Private Label Products: One Supply Chain, Many Categories
Private label products are ready-made consumer goods that are sourced, branded and packaged for your own brand rather than for the factory that makes them. Instead of building a production line, you choose an existing product from a vetted supplier factory, apply your logo, labels and packaging, and sell it under your own name. That is the model The Private Label Supplier, operated by Mutual Trade (Yiwu Michu Guomao), was built to run.
We are a consumer-goods supply chain service company based in Yiwu, China, and we are clear about what that means: we are not a factory. Products are made by vetted supplier factories around Yiwu International Trade City and the industrial belts of Jinhua, Yongkang, Pujiang and Dongyang. Our job is to bring those factories together behind one window, so brand owners, importers and e-commerce sellers do not have to manage each factory, each sample and each shipment separately.
Here is how the service works in practice. You share a product idea or a category, and we source ready consumer products that already exist in production. We arrange your branding on them, from logo and labels to packaging. We inspect quality at multiple stages, consolidate the goods in Yiwu, and ship worldwide. For a private label company working across several categories, that single point of coordination is often the difference between a launch that holds its schedule and one that slips because five suppliers are moving at five different speeds.
How It Works: Five Steps From Idea to Shipment
The process is structured so that you make decisions with real information in front of you, not estimates. Each step below applies whether you are ordering one style or building a range.
Step 1: Share your product idea or pick from categories
You can describe a product, send a reference image, or choose from our existing categories. If you already have a best-seller, we can suggest line-extension ideas: the same product in new sizes or colours, a material upgrade, or a gift-set bundle.
Step 2: Compare 3-5 supplier options
For each request, our team prepares three to five alternative options covering different suppliers, materials or specifications. Each option comes with a comparison of cost, lead time and quality risk, so you can weigh trade-offs instead of accepting a single quote.
Step 3: Approve samples
The first sample typically takes 7-15 days. A fast sampling channel prioritises small sample runs of 1-50 pieces, which suits buyers who need to test a concept before committing to bulk. We also support structural development with a feasibility assessment and a detailed cost breakdown covering materials, labour and mould amortisation. IP protection assistance is available, including NDA signing and infringement-risk alerts.
Step 4: Branding and packaging production
Once the sample is approved, we arrange your logo, labels and packaging with the supplier factory and move into bulk production. Customised production takes 15-50 days depending on category. Seasonal and holiday products should have capacity locked 90-120 days ahead.
Step 5: QC inspection and consolidated shipping
Goods are inspected through the full process, consolidated in Yiwu, and shipped worldwide. Trade terms include EXW, FOB Ningbo or Shanghai, CIF and DDP door to door with tax included.
Categories and Typical MOQs
Minimum order quantities for bulk private label orders vary by category and are quoted per style. The table below gives the ranges we work with.
| Category | MOQ per style |
|---|---|
| Household goods | 100-500 pieces |
| Hardware tools | 200-500 sets |
| Bags | 200-400 pieces |
| Jewellery and accessories | 300-800 sets |
| Textiles and apparel | 200-1,000 pieces |
| Toys | 200-500 sets |
| Small appliances and holiday gifts | 200-600 pieces |
Across categories, MOQs typically run 100-800 pieces per style. Accessories and consumable spare parts can be ordered separately at 50-200 pieces. Multiple SKUs and categories can be mixed in one consolidated container, which is how many buyers keep a broad range without holding deep stock in any single item.
Branding Options
Branding is where a sourced product becomes your product. Our private label supplier team coordinates the following with the supplier factories:
- Decoration: logo printing, foil stamping, embroidered labels and Pantone colour matching.
- Materials: upgrades such as food-grade, eco or antibacterial materials.
- Packaging: colour boxes, hangtags, blister packs, OPP bags and gift boxes.
- Labels and manuals: designed and translated in 10+ languages.
- Retail and marketplace data: UPC/EAN barcodes, SKU labels, Amazon FBA labels and California Prop 65 warning labels.
For dropshipping customers, private label branding such as custom packaging, thank-you inserts and product logos is also available. Branding has a minimum quantity and a separate customisation fee, so please ask your account manager for the exact figure for your product. General unbranded dropshipping is a separate service with no MOQ.
Quality and Compliance in Brief
Quality control runs through the full process: incoming, in-process, first-piece, final and outgoing inspection. We apply AQL sampling at level 2.5/4.0, or a stricter 0.65 level on request. Inspection reports include high-definition photos, video, a defect list and re-inspection records, and buyers may appoint third-party inspectors such as SGS, BV, TUV or Intertek. Batch samples and records are kept for at least 12 months.
On compliance, we coordinate testing with ISO 17025 third-party laboratories for your destination market — EN71, ASTM F963 and CPSIA, REACH and RoHS, FDA food-contact testing and CE documentation among them. Laboratory fees are charged directly by the lab and confirmed per product against its quote; compliance is arranged per product, destination market and batch. How the full compliance workflow runs is set out on our private label suppliers page. Certificates available upon request.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum order quantity?
Bulk private label MOQs are quoted per style and typically run 100-800 pieces depending on category; see the table above for ranges. Accessories and consumable spare parts can be ordered separately at 50-200 pieces. Branded dropshipping packaging carries its own minimum quantity and customisation fee, so ask your account manager for the figure that applies to your product.
How long does sampling take?
The first sample typically takes 7-15 days. A fast sampling channel prioritises small sample runs of 1-50 pieces for buyers who want to test before committing to bulk.
Can you mix categories in one shipment?
Yes. Multiple SKUs and categories can be mixed in one consolidated container, and goods are consolidated in Yiwu before shipping. Sea freight lead times are approximately 30-45 days to Europe, 45-55 days to South America and 35-50 days to the US West Coast; China-Europe rail takes 20-30 days, air freight door to door 7-15 days, and express 3-7 days worldwide.
Who issues certificates?
We do not. Third-party ISO 17025 laboratories conduct the testing; we coordinate the process and help prepare the documents your market requires. Certificates available upon request.
Ready to Start?
Whether you need a single private label product line or a mixed container across categories, our account managers work in Spanish, Portuguese, German, English and Russian and serve buyers in South America, Europe, North America and the Middle East. Payment terms include T/T with a 30% deposit and 70% balance, L/C for larger orders, PayPal or Alipay for small test orders under US$2,000, and open-account terms for established customers after a credit review.
Send your product idea or category to [email protected] and we will put together a comparison of private label products to review.