Question About Marketing Private Label Goods

[Lustera]

Is it legal to take a private label food or beverage, put your own label on it, and then market it via television commercials and the Internet as a premium product that you developed?

[JPM]

I'm really not too sure personally, but if you could provide which country your business is located in (or which state in you're in the US) someone may be able to help.

[johnnyS]

This is illegal . In re-branding you need to get permission that you will use their product and still need to put the original name of the brand below your brand name

[Fergal]

Lustera why not ask the supplier for their permission? That you can be sure that what you are doing is not illegal. Plus they should sell to you at a lower price, as you will be buying larger quantities for re-sale.

[Lustera]

Lustera why not ask the supplier for their permission? That you can be sure that what you are doing is not illegal. Plus they should sell to you at a lower price, as you will be buying larger quantities for re-sale.

I'm still looking for a manufacturer at this point, but I will probably just ask for their permission in the end. Thanks for the suggestion.


But I saw it as this:

Manufacturers often sell private label rights products to supermarkets, after which the supermarkets put their own labels on those products. Why would it be wrong to advertise this product via commercials and whatnot? Isn't it sort of your product now? Even though that same product may be somewhere else under a different label?

[AshleyWhiteBusin]

Hi there! Yes this is not allowed. You might get sued for it.

[Krisz Rokk]

It's not allowed. Retailers who market private label food / beverages have agreements with the companies who supply them. Many of the big corps do both: they have their own brands and they supply retailers and allow these to sell the product as a private label. But you need a strong agreement, a contract that is legal.

[Casey]

generally you can clarify this with the supplier. If their product is 'white label' one than you may probably put your own brand on it. Not sure though.

[printsnpaints]

What you want to do is bad business practice. You can get in trouble for that. Supermarkets put their own labels on products that they have licensed from the manufacturers. Or at least they have a mutually-signed agreement. It's not like they simply slap their name on the packaging or something.