What Is a White Label Product? Definition, Benefits, and Examples

Here’s an eye-opening tidbit: Some of the seemingly unique products offered by the world’s biggest brand names aren’t actually unique at all.

Instead, they’re a rebranded version of a product manufactured by a different company. The manufacturer will produce identical items for a wide range of businesses and then allow those brands to sell the product under their own name.

This is the concept of white labelling, a business model that allows businesses to extend their product lines without investing in research and development themselves. In this guide, we’ll show you how white labelling works and how you can use it to grow your business.

• What is a white label product?
• White label vs. private label: is there a difference?
• What are the benefits of white labelling?
• Common types of white labelling
• Where you’ll find white labelling (examples)
• How to get started with white labelling
• 10 white label business ideas you can start today
• Ready to start your business white label strategy?
• FAQs

White label products are mass-produced items that are sold to multiple businesses to rebrand and resell. In contrast, a private label product is made exclusively for one brand. This means the manufacturer customises the product to the unique needs of one business.

Private labelling is more expensive than white labelling (owing to the exclusivity), but it allows the buyer to have more control over things like size, weight, quality and specifications, all without having to develop the product themselves.

If we look at these approaches side by side, we can see the differences between white label and private label products:

Trying to decide if this business model is right for you? Here are seven advantages of white label products and services to consider:

• Reduced costs: White labelling lets you get your product to market without the R&D investment, saving money that you can invest in other areas of your business.
• Faster time to market: As you don’t need to develop a new product from scratch, white labelling accelerates time to market, helping you start turning a profit faster.
• Less resource-intensive: With resources freed up, you have space to focus on your core competencies, like sales, branding, and marketing.
• Easy diversification: White labelling gives you the flexibility to expand your product line without getting into the testing and refining loop of in-house product development.
• Low order quantity: As white labellers create products for multiple brands, they typically accept a low minimum order quantity. This isn’t the case with private labels.
• Enhanced brand reputation: With more great products comes more credibility. White labels bolster your brand’s offering, helping you build a strong reputation.
• Lower risk: Want to test a new product or service? White labelling lets you dip your feet into a new market with low upfront investment and reduced risk.
• Access to expertise: White labellers are experienced manufacturers. Buying white label products lets you tap into this expertise if your business doesn’t have these skills in-house.

In a nutshell, working with a white label provider is a top choice if you want to launch a new product with minimal investment. It can help you get in-demand items in your store quickly, diversify your stock or get your business idea off the ground faster without significant risk.

White labelling isn’t limited to one format. Businesses can white label physical products, digital solutions or even services, without building anything from scratch. Here’s a quick breakdown of common types of white labelling and how they work.

Physical product white labelling is the most traditional version of the model. A manufacturer produces goods, and other businesses rebrand them for sale. This is a fast, low-cost way to enter the market without investing in R&D, making it ideal for:

• Cosmetic products, such as makeup and skincare
• Generic electronics, such as headphones and power banks
• Homewares, such as kitchen utensils and decorations
• Food and beverage products, such as cereals and beer

This approach works best for retail brands that put a premium on speed. However, private labelling could be a better option for brands that want more control over exclusivity and product quality.

With digital white labelling, a company purchases prebuilt software or platforms and rebrands them as its own. This lets businesses offer advanced, branded solutions without building them from scratch, such as:

• SaaS platforms and CRM solutions
• Ready-made AI solutions for things like content creation or marketing
• Education or finance platforms
• Web and mobile apps

This is perhaps the strongest application of white labelling. Creating software takes a lot of resources and expertise. Working with a manufacturer lets you scale your digital capabilities while keeping development costs and maintenance low.

Service-based white labelling, perhaps the least-known variation, involves a business delivering a service behind the scenes while another business takes the credit. This is common in industries that require specialised skills or high-volume labour. Examples include:

• Customer support, maintenance and helpdesk services
• Digital marketing services, such as SEO or social media management
• Web hosting, development or security services
• IT support and network management

This model lets companies scale up without hiring new teams or investing in on-site expertise.

We’ve already touched on some use cases for white labelling. Now, let’s take a deeper look at how different industries are using this approach to expand their business offerings for less. Here are some white label examples in common sectors.

Skincare products, such as moisturisers, serums and cleansers, can be particularly challenging to make, as they require precise formulations and are subject to rigorous safety standards. This is also true for cosmetic products like mascara, lipstick and foundation.

As such, many cosmetic and skincare brands rely on white label manufacturers to handle production for them. In some situations, the supplier may add another ingredient to differentiate the product (such as adding a scent to a cleanser), but the actual formulation will be identical.

As one example, Solskin Beauty Labs manufactures GMP-certified, premium salon and skincare products for a broad range of brands in Australia. They also take care of white label branding, packaging and logos, and they can tweak the formula slightly to help with brand differentiation.

White labelling is particularly common in the software industry. Tech companies often use it to repackage digital solutions under their own branding, such as customer portals, online store builders, and SaaS solutions.

Coding from scratch can be a time-consuming process, so starting with a white label product gives developers a framework to build upon. Often, businesses will then add extra services or features to make the finished product unique to them.

For instance, OrionVM offers a wholesale, prebuilt AI cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS). Salesforce also provides your business with the tools and infrastructure to design your own websites, build custom AI agents and create customer portals that align with your branding.

White labelling is particularly prevalent when it comes to supermarkets’ own brands. Retailers like Coles and Woolworths stock a broad range of budget everyday products under their own name, including pantry staples and cleaning supplies.

Making all of these products independently would require an enormous investment. Opting for white label products lets supermarkets maintain product quality control while diversifying their range.

That said, white labelling isn't reserved for the biggest chains. Coffee shops, for instance, often source their branded coffee beans from the same local white label solutions. As another example, Whitelabel Brewing sells white label lager and pale ale for bars and stores, customising the beer cans and packaging in the process.

White labelling is commonplace in the pharmaceutical industry, especially for over-the-counter pain relief.

Like the cosmetics industry, the pharmaceuticals industry is heavily regulated, meaning there isn’t much flexibility for customised formulas. Partnering with a white label manufacturer reduces costs while also helping businesses stay compliant.

For example, New South Wales-based white label supplier LIPA Pharmaceuticals provides GMP-certified supplements like vitamins, supplements, and probiotics with custom branding.

White labelling works particularly well in the fashion industry because colourways and logos can make products feel wholly unique, even if the base materials are the same.

For instance, Hongyu Apparel creates a range of plain vests, T-shirts and hoodies in different fabric weights, colourways, and styles. They’ll then customise the shirt with your brand logo, as well as add your own label to the clothing, if requested.

Ready to take the first step toward launching a white label business product range? Here are five straightforward steps to get started.

First, you need to identify a gap that you can fill with a white label product. Start with your target audience. What do they need, and what product can you offer to meet that need?

Remember that white labelling works best when it aligns with your pre-existing brand. It’s a good idea to choose something that will fit seamlessly into your existing product line.

Not all suppliers are created equal. You need a trustworthy provider that can uphold your brand reputation and quality, so take the time to find one that meets your needs and your standards. Here are some things to look for:

• Transparent processes: You want to know how your product is made and the ingredients or components it contains. Your supplier must be transparent.
• Compliance: In heavily regulated industries, make sure your supplier is compliant with legislation. For instance, cosmetics white labelling businesses should be GMP certified.
• Specialisation: Choose a provider that specialises in your industry, whether that’s healthcare, SaaS, finance, fashion or food.
• Reliability: Ask for concrete lead times on the manufacturing and delivery process, then cross-check this with reviews to ensure your provider is reliable.
• Customisation: Look for a provider that offers customisation options, such as packaging and branding, plus formula tweaks where applicable.

Once you have a few potential options, request a sample or demo from each provider. This will give you the chance to request adjustments and, just as importantly, check that your supplier will be able to provide the quality you expect.

Branding is the main element of customisation within white labelling, so it’s worth taking the time to ensure it’s perfect. Work with your white label supplier to fine-tune how your end product will look, making sure it aligns with your target market and overall business image.

Once you’re happy with the supplier, product and branding, start negotiating prices and delivery timelines. Keep in mind that many manufacturers will offer a cheaper price per unit if you buy in larger quantities, so this could be an additional way to save money.

One of the biggest pros of white labelling is that it frees up time that you can use to work on your brand story, marketing tactics and ecommerce business store.

Focus on presenting the product in a way that’s unique to your business. Great packaging, customer-focused white label marketing and smart positioning can go a long way to differentiate your product and set you apart from any competitors offering the same item.

Lastly, let’s finish up with 10 white label business ideas. Each of these methods involves purchasing an existing white label product and then reselling it to customers.

1. Chatbots: Rebrand an existing chatbot or conversational AI tool and sell it to other businesses to use for their own service.
2. Logo design: Purchase generic logos and then resell them to brands alongside the offer to add their business name and alter the colour scheme.
3. Courses: Purchase white label courses and then resell them as your own. This works particularly well if you have related consulting or support services to sell.
4. Skincare: Partner with a manufacturer to resell creams, serums or makeup with your own logo. Note that this often requires significant investment.
5. Journals: Buy white-label journals and then brand them with your own colour schemes, logos and customisations, reselling them for a profit.
6. Ebooks: Purchase white-label ebooks, then offer them to businesses as lead magnets or paid products, offering to rebrand them with the company’s logo.
7. Content writing: Hire the expertise of a skilled white label content writer and use this to expand your agency service without hiring full-time writers.
8. SEO: Buy access to white-label SEO audit or reporting software, then sell branded SEO reports and optimisation services to businesses.
9. CRM: Rebrand a CRM solution and offer it to businesses that want customer management tools without the cost of building their own.
10. Fitness gear: Work in the fitness industry? Purchase high-quality white label fitness gear and rebrand it as your own to instantly boost the resale value.

These white label ideas will help you launch quickly, avoid steep development costs and start selling proven products without building them from scratch.