Private Label

Think of walking into a supermarket and noticing a store branded version of pasta, cheaper than the well known national brand sitting right next to it on the same shelf, both often made in a similar or even identical factory. That store branded version is a private label product.

Private label refers specifically to a retailer's own store brand, manufactured by a third party contract manufacturer but sold exclusively under the retailer's own name, typically priced below comparable national brands to attract price conscious shoppers while still delivering a healthier margin to the retailer than reselling someone else's brand. Unlike a general white label product that any brand can buy, a private label arrangement is typically exclusive to the specific retailer commissioning it.

Private label penetration has grown steadily across Indian organised retail and quick commerce platforms, since it gives a retailer both better margins and a genuine point of differentiation from competitors who are simply reselling the exact same national brands.