Private label brand examples are everywhere in a US store: Great Value at Walmart, Kirkland Signature at Costco, Good & Gather and up&up at Target, Our Brands at Kroger, and Amazon Grocery and Amazon Saver at Amazon. A private label brand is a product line made by a manufacturer and sold under a retailer’s or seller’s own name. These brands are big business. Target says its owned brands bring in more than $30 billion a year, about a third of its sales. Kroger reports over $39 billion from Our Brands in 2025. And across US retail, store brands reached a record $282.8 billion in 2025, a 21.3% dollar share, according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA).
I’ve pulled the leading examples with the figures each company publishes, then what an Amazon or Shopify seller can learn from them.
Private label brand examples by retailer
| Retailer | Private label brands (examples) | What the company reports |
|---|---|---|
| Target | Good & Gather, up&up, Cat & Jack, Threshold, Favorite Day, Market Pantry, Room Essentials, Universal Thread | 40+ owned brands; about one-third of annual sales; more than $30 billion a year |
| Kroger | Our Brands (Kroger, Simple Truth, Private Selection and others) | Over $39 billion of sales in 2025; 13,000+ private label items per supermarket on average |
| Walmart | Great Value, bettergoods, Mainstays, Hyper Tough | Great Value is in nine out of 10 US households; nearly 10,000 items |
| Amazon | Amazon Grocery, Amazon Saver, 365 by Whole Foods Market, Aplenty, Happy Belly | Customers bought 15% more private-brand products in 2024 than in 2023 |
| Costco | Kirkland Signature | Its 10-K says these items generally earn higher margins and are a growing portion of sales |
| Aldi | Clancy’s, Simply Nature, Specially Selected | Aldi says more than 90% of its products are private label |
All figures are from each company’s own releases, pages or SEC filings, cited at the bottom.
Target: a portfolio of category brands
Target runs more than 40 only-at-Target brands, and says they represent about one-third of its annual sales and generate more than $30 billion a year. It has introduced more than 17 new owned brands since 2019.
What stands out is the structure. Target doesn’t use one store brand for everything. Good & Gather covers food, up&up covers everyday essentials, Cat & Jack covers kids’ clothing, and Threshold covers home. Each brand speaks to one shopper and one category.
In my view, that’s the most useful lesson for a small seller: a brand built around one customer and one category is easier to trust than a catch-all name.
Kroger: private label at grocery scale
Kroger’s annual report says Our Brands represented over $39 billion of its sales in 2025, and that its supermarkets carry more than 13,000 private label items on average. Kroger also makes some of its own products: it owned 33 food production plants at the end of its 2025 fiscal year, and about 20% of Our Brands units sold were made in those plants.
So most Kroger private label products come from outside manufacturers. That’s the same model a small brand uses: a contract manufacturer makes the product, and the brand owner controls the formula, the packaging and the name. Our guide to contract manufacturing vs private label explains the difference.
Walmart: one flagship brand, then premium tiers
Great Value is Walmart’s largest private brand, launched in 1993. Walmart says it’s in nine out of 10 US households, and its 2026 redesign covered almost 10,000 food and consumables items.
bettergoods launched in April 2024 as Walmart’s largest private brand food launch in 20 years, with about 300 items priced from under $2 to under $15, most under $5. It sits above Great Value as a more premium, culinary-focused line.
In 2026 Walmart also launched Mainstays Kids, its first new home brand in five years, with more than 600 items.
The pattern here is tiering. A value brand, then a premium brand, then category extensions. Honestly, it’s a playbook a small seller can copy at a much smaller scale: one core line, then a premium version for buyers who want more.
Amazon: grocery brands front and center
Amazon’s most recent private label launch is Amazon Grocery, introduced in October 2025 with more than 1,000 food items rated 4 stars or above, most priced under $5. It brings the Amazon Fresh and Happy Belly brands under one name. Amazon also lists Amazon Saver, Aplenty, Amazon Kitchen and 365 by Whole Foods Market among its grocery brands, and says customers bought 15% more private-brand products in 2024 than in 2023.
For third-party sellers, this matters in one specific way. Amazon competes in some categories with its own brands. Your edge as a small brand is focus: a narrower range, better content, and a clearer reason to buy than a general store brand can offer.
Costco: one brand, many categories
Costco’s Kirkland Signature is the counterexample to Target. One brand covers food, household goods, apparel and more. Costco’s annual report doesn’t give a percentage of sales, but it says Kirkland items generally earn higher margins and that Costco expects to keep increasing their sales penetration. Its risk factors describe them as a growing portion of overall sales.
That works for Costco because the brand promise is about the store: quality at a low price. A small seller doesn’t have that trust yet, which is why I’d start narrow. In my view, one name across many categories is something you grow into, not something you launch with.
Aldi: a store built on private label
Aldi says more than 90% of its products are private label, under brands such as Clancy’s, Simply Nature and Specially Selected. Its model shows the far end of the spectrum: almost no national brands at all. Honestly, it’s proof that shoppers will buy an unfamiliar name when the product, the price and the store experience line up.
How big is private label in the US?
PLMA’s 2025 report, using Circana data for the 52 weeks ending December 28, 2025:
| Measure | 2025 figure |
|---|---|
| Store brand dollar sales | $282.8 billion (a record) |
| Dollar share | 21.3%, up from 19.1% in 2021 |
| Unit share | 23.5% (a record), up from 21.6% in 2021 |
| Store brand dollar growth | 3.3%, against 1.2% for national brands |
Roughly one in five dollars spent on these products goes to store brands, and the share has grown every year since 2021. Shoppers are comfortable buying products without a famous name on them. That’s the opening for small private label brands too.
Store brands vs seller private label: the difference
The examples above are store brands: owned by a retailer and sold mainly in its own stores. When an Amazon or Shopify seller builds a private label brand, the mechanics are the same, but the position is different:
| Store brand (Target, Kroger) | Seller private label (Amazon, Shopify) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sells | The retailer’s own stores | Marketplaces and your own site |
| Shelf space | Guaranteed | Earned through search, reviews and ads |
| Scale | Thousands of items | Usually a handful of products to start |
| Manufacturing | Contract manufacturers, sometimes own plants | Contract or private label manufacturers |
| Brand protection | Retailer controls the shelf | Trademark and Amazon Brand Registry |
That last row is the one sellers forget. A retailer owns its shelf. On Amazon, you need a registered trademark and Brand Registry to protect your listing. If that’s still pending, see our guide on selling on Amazon without Brand Registry.
What Amazon sellers can learn from these brands
- One customer, one category. Target’s brand portfolio proves focused brands win trust faster.
- Tier your range. Walmart’s Great Value and bettergoods show how a value line and a premium line can sit side by side.
- Let a manufacturer make it, and own the rest. Kroger makes about 20% of Our Brands units itself; the rest comes from suppliers. You can build a brand without a factory.
- Quality signals matter. Amazon Grocery launched only items rated 4 stars or above. Reviews are the shelf on a marketplace.
- Price for margin. Costco says its own-brand items generally earn higher margins. That margin is the whole reason to private label.
My take: you won’t out-scale Kroger or Walmart. You can out-focus them. Pick a narrow customer, solve one problem well, and build from there.
When you’re unsure where to start, look at the store brands in your own category. Ask what they don’t do well. Maybe the sizes are limited, the scent is bland, or the packaging is hard to use. I’d build the first product around that gap, because a gap a giant ignores is exactly where a small brand can win.
Mistakes I’d avoid when copying the big brands
Big retailers make private label look easy. A few of their habits don’t translate to a small brand.
Launching too wide. Kroger can stock thousands of items because it already owns the shelf. A new brand with twenty products splits its budget twenty ways. I’d launch with one to three products and earn the right to expand.
Competing on price alone. Store brands win on price because the retailer controls the shelf and pays no ad fees. On Amazon, you pay for visibility. Honestly, a small brand that only sells “cheaper” usually ends up selling at a loss.
Generic names. Great Value works because it’s printed on Walmart’s shelf next to the logo. Your name has to stand on its own in a search result. Pick something you can trademark.
Skipping the trademark. Retailers don’t need Brand Registry. You do. In practice, that one filing decides whether you can protect your listing from hijackers.
Ignoring packaging. Target’s brands each have their own look for a reason. Packaging is often the first thing a shopper judges, especially in a thumbnail.
How to start your own private label brand
Most small brands follow the same sequence:
- Choose a category where you understand the customer and can compete on quality or design.
- Shortlist manufacturers and order samples. Our guide to private label manufacturers in the USA covers how to find them.
- File a trademark early, so you can enroll in Brand Registry.
- Design packaging and listings around one clear promise.
- Launch a small first order, then expand the range once reviews come in.
For category-specific guides, see private label beauty products, private label food manufacturers and dropshipping vs private label. If you’d like a team to find and vet manufacturers for you, that’s our complete sourcing management service.
FAQ
What are some examples of private label brands?
Great Value (Walmart), Kirkland Signature (Costco), Good & Gather and up&up (Target), Simple Truth (Kroger), and Amazon Grocery and Amazon Saver (Amazon).
How big are private label brands in the US?
PLMA reports US store brand sales of $282.8 billion in 2025, a 21.3% dollar share and a record 23.5% unit share.
How much does Target make from its own brands?
Target says its owned brands generate more than $30 billion a year, about one-third of its annual sales.
Is Kirkland Signature a private label brand?
Yes. It’s Costco’s own brand. Costco’s annual report says Kirkland items generally earn higher margins and are a growing portion of its sales.
Does Amazon have private label brands?
Yes. Its grocery brands include Amazon Grocery (launched October 2025), Amazon Saver, Aplenty and 365 by Whole Foods Market.
What is the difference between a store brand and private label?
A store brand is a private label owned by a retailer and sold in its own stores. Sellers on Amazon or Shopify can also build private label brands, sold under their own trademark.
Last updated: October 8, 2026. Figures are each company’s own and refer to the periods stated. Sources: Target, owned brands; Kroger 2025 annual report (10-K); Walmart, Great Value redesign; Walmart, bettergoods launch; Walmart, Mainstays Kids; Amazon, Amazon Grocery launch; Amazon, grocery brands; Costco 2025 annual report; Aldi, packaging refresh; PLMA, 2025 US private label sales.
