Chances are that you’ve heard of Amazon. It’s one of the online marketplace apps and biggest and most successful companies in the world. Part of their success is due to third-party sellers. In fact, about 50% of Amazon’s sales originate from them. Amazon has made this possible by using selling tactics that differ from their competitors. This includes utilizing Amazon private label brands. Below you'll understand exactly what is private label.
If you’ve thought about selling items on Amazon, chances are that you’ve already heard about private label brands. It’s what has helped many sellers increase their sales. It’s a commonly used selling tactic for many businesses.
Keep in mind that old-school private labeling tactics aren’t as effective as they once were. This is simply because of how crowded Amazon is getting. The competition is fierce, especially with private label dropshipping, and it's only getting fiercer.
So, just how many private label brands does Amazon have? It’s more than you might assume. Below, we’ll not only dive into some of them, but we’ll also cover how you can use them to your advantage.
What Is Amazon Private Label?
Companies private label products that they purchase off-the-shelf from China or other countries. They then brand them under their own company. Suppliers are already manufacturing these types of inventory, so there’s no need for product development.
Pinzon and AmazonBasics were Amazon’s first in-house brands. They both sell household goods and have been around since 2009. However, over the past few years, they’ve focused on creating private labels.
Back in 2017, Amazon had only 30 private label brands. Now, there are more than 100. It’s likely that you’ve heard of some of them. These private label brands include Kindle and Echo. However, there are other brands that you haven’t heard of.
Amazon has an “Our Brands” page on its website. This is where they list 20+ of their brands. Product listings on their site can also have “Amazon Brand” somewhere in the description or name.
How are Amazon Private Label Brands Different?
There are Amazon Exclusive Brands that have partnerships with manufacturers that produce specific products. These can also include a line of products. These partnerships are brought up through either Amazon recruitment or Amazon’s Accelerator Program.
Amazon recruitment is when Amazon gets in contact with the manufacturer directly to propose an exclusive brand offer. The Amazon Accelerator program allows manufacturers to launch brands and products exclusively on their platform.
Brands that Amazon recruits tend to have strict production timelines. They’re also required to have Amazon make some decisions. These can include having a say in pricing, packaging, positioning, and more. Due to this, the manufacturer gets marketing dollars and preferential treatment.
Those brands that are under the Accelerator Program have similar terms.
Different Amazon Private Label Brands
In 2019, Amazon had 45 brands and more than 155,000 private brand products. Since then, they have grown tremendously and continue to do so. That’s what has made them a huge competitor to Amazon sellers.
Amazon has never come out publicly to disclose the brands that they own. While there is no certainty about the list of Amazon private label brands out there, there are some suspicions.
The Controversy Behind the Brands
Amazon has been involved in numerous antitrust investigations over the years. They’ve previously denied using their sellers’ data to skew the market in their favor. This unfairness upset many sellers. Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos, testified in court that he couldn’t confirm that Amazon has not used product sales data collection to launch private label products.
Bezos confirmed that they have a privacy policy against the use of seller-specific aid to help their private label business. However, he can’t guarantee that the policy violations haven't happened in the past.
Amazon has been called out by sellers on the platform over their copycat products. Many have stated that their sales plummeted overnight because of Amazon private label brands competing with their products. They tend to have lower sales prices and products that look identical to the original.
Many retailers use data from third-party sellers to develop and also market competing products. There are brands that may be displeased with the low prices Amazon offers for their products. However, it’s a similar practice that is seen in a brick and mortar shop. An example of this is knock-off cereal brands. They’re typically placed next to the name brands and have lower price points.
One of the drawbacks of offering high-demand products on Amazon is dealing with copycat versions of your products. Instead of trying to fight this, brands can focus on improving their product quality and marketing efforts.
Even though there is some controversy behind Amazon private label brands, it’s likely that they won’t go away.
Top 10 Most Effective Amazon Private Label Brands
Even though the full list of Amazon private label brands is under wraps, some are well-known. The following brands are Amazon’s Top-10 most effective brands:
- Amazon Collection - jewelry
- AmazonBasics - electronics and everyday household goods
- Pinzon - towels and bedding
- Amazon Elements - vitamins and supplements
- Amazon Essentials - women’s and men’s clothing
- Solimo - household goods
- Goodthreads - men’s clothing
- Lark & Ro - women’s clothing
- Daily Ritual - women’s clothing
- Simple Joys by Carter’s - children’s clothing
These 10 brands account for 81% of the customer reviews on Amazon. Due to this, it’s safe to assume they contribute 81% of Amazon's Private Label total sales.
Small Brand Competing With Private Label Brands
It’s common for third-party sellers to feel intimidated about selling on Amazon because of the competition. However, there are a lot of ways for these sellers to stand out.
Amazon private label brands and their products thrive off their low prices. They focus on having low prices instead of high-quality products or strong brand stories. Due to this, Amazon products don’t have a lot of brand recognition. As a result, customers might trust other brands over Amazon’s private labels, especially if they’ve heard good things about them.
When you share your brand’s story, you can establish trust and credibility with the customers. This along with your great customer service and high-quality products will help you stand out. Try accumulating strong and positive customer reviews to make your products stand out against the competition.
Marketing Techniques
By optimizing your listing and marketing content, you can give your products an advantage. Highlight some of the features that make your products unique when compared to cheap yet similar private label products.
Your products might be ethically made, made from higher-quality materials, or have other advantages. When you focus on these features, you’ll set both your products and your brand apart from the rest. This is what will be important to your audience. When you do research and get to know your customer base, you’ll be able to use key marketing techniques to sell your products. These will convince customers to pick you over the competition.
In the past, brands have used unique ideas and techniques to outline the differences between their products and similar ones that Amazon sells.
Product Variation
ASIN codes are similar to a UPC code. You can create a new variation of a product you’re already selling by giving its own ASIN. A way to do this is to make your products part of a bundle. This means that it will be different from the similar products Amazon is selling.
Customer Relations
Aside from marketing and product development, you might also want to pay attention to customer relations. This is what can help customers choose your brand over others, including Amazon Private Labels. Excellent customer relationships can lead to positive reviews which can push your content to get greater visibility.
Order Fulfillment and Shipment
You might want to do some research on dropshipping when compared to Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA). This can help your shipping model. Amazon offers exceptionally quick shipping times. This can become a challenge for other sellers to compete with. For most sellers, FBA will be the ideal choice.
If you can ship your products as quickly and reliably as possible, your brand will be better equipped to compete against Amazon.
Shh, This Information Is Private
Amazon’s focus is to continue growing its monopoly when it comes to the consumer market. They’re an eCommerce giant that continues to develop an increasing number of its own brands.
Chances are that you have a better understanding of Amazon private label brands. This can help you get a better idea of how you can make the best decisions for your products. No matter if you’re selling, manufacturing, or branding them.
If you’re a wholesale food distributor looking to easily make changes to your product catalog or update your prices, explore how BlueCart can help!