2

It is common for a single generic product to be produced in a factory, whereby the manufacturer then sells that product to whatever company/brand wants to put their label on it. The result is several different "clones" of that product, each with different brand labels.

What is the word used to describe these "clones"? Note that I'm not looking for the word "clone" because that implies an original was copied, and bears a similar connotation to "knock-off".

Example usage would be in the context of a heading on a website or user interface:

"Clones"

  • Brand 1
  • Brand 2
  • Brand 3
  • Brand 4
  • etc...

Whereby the implication of this list is to enumerate identical alternatives/options to a given product from other brands.

Improve this question
5
  • If you are speaking of, say, canned vegetables, the word would be "normal". A cannery might very well can 1000 cases of peas, then add the labels to the cans as they are shipped from the warehouse to the individual brand distributors.
    – Hot Licks
    Sep 18, 2017 at 19:35
  • 2
    You need to provide a sentence for context. Who is using this term - producer or consumer. What is the thing - pasta, lawn mowers, mutual funds?
    – Phil Sweet
    Sep 18, 2017 at 19:52
  • Politicians????
    – Hot Licks
    Sep 18, 2017 at 20:10
  • @PhilSweet it's hard to provide an example sentence since the context would be a single heading on a website / user interface, with each of the "clones" of that product in a bullet list below it.
    – AgmLauncher
    Sep 19, 2017 at 0:23
  • Your own term brand fits.
    – Lawrence
    Sep 19, 2017 at 1:02

5 Answers 5

Reset to default
5

This may depend on what the product is. As an example, in the case of computers and printers, you will often hear the term rebadged - “Many Dell printers are rebadged Lexmarks.”

For other products, rebranded may be used - “At one time, Hellmann’s Mayonnaise was rebranded as Best Foods Mayonnaise in areas west of the Rocky Mountains.”

Improve this answer
2

A term I've heard is "white-label". This is generally used for a "store-brand" or "private label" product, where the manufacturer is just producing a product for retailers to brand and sell. Metaphorically, the manufacturer is using a completely-white label, which the retailer fills in with their own branding. In reality I suspect that the manufacturer merely applies a label according to each retailer's format, graphics, and instructions.

Improve this answer
0

The usual terminology is to say that it is a branded product. For example, you might say

Kodak produced IBM-branded cameras for promotional purposes.

It's hard to find that actual phrase defined, but here is a description of Branding in Wikipedia, and you can find lots of online services that offer custom branding for promotional items if you Google "branded products". I don't want to post links here because they are commerical services, but let me know if you can't find any examples.

Improve this answer
0

In Britain the term own-brand has been widely used.

Typically what happens is that a product e.g Weetabix is developed and marketed under that name, by a company called Weetabix Ltd.

In the supermarkets you will see on the shelves, next to Weetabix, products branded with the supermarket's name that look very similar to Weetabix, but with names that are more descriptive, e.g. Sainsburys Whole Wheat Biscuits, Cereal.

These supermarket brands, often made by the same company as those of other supermarkets, are generally known as own brands.

Improve this answer
2
  • In the US, this may also be called house brands or private brands; these terms also refers to brands that may not explicitly match the company name, but are owned by - or exclusively sold by - the company that they are publicly associated with. As an example, in the US, Macy's uses Club Room and Alfani as house brands.
    – Jeff Zeitlin
    Sep 19, 2017 at 11:22
  • @JeffZeitlin Yes. I would say that "house brand" in the US and "own brand" in the UK are almost direct synonyms.
    – WS2
    Sep 19, 2017 at 13:44
-1

Canneries are typical of this kind of operation. The canneries can the fruits and vegetables, often under contract with the seller, and they do the labelling as well. Some canneries work only with private labels rather than nationwide labels.

Canneries thus produce canned goods sold under many different brands.

Improve this answer
5
  • But a cannery need not do so; so this doesn't answer the question
    – Carl Witthoft
    Sep 18, 2017 at 18:23
  • This provides no useful information in the context of the question; the querent is asking for a word that defines the use of the multiple brands, not the production of the material behind it.
    – Jeff Zeitlin
    Sep 18, 2017 at 18:28
  • Interesting; I wonder if all those double-A batteries are manufactured by a few firms and labelled as the seller wishes. The OP's question may reflect a confusion about manufacturing processes in today's global marketplace.
    – Xanne
    Sep 18, 2017 at 18:33
  • Some products may be produced by an in-house plant; some in-house produced products may be sold to another seller; some products may be purchased under contract.
    – Xanne
    Sep 18, 2017 at 19:35
  • @Xanne - And some products are produced in an out-house.
    – Hot Licks
    Sep 18, 2017 at 21:37

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.