The Best White Label Advantages: Why It's Best To Launch Your Products without DevOps

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When launching a new product or brand, you may consider launching it as a white label product. This means that rather than doing your own separate launch with your own branding and website, you instead find another company that sells products in the same niche as yours and partner with them to sell your products under their brand. The benefits of this are numerous – including the fact that it’s often much easier to get stockists who will agree to sell only your branded products if you’re willing to do so under their name. However, there are also some downsides associated with white labeling – particularly when it comes to DevOps. What is DevOps, you ask? It stands for "developer operations", which sounds really complicated but is actually very simple: It’s where the code development process and IT operations work together.

What Is White Labeling?

A white label product is one that’s manufactured by one company and sold under a second firm’s brand. The most common examples are in the logistics industry. For instance, if a company that ships things by land has a really high demand for their services, but they’re unable to keep up with it, they may partner with another logistics company and allow them to sell their services through their own branding. In other words, they essentially create a subsidiary to sell their services under a different name. Another example is in the airline industry, where a partner airline will simply fly a different airline’s passengers to their desired destination.

Pros of White Labeling

One of the biggest advantages of taking the white label route is that it’s a much easier sales process. Most white label sellers have plenty of experience securing stockists and have a marketing team to help you sell your products. They know how to pitch your products to these potential partners and get them to sign on to sell exclusively under their brand. You’re essentially piggybacking off their hard work, so you don’t need to do as much legwork. You’re also much more likely to get stocked by big-box retailers, especially if you’re willing to white label. This is because they’ll be unlikely to take a risk on a brand new product under your name when they have no idea how it will sell. Simply put, you have a much better chance at success when you white label.

Cons of White Labeling

While these are all great benefits, white labeling is also very limiting. Because you’re essentially putting your eggs in someone else’s basket, you’re putting yourself at a huge disadvantage if things don’t work out. This is particularly true if you choose to use a major white label brand like Vigario, LELO, and Wahl. These businesses have been around for a long time, but they’re also extremely complicated. They have a number of products, but they also have different SKUs – or stock keeping units – for each product. This means that they sell several variations of the same product under multiple names. This is great if you want to sell a variety or if you want to sell different kinds of the same product under different names, but it can be a bit of a headache if you want to do something like discontinue one of their products or add another to the mix. You’re also at the mercy of their inventory, which can be particularly frustrating. For example, if Vigario is sold out of a certain SKU, you’ll be unable to sell that product in any of your stockists, which is particularly problematic if it’s your top seller.

DevOps, Or Why You Shouldn't Launch As a White Label

Simply put, if you white label, you won’t have control over your product’s development. This can be extremely frustrating if you discover that you need to make a change and have no authority to do so. You’ll be at the mercy of the white labeling company, which can be tedious, especially if you’re in a rush to fix something or want to add a new feature. This is why it’s better to release your product under your own branding and use a DevOps method of development. This means that you’ll be in charge of your product and its development, giving you much more control.

Bottom line - Should You Launch Without DevOps?

If you’re considering launching your product under a white label brand, first consider whether or not you’re willing to put your eggs in another company’s basket. You’ll be at their mercy, and if they don’t respond to your needs, you’ll have very little recourse. It’s also worth noting that the more you white label, the less likely you’ll ever be able to take the products under your own brand. One of the best ways to get your foot in the door is to white label. Once you’ve built up a bit of a reputation, though, you can then switch to launching under your own brand. This will give your products a chance to build up a reputation for themselves and mean that you have much more control over their success.

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