Remember to choose best selling items, items that people need every day, but when looking for a supplier, you want something that doesn’t have too many reviews, that way, not too many people have known about so you can be the one telling them about it.

Another thing to look for is an expandable niche. You want your products to have their own product category, but with enough products so that you can easily expand your inventory as your business grows.

Here are some ideas on the different products you can sell:

• Clothes

With clothing, there is almost no end to your inventory. You can start with tops, move to bottoms. And then you can expand to accessories like sunglasses or hats. You can start selling rings, and necklaces. You can then sell shoe accessories, and maybe a semi-permanent tattoo.

Not just that, tops on their own have so many varieties. You can do crop tops, tank tops, shirts, t-shirts, jackets, and so on. You can also do fancy clothing, basic clothing, home wear, winter wear, and so on.

With this, the struggle is not in the expansion but in the initial start. What do you want your staple original product to be? Something that will make people keep coming back for?

• Beauty products

The next big thing you can easily do is beauty products. Remember all these products are unisex. Beauty products can be makeup, perfume, lotions. It can also be a shaving cream for men or face wash for men, and so on. Don’t be limited by gender. But you can always start with one gender and expand to the other.

• Swimwear

Swimwear can be a part of clothes, but it can have its own niche. There are many swimwear. Sports, aesthetics, men’s, women’s, and accessories. There are beach shirts, beach dresses, beach towels, beach toys, and all kinds of sunblocks. Sunblocks can also be a part of beauty products.

So you see these categories have products that overlap one another. A product can go to different categories, and it can be branded in various ways. The power is yours.

• Electronics

With electronics, you can go as simple as a calculator or a label maker. It can be as complicated as an earphone, or speaker. You need to understand the electronics you want to sell.

That way you can make sure that your product is top of the line. There’s more risk with electronics because the potential of it breaking is greater than in other niches. The markup for electronics is also more flexible.

Higher risk, higher return. The most important thing is that you know your products.

• Kitchenwares

Last but not least, as mentioned earlier you can do kitchenwares. From the simplest which we can say is a cutting board, to all kinds of kitchen electronics. Blenders, Mixers, and so on. But with kitchenwares, the most valuable will be knives and pots and pans.

There are all kinds of special knives and special pans that people use which have better features than their counterparts. Be sure to market your most prominent feature and never lie. Because people can tell, they will use your products regularly and if you promise something and your products do not perform then that will reduce the trust your customers previously have for you.

With the culture on the internet nowadays, having customers who review you poorly will lower your sale and maybe put you out of business. It’s important that you vouch for your product for what it is and never lie to your customers.

What Are Private Label Products You Can Sell & Promote

Finding The Perfect Manufacturer

You can find manufacturers online, or you can contact your local artisan. There are many websites or platforms you can choose from. You can find them on Forums such as

• Reddit
• Warrior
• Salehoo

You can also find them on marketplaces such as

• Amazon
• Alibaba
• eBay

It’s up to you to explore and find the “perfect” manufacturer for your “perfect” product. We can help you with a couple of things to check out before deciding that you have found the perfect one.

How to Find Private Label Manufacturers

Their Capabilities

The first thing you have to be satisfied with is their capabilities. Can they do the things you need? Can they create the product to the standard that you wish?

Different manufacturers are also at different stages of business. Some might be enormous and they can do everything, while some can’t. Keep your expansion in mind, can they do other products? Or do you need different manufacturers for every unique product you want to sell?

What’s their MOQ? Minimum order of quantity. Is it large or small? When you start out, you want somebody with a low MOQ, because it will be a safer gamble. But if you’re more prepared, you want somebody with a larger or flexible MOQ. It shows that they are stable manufacturers who can do all kinds of quantities and are confident enough in their products that they can manufacture a smaller number of quantities.

And then you have to check out their shipping capabilities, and their time of production. Check for all the little details, and make sure that you find one that’s most convenient for you.

Realistically it would be better to package your own product. But some products already come with packaging or boxes. It would be best to negotiate the packaging. Can they do custom printing or custom shapes? Can they work with a third-party packaging company so that your products arrive assembled?

You already know that they work to make the product you want to sell, but will they be an asset in your business or a burden to work with? Remember, think about the little details.

Their Price

Yes, this is obvious. You want to check for their price. It’s always easier to try and look for the lowest price. Well, it may not be easy, but it is the simplest plan.

Let’s explore other possibilities. We don’t want to look for something cheap that’s not sellable. We want to look for something valuable that’s affordable which can be sold at a good price that will allow you to properly brand and market the product.

Another brilliant plan is to look for something that has a flexible price. So it will cost less if you order more. This way, your product can be strategized. So can your marketing plan. If you plan to sell quantity over quality, you can lower the prices to sell faster. But if you want to focus on the quality you can sell less at a higher price.

Remember, everything must be strategized. You must plan everything carefully because when things are actually running, there will be a lot of unexpected things you need to decide on the spot. With a clear game plan, it will be easier to decide to help you move towards the best direction to sooner achieve your goals.

Their Product’s Quality

Now that you know what to look for, and have found a price you’re happy with, it’s time to look at the product. How is the product?

This can easily be checked by looking at the defect rating and other reviews previous buyers have left on the merchant’s page or post.

But you can also do this easily by requesting a sample. All suppliers will be able to give you a sample. If they can’t you must question it and it’s better if you look for another seller. Whenever you buy things in bulk, it’s only polite that they show you what you’re going to be paying for.

The worst thing that can happen is if the products arrive and it’s a different quality to the initial sample you received.

This doesn’t happen very often, and can always be avoided by having the correct payment plan, where you only pay half of what you need to and then pay for the rest once you’re happy with their products.

Of course, everything is a good learning opportunity. So if you do get a bad product, at least you can learn from it and can find a better manufacturer next time. It’s always safer to spend more on fewer products than buy a huge amount of inventory you don’t trust yet.

Contacting Your Chosen Manufacturer

Everything that we’ve talked about before this has been theory. Now that you’re communicating directly with your manufacturer, this is the real deal. Make or break. This can mean your immediate success, or a very expensive learning opportunity.

What you need to know before you contact them lies on their pages, or on their sales posts. Be sure to read through all the information they have shared with you. Ask smart questions. Yes, there are no stupid questions. But everyone will feel slightly annoyed if they’re being asked something they’ve already written in their descriptions.

If their description has already included a price, product dimensions, and MOQ, you are very much welcome to ask other things.

You can also use this opportunity to negotiate. See if you can order less than the written MOQ. Are all their colors available? Can they do custom packaging? How much does shipping cost? Are there any additional fees? What is their production time? How long do you need to wait to receive a sample?

You can also ask them if they can ship periodically.

Remember to be polite and sound professional at the same time. Make sure that everything you’re negotiating is good for them too. That way you will have a better partner to work with.

Getting The Perfect Sample

So what is it? What can you call a “perfect” sample? Well before you mass produce your product, you need a sample to see if you like it. That way, you don’t need to waste time, money, and resources to fix a big number of products. You can just work to fix one.

What would be classified as “perfect”? Well, as we all know, nothing in this world is perfect. But you, as an entrepreneur, must see the product you want to sell. And once the sample is exactly what you envisioned it to be. You have your perfect sample.

You need to receive this because, well all kinds of businesses do, from the small ones to the big ones. Even if you are selling, let’s say a rice box. And you’re making everything yourself, you’re making everything from scratch. You need a sample of your perfect box. You then need to write down and note everything that goes into that box. Your job after getting that perfect box is to replicate each one you sell to the smallest detail. It’s part of production control. Everyone does this.

You need to negotiate this with your manufacturer before you agree to buy a certain number of products from them. Agree on the time it would take to produce the sample, how many revisions can you do? As a professional, it’s important that you don’t change your mind. So any fixes you requested is because it wasn’t what you envisioned, and not something you suddenly decided you wanted.

Most manufacturers will understand this and they are more than willing to give you your sample. Remember, the sample arrives before your products. Not with your products, not after your products. Before.

Building The Perfect Brand

Now that you’ve got your product, here’s where the real work begins. The key role of a private label is to make it your own. Making your own brand. So how can you make the perfect brand?

1. Choosing an identity
For your brand, you want a backstory of who you are so that you can create an identity for your products. Put together your vision and mission, why you decided to sell the product that you do, and what problems you’re trying to solve. Think of a unique selling point that will make your customers choose you over your competitors.

2. Making a logo
After you have a backstory, it will be easier for you to choose the visual that will represent your brand. Think about combining your name, your product, and your philosophy with one small icon. And it really needs to be iconic.

3. Setting up a website & other listings
Once you have all your identity ready to go, it’s time for you to present it to the world. It’s a good idea to start with a website before making a platform listing. But then again, where do you want to sell your product? Do you want to market it on Amazon, offline, or simply on social media? It’s up to you but you need to know this in order to effectively create an online presence.

4. Being present on social media
Even if you want to sell offline, or on Amazon, you still need to be active on social media. Social media can be a great means of marketing. It’s affordable and it really brings you and your product into the heart of society. To be present on social media, the key is consistency. There are countless guides to help you succeed on social media.

Successfully Market Your Private Label Products

You need to market your private label products, but how can you do that? Well, first you need to know who your target market is.

You need to know what they like, what they need, and where they usually spend their time. You want to use a platform that they use. And you want to share things on social media that apply to their lives and to their needs.

That way, they feel like they know you, and they’re comfortable with you and they’re always willing to spend money on your products.

But before anybody will spend money on you. You need to show off your products in the best light. How? Well, by showing off your products in the best light. You need awesome photography to capture your products and give off a sense of professionalism. Show that you are confident and a frontrunner in your field.

Nothing says confidence better than looking good.

Once you have a satisfactory image, you must create copywriting along with it. Get the best caption and don’t forget to include all the features your product offers. You must also include measurements and color options and any other details your product might have.

The more information, the better. It shows that you really know your products and that you have a lot to offer. You know what you’re talking about and you seem as if you can solve your customer’s problems and fulfill their needs.

Even when all is said and done, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t boost your sales with ads. It’s true that ads need to be maintained and once you stop, you won’t get the same sustainable effects as SEO. But it really depends. There are different ads. You can advertise your website on google, your listing on Amazon, your page on Instagram and so much more.

See if ads can bring an advantage for you. Contemplate where would be the most effective place for you to place your ads and learn more about them. Knowledge should always be welcomed in your life.

Now that you’ve got your products on the market, you have a killer listing!

Get Started On Your Project!

Yay, we have reached the end of the road for now. We’ve started from understanding a private label to successfully marketing your very own private label.

That’s all for theory. Well, there are more theories for you to read about if you feel you’re not confident enough.

Get out your idea book and start mapping out your private label. List the things you need to research, prepare, and plan.

Rome wasn’t built overnight and success will take hard work. So we wish you the best of luck and it really is all about taking the first step.

Learn more about private label products! Start here