Ecommerce has grown exponentially in recent years, and dropshipping plays a huge part in that growth. Many online merchants use the dropshipping business model, either as a side hustle or as their main source of income.
While dropshipping is a low-risk business model, competition can be challenging. Branded dropshipping has the power, however, to help you stand out from the crowd.
In this article, you’ll find out how branded dropshipping works and how you can set up your own online store to sell your branded products.
Dropshipping is a low-risk business model in which a business owner acts as an intermediary between customers and a manufacturer or wholesaler. The seller is in charge of marketing and sales, whereas a third-party company keeps an inventory of the products and fulfills the orders.
Basically, the merchant sets up their online store and partners with a manufacturer or wholesaler that will provide the products. Once a customer places an order, the third party receives it and is responsible for packaging and shipping.
The dropshipping business model is particularly advantageous to small entrepreneurs because the seller doesn’t need to worry about developing new products or keeping products in stock, which makes the required upfront investment relatively low. While the dropshipping supplier takes care of inventory and logistics, the merchant can focus on promoting their business and offering quality customer service.
Buying products from a dropshipping supplier doesn’t mean your products can’t look like they were designed for your brand.
Branded dropshipping is the process of buying non-branded products from a third party and adding a brand’s label or other elements to them.
When you open a branded dropshipping store, the supplier is still in charge of inventory and logistics. The difference is that they sell unbranded items to you, and once you make a sale, they add your customized label to the purchased products before they are shipped.
Although branded dropshipping can be referred to as white-label dropshipping, there's a difference between this business model and white labelling. In white labelling businesses, the manufacturer is responsible for producing and labelling products, whereas the merchant is in charge of keeping stock and fulfilling orders. The additional responsibility that comes with white labelling increases the initial costs of starting your business, making it a little more onerous for entrepreneurs with a more limited budget.
On the other hand, branded dropshipping is a combination of dropshipping and "white label". For some merchants, this mix can be the best of both worlds. As a business owner, you get to sell products that convey your brand identity, which makes them unique, while you don’t have to worry about logistics and order fulfillment.
At this point, you might be wondering: is labelling someone else’s product as my own dishonest – or even illegal?
Rest assured, the branded dropshipping business model is legitimate. Once you sign an agreement with a dropshipping supplier that works with white-label products, you are free to add your own label and sell them anywhere, whether in a marketplace such as Amazon or eBay or at your online store.
Branded dropshipping may seem less advantageous than standard dropshipping because it comes with the additional costs of branding your business. However, by adding your brand to a product, you make it unique, allowing you to mark up the prices.
Besides, branded dropshipping enables you to increase your profit margins because customers tend to opt for brands they consider reliable. Selling generic products might be a good business model for someone who’s starting out, but if you’re looking to expand your business in the long run, you’ll want to sell products customers can only find at your branded store.
Now that you better understand how this online business model works, let’s get to another important question: why should you open a branded dropshipping store?
While dropshipping is a great way to get your foot in the door of online selling, it can be hard to compete with other merchants who sell products exactly like yours, sometimes even with the same photos and descriptions.
With branded dropshipping, however, you create your brand identity and add your own touch to the product, which makes it recognizable and unique.
Branded items also bring another benefit: an identifiable brand inspires confidence in the quality of the product. As customers compare your products to generic ones available in the market, many customers will opt to buy from you because there is a clear brand behind your products – a brand with a verifiable reputation online.
And once you begin to stand out from the crowd and consolidate a good reputation, you’ll be able to build a solid client base and grow your business more easily.
Product development is a lengthy process and usually requires a significant financial investment. You’d have to build an entire supply chain by finding resources, hiring vendors, and doing everything necessary before the product reaches the customers. And if you don’t have the skills or resources to create a prototype, you’d have to hire a third party to carry out that part of the process.
Manufacturing products may push your business well above your budget. But what if there’s a manufacturer out there that already makes products like the ones you have envisioned?
By finding a white-label product supplier and adding your label, you get to sell generic products as if they were your own without spending money on product development or order fulfillment.
Branded dropshipping can be more costly than standard dropshipping because you’ll still have to invest in creating a brand name, a logo, a visual identity, etc. However, building a brand image means more brand recognition, which is bound to pay off in the long run – especially if you intend to scale your business in the future.
Now that we’ve covered the main benefits, we’ve prepared a step-by-step guide to help you build a branded dropshipping store successfully.
Merchants who work with standard dropshipping have more freedom to sell products from any niche. That’s because they don’t have a brand identity to reinforce. When working with branded dropshipping, however, it’s important to select a niche – one that is aligned with what you want to communicate through your brand.
Think of any brand that sells its own products. It’s hard to imagine Tim Hortons selling jewelry, isn’t it? Once you establish a niche, you need to ensure your products and brand identity reflect the niche you’ll be working in.
Your passions should definitely come into play at this stage. For example, if you’re a big sports fan, you might consider selling sportswear. However, you should also do extensive market research and run a competitive analysis to determine what the competition will look like and how profitable your business can be.
Here are a few ways to begin tackling your marketing research:
Once you pick a niche, you’ll have to find products you want to sell and make sure your products belong in your niche.
While you do your market research to define your niche, you’ll likely come across some product ideas for your branded dropshipping store. However, if you still don’t have a clue about what to sell, we’ve listed some places where you can look for inspiration:
After you come up with some good product ideas, it’s time to look for a reliable supplier that works with dropshipping branded products.
Truth be told, finding a good branded dropshipping supplier isn’t always easy. While there are numerous dropshipping suppliers, there aren’t as many who offer white-label products and agree to work within the dropshipping model. Basically, they don’t want to manufacture products without any assurance they'll be sold, and that’s understandable.
Some suppliers might ask to see some proof of good sales records. However, if this is your first business, that doesn’t mean you can’t work with a manufacturer. In those cases, suppliers usually establish a minimum order quantity (MOQ). Platforms such as Alibaba and CJDropshipping are good places to find a supplier for a branded dropshipping store.
But how can you find a good supplier? Here are some questions to keep in mind during your search:
It goes without saying that, in order to open a branded dropshipping store, you need to build your own brand. You might already have an idea of what you want your brand to look and sound like, and your personality should definitely be a part of your brand. However, there are other aspects to consider when building a brand from scratch.
Once your brand is ready to go, stick to it and make sure it’s everywhere (your products, social media, website, and so on). Consistency is key when you want to increase brand awareness and brand recognition.
Ideally, you’d hire a professional to help you in this process. If your budget can’t accommodate this investment at the moment, though, there are plenty of online brand name and logo generators out there to help you get started.
To make sure your target audience finds your branded products, you’ll need to create an online store.
Your store will be the main source of information for customers who want to know more about your brand, so it’s essential to showcase the benefits of your products and is aligned with your brand voice and values.
When building your online store, take the time to do some research and choose the right platform for your business.
Shoplazza, for instance, is a great platform for branded dropshipping stores for a few reasons:
➡️ If you’re not yet convinced Shoplazza is the best ecommerce platform for you, find out why Shoplazza is the popular choice for ecommerce owners.
As for setting up, make sure your online store includes the following:
This is the stage where you make sure your brand is everywhere.
Getting your target audience to buy and like your product isn’t enough; they need to remember where they got it from so they can buy again from you and refer friends, family and followers to your online store. By designing customized labels, packaging and packaging inserts with your brand name and logo, you reinforce brand recognition, which leaves you a step closer to building a base of loyal customers.
Branded packaging and labels also help give more credibility to your products and store. Many online shoppers out there have had at least one frustrating experience buying generic products. For consumers, the care involved in creating branded products can work as a good quality indicator.
Dropshipping suppliers are responsible for order fulfillment, but it’s up to you to give them instructions for labelling and packaging. Otherwise, they’ll ship your products with no labels and in blank packages, which could hurt your brand reputation.
After going through all that, you can’t simply rely on friends and family to make your store a success. You need to spread the word about your new business.
Implementing a paid advertising strategy might be challenging when you’re just starting out and there isn’t any money coming in yet. Luckily for you, there are ways to drive organic traffic to your store.
First, you’ll want to ensure your website can be found easily on Google, not just by people who type in your brand name but also by users searching for products like yours. As a merchant, SEO will be your best friend. Ecommerce platforms like Shoplazza offer built-in features to optimize your website with just a few clicks.
Once you get acquainted with SEO, consider the idea of starting a blog with optimized content. Blogs are excellent sources of organic traffic and can help you increase brand awareness, connect with your audience, and build customer loyalty.
Many consumers believe that, if a brand isn’t on social media, then it doesn’t exist. Before launching your branded dropshipping store, set up a few social media accounts for your business. This way, people who have heard of your brand can look it up on social media, and you can produce content to reach and tap into your target audience while they’re browsing.
Branded dropshipping is an advantageous business model for entrepreneurs who are just starting out but don’t have the budget to develop their own products or be in charge of storage and shipping. By partnering with a white-label dropshipping supplier, you get to sell products with your brand’s name and logo while your supplier manufactures those items and ensures they make it to your customers’ hands.
Just like it’s the case with any new business, you’re bound to make a few mistakes here and there. But running a successful business is all about learning from your slip-ups and making adjustments.
When you have your own brand behind a high-quality product, you increase your chances of building brand awareness and a solid customer base. You’ll have a more scalable business in your hands, and scalability means the sky's the limit.