Legal Definitions - private brand

A private brand is a type of brand that is owned and marketed by a retailer or distributor rather than the manufacturer. It is an identification mark placed on goods made by someone else under license or other arrangement and marketed as one's own. The seller of private-brand goods sponsors those goods in the market, becomes responsible for their quality, and has rights to prevent others from using the same mark.

• Kirkland Signature by Costco
• Great Value by Walmart
• AmazonBasics by Amazon

These examples illustrate how retailers create their own private brands to offer customers a cheaper alternative to name-brand products. Private brands are often manufactured by the same companies that produce the name-brand products, but with different packaging and branding. By creating their own private brands, retailers can control the quality and pricing of the products they sell, and differentiate themselves from their competitors.