Private label vs white label: exclusivity, cost and the label law

The decision in one table

Neither is better in general. White label is the fast, cheap way to test whether you can sell in a category. Private label is how you build a product a copycat cannot buy from the same catalog, as long as your contract keeps it yours.

What stays the same: your name, your duties

Whichever you choose, putting your brand on the product makes you the party the rules look to. For consumer products under the CPSC, such as toys, household goods and clothing, US product safety law defines the private labeler as an owner of a brand or trademark on the label of a consumer product which bears a private label^[1], and one of its tests for a private label is that the brand or trademark of a manufacturer of such product does not appear on such label^[1]. A white label product sold under your brand alone usually meets it. That Act's definition of a consumer product leaves out drugs, devices, or cosmetics^[1], and food, which have their own rules. What your label has to say depends on the category:

• Cosmetics. The responsible person under MoCRA is the manufacturer, packer, or distributor of a cosmetic product whose name appears on the label^[2]. MoCRA exempts certain small businesses from GMP, registration, and product listing requirements^[2]; unless that exemption applies, the responsible person must list each marketed cosmetic product with FDA, including product ingredients, and provide any updates annually^[2]. Every responsible person must report serious adverse events to the FDA within 15 business days^[2]. If your name is the one on the jar, those duties are yours, whether the cream was developed for you or picked from a range.
• Food and supplements. A food label that names someone other than the maker must be qualified by a phrase that reveals the connection such person has with such food^[3], such as "Manufactured for" or "Distributed by". That wording lets you name your brand without claiming to make the product.
• Clothing and textiles. The label must carry the name, or registered identification number issued by the Commission, of the manufacturer or of one or more persons marketing or handling the textile fiber product^[4]. A brand that wants its own name on a white label garment can use its own RN, the registered number the FTC issues, instead of the factory's.

Example: the same serum launched both ways

White label and private label costs to first stock

Line	White label	Private label
Development and formula work	$0	$2,500
Sample rounds	$150	$900
Minimum first order	500 units	2,000 units
Unit price, filled and labeled	$3.20	$2.60
First order cost	$1,600	$5,200
Cash before the first sale, excluding freight and duty	$1,750	$8,600
Weeks to first stock	4	14

The white label launch needs about a fifth of the cash and reaches stock in under a third of the time. The private label unit is cheaper at volume and, if your contract grants exclusivity, is yours alone, but it only pays back once you sell through a much larger first run.

Illustrative figures, not a quote. Real prices depend on the spec, quantity and factory.

A common path: start white, move private

Some brands launch on a white label product, learn what customers ask for, and then commission a private label version with the changes. Two points make that path smoother:

1. Ask whether the same product is sold under other names. With white label, you should know whether the same product sits on a dozen other storefronts.
2. Put ownership in writing before development starts. For private label, the contract should say who owns the formula or specification and whether the factory may sell it to anyone else.

Either way, a quote only compares fairly when both options are priced at your real quantity and landed at your warehouse. Tell us which route you are weighing, and we introduce you to manufacturers that offer it, overseas first, each one named. It is free for brands, and the manufacturers quote you directly, so ask for both routes priced at the same quantity.