Private Labeling: Smart Revenue Strategy or Brand Risk?

Many people don't realize this about Costco.

That branded product and the Kirkland product sitting right next to it on the shelf? They can come from the exact same manufacturer.

Same factory. Different label.

That's private labeling. Or white labeling, depending on who's in the room.

And it doesn't just live in physical products.

You see it everywhere:

Product businesses manufacturing for another brand. Tech companies licensing or white-labeling their software. Service providers delivering work under someone else's name.

I've done it myself.

Here's how I think about it:

Private labeling can grow revenue without growing your marketing spend. You plug into someone else's distribution, audience, and brand equity. And there's a practical reality in business: if you don't take that contract, someone else will.

That said, I understand why some founders walk away from it.

If your differentiation is your product and your brand positioning is your moat, putting a similar product next to yours under a different label is a real risk worth weighing carefully.

Neither path is wrong. It's a strategic decision about brand, distribution, and control.

So I'm curious where you land:

Would you private label or white label your product, tech, or service for another brand? Or is protecting your own brand the priority?