Private Label
Also known as: PL
Private label is the model of sourcing a generic product, branding it as your own, and selling it under a trademark you control on a listing only you own.
Private label means putting your own brand on an otherwise generic product — typically a manufacturer's base product customized with your logo, packaging, and sometimes minor modifications. Unlike arbitrage or wholesale (reselling other brands on shared listings), a private-label seller creates and owns the ASIN, so no one else competes for the Buy Box on it.
The model trades higher upfront effort and capital — product development, branding, Brand Registry enrollment, a launch, and inventory commitment — for durable advantages: pricing power, no Buy Box competition, the ability to build reviews and brand equity, and access to A+ Content and Sponsored Brands. Margins are generally higher than reselling because you control sourcing and price.
Private label is the path most associated with building a sellable, defensible Amazon business, but it concentrates risk in a few SKUs: a bad product, a hijacker, or a stockout hurts more when one ASIN carries the brand. Brand Registry and tight restock planning are essential safeguards.
A seller sources a generic silicone kitchen utensil set from a manufacturer, adds their "HomeCraft" branding and packaging, registers the trademark in Brand Registry, and launches it as a new ASIN that only they sell.