How to Find a Private Label Product

Entering the private label business means finding the perfect product or product collection to sell under your brand name. It must appeal to your target audience, meet your expectations and be something that you can take pride in and want to sell.

Private label products are sold everywhere, from grocery stores to clothing retailers and independent online stores.

Private labelling is an option for almost any sellable item, from food and dietary supplements to cosmetics and cleaning supplies. You can also bring private label products to a niche market such as health and wellness, travelling, or the growing community of conscious shoppers. 

With the right tools, anybody can set up an online business. If you want the business to sell products, you need to develop something special. 

While many brands wish to maintain complete creative control, logistics aren’t always possible. As a business owner, there can be too many jobs to fulfil. It might be time to adapt your business model to a more viable production method.  

Luckily, multiple private labelling options are available from overseas manufacturers and your own country to help you craft or improve your products. Of course, it’s natural to want the best private label supplier to handle your product line. 

In this article, we direct you toward finding a reliable manufacturer with steps to consider as you begin your search for a private label product. 

6 Steps to Find a Private Label Product

We’ve identified 6 steps you can take to find a truly perfect private label product.

1.  Decide what kind of product you want to sell

The first step to finding a private label product is knowing what product you wish to trade. With so many markets, you need to decide where your interest lies.  

Most people already have a passion or an idea of the direction they want to head. Perhaps you work in the beauty industry. In that case, it makes sense to launch private label beauty products. You could sell spa or salon products to benefit the customer experience while growing healthy profit margins.

And with so many cosmetics within a single industry, you need to narrow it down. You can choose to specialise in skincare, makeup or even private label perfume. The choice is yours! 

To summarise, you need to establish your market, then determine the product category.  

2.  Do your market research

Now you’ve decided on the avenue you’re interested in, it’s time to start your product research. Many niche markets succeed by discovering a gap in the current market. Where there’s a gap, there’s a demand, and ultimately a space for you to squeeze into. 

A good line of enquiry is to look at trending products. What are people searching for right now? 

For instance, let’s take skincare as an example. At the moment, there is an increased demand for organic and vegan skincare. Many businesses are tapping into the growing world of conscious living. Conscious consumerism is constantly evolving as more and more people try to make greener lifestyle choices. 

In conducting research, you will also learn what products are no longer profitable or in demand. It’s a learning curve that will put you in a greater position to make the right choices in your search for a private label product.  

3.  Find your private label manufacturer

You know what you want now. Finding private label manufacturers is easier when you’re confident about the direction you want to take. You can eliminate the private label suppliers that don’t offer the private label products you need and pull up a list of those that do. 

You can find private label manufacturers online by using a search engine. A quick hit in Google will bring up thousands of potential companies for you to sift through. Narrow down the search by typing in your location name and local area if you want something nearby. 

A search might take a lot of digging, but you will easily find possibilities to explore. Special directories are dedicated to finding private label manufacturers, such as Alibaba, a Chinese multinational eCommerce company. 

Compile a list of private label sellers and then research the companies individually to find the most trusted private label manufacturers. 

4.  Look out for good qualities

Be careful not to make assumptions about private label manufacturers. It’s easy to think a brand looks excellent at first glance, but a little investigation can bring up critical information you might have otherwise missed. 

A suitable private label manufacturer has several qualities. If you know what to spot, you increase your chances of finding the ideal partnership for your brand. Look out for the below characteristics during your internet search. 

Find private label manufacturers that specialise in your product 

It might seem obvious, but finding a private label business that focuses on your product category and industry is highly beneficial. It’s no good to put your trust in a company with little to no experience in your specific industry.

Keep it simple, and opt for private label sellers with a background in your chosen field. For instance, if you want to sell private label clothing, find a company with experience in fashion and textiles. 

If your focus is dietary supplements, look for a third-party manufacturer working in the private label supplements industry. If you turn to a generic private label service, you will end up with a generic product. 

As a newbie business owner, you can benefit from working with professionals who have abundant knowledge. They can offer you advice when you need it and share their opinions on the business decisions you make throughout your time with them.

It’s easier to put your trust in a team that knows what they’re doing. And you’ll know you can count on the guidance provided.

Look for first-class standards

You can ensure a private label manufacturer is professional, trustworthy, and reliable if they have high standard principles. From the business model to the development and shipping process, standards should be high at all times.

We don’t need to tell you that the quality of products is fundamental. You risk jeopardising your reputation and brand name with low-quality private label products before it even gets started. Handing over the manufacturing process to a third party is a big move. Trust is everything, as you don’t want to put your name on something that isn’t great. 

Instead, you want to empower your brand with private label products of the highest calibre. That way, you create an excellent customer experience, generate rave reviews and build customer loyalty. And keeping your cherished customers on board is how your business will succeed. 

You can tell a good private label manufacturer by analysing their business standards. Again, this comes down to investigating and asking the right questions. Do they use high-quality ingredients? Do they follow industry standards and guidelines? Are they certified to craft certain products?

Before settling on the best private label product, these are all considerations to take. 

Check for low MOQs

Minimum order quantities can be the make or break of signing up for contract manufacturing. If your budget is tight, spending money on large orders will cause a cash flow problem. How much you spend depends on the volume size of your order. 

Some private label manufacturing companies will set their minimum order quantities high. It means you end up paying for stock in bulk, which can cause problems for several reasons. It's an even more considerable risk if you’re a start-up business and don’t yet know how successful your private label products are going to be. In placing a big order, you can end up with stock that you can’t shift. And then there’s the issue of storage!

You need to look out for a private label manufacturer that offers low minimum order quantities. That way, you don’t overbuy, and you don’t hand over a lot of money right at the beginning. 

A good private label manufacturer will offer this service to help support your business. Once you’ve seen the results of your new private label products, you can adjust your order to meet customer demand or switch things up entirely.

If you aren’t entirely satisfied with the order quantities available, it’s worth trying to negotiate a new number. 

When you’re a small online business, starting small is best.

5.  Ask the right questions

The learning never stops when you begin your quest for private labelling. It’s time to find out more when you have a handful of private-label brands you think seem worthy. 

Contacting the private label business directly to arrange a meeting allows you to get the details and acquire answers to essential questions. It’s best to know as much as possible about a potential partnership before finalising anything. 

You probably have a bunch of questions you’d like answers to. If these haven’t sprung to mind, here are some chief questions to ask. 

• What will your business relationship entail, and how will you work together?
• What are your product creation options?
• What ingredients do you use?
• Do you specialise in the products I want? 
• What are the prices? 
• What is your minimum order quantity? 

Don’t shy away from acquiring the information you need. You want to work with a private label manufacturer you’re comfortable with to make the best product.

6.  Consider the possible drawbacks

It’s not all smooth sailing with private labelling. There are some risks involved and some negative aspects to the industry. Before going into a business venture, you should always seek to view the whole picture, i.e. the pros and cons. 

You’re likely aware of the advantages private labels can bring. Now let’s look at the potential disadvantages. Don’t let this put you off selling your own products. Use it to confirm what not to do.

You can end up with dead stock

When you move forward with your private label seller, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and rush of ordering your private label product. Unfortunately, many private label retailers order too much too soon before awaiting customer feedback on the products. 

If your customers don’t love it, you can end up with dead inventory. A wrong decision like this can cost time and money. As the items are branded with your name, you’ll struggle to get an exchange or reimbursement. 

You become liable if it goes wrong

Selling private label products means putting your name on something you haven’t made yourself. If something goes wrong with your private label product line, your customers will hold you responsible. As you are the face of the business, they turn to you to voice complaints.  

While you can control quality to an extent, the result of the end product is out of your hands. For example, if your private label clothing is faulty or of bad quality, consumers will criticise you and your brand rather than the manufacturer that made it. Any lousy move from your private label manufacturer will reflect poorly on you. 

It can be risky to trust somebody else, but you can avoid negative situations like this with brand and product research. 

What to Do Next

There you have it. You have your refined list of private label companies, you know how to find a private label product worthy of your name, and you’re aware of the dos and don’ts of the field. What’s next?

Confirm the white label or private label manufacturers to use and set up a meeting to reach an agreement. Be smart and negotiate until you get a suitable outcome that you’re happy with. Don’t forget to mention your preferred payment method if you have one too.

You can then finalise and test the product, examine a custom sample and settle on a contract. There’s plenty to discuss, including custom packaging, storage options and shipping costs. 

After that, you can leave your reliable manufacturer to move forward with your order. Just sit back and await the shipping of the goods. 

You can start growing customer loyalty and brand equity with a solid marketing strategy when it’s ready to launch. Many sides to a business urge attention outside of the supply chain. You can zone in on those areas now that you’ve outsourced your manufacturing. 

Conclusion

Private labels succeed when they deliver a bespoke product that has results. You can find your dream private label product through careful research and a willingness to dig deep into a private label brand. 

Whether you plan to sell online or make your private label product sales from physical stores is up to you. Just figure out what you want to achieve and start hunting for the team to help you do it.   

We’ve touched on several reasons why private label is a progressive step for many business models. Popular private label products offer higher profit margins as you have better control over pricing. It’s possible to reap great benefits when working with reliable private label manufacturers.  

Try the steps suggested in this article and become that one company everybody wants to buy from. Good luck with your private label brand!