Most large grocery chains have private-label store brands sold at a fraction of the price.
If you regularly shop at Costco, you might have seen products under the Kirkland Signature brand. If you are wondering whether Kirkland is a Costco brand, here’s all you need to know!
Is Kirkland A Costco Brand In [currentyear]?
Kirkland Signature is a Costco private label brand as of [currentyear]. Under this brand, Costco sells products including coffee, wine, dog food, baby formula, candy, and batteries. On average, Kirkland Signature products are cheaper than national brand name items; therefore, more customers prefer them. Additionally, most Kirkland items are products from national brands.
Read on for more information about Kirkland Signature, when it was established, and the products under the brand!
When Was Kirkland Signature Launched?
Costco introduced Kirkland Signature products to its customers in 1995. Also, the brand got its name from Kirkland, Washington, the company’s original headquarters.
Since its establishment, Kirkland has become quite profitable for Costco and expanded to a multi-billion-dollar company.
Based on Costco’s website, the company established this private label brand to ensure that it has high-quality products at affordable prices.
Where Can You Get Kirkland Signature Products?
Since it’s a private label brand, you can only find Kirkland Signature products at Costco stores.
However, reports by Quartz show that there are some Kirkland Signature products on the Amazon website.
Further, Amazon Marketplace is responsible for most Costco online sales, especially for the Kirkland products.
Also, most of the Kirkland products that appear on Amazon are overpriced and have a price mark-up compared to the costs in the Costco stores.
That said, this happens because there’s a third-party reseller cost.
Therefore, if you frequently purchase Kirkland products, it’s much cheaper to get them directly from Costco stores than Amazon.
What Products Does Costco Sell Under The Kirkland Signature Brand?
If you want to purchase Kirkland Signature products, you can check the Costco website for the available items.
Still, the Kirkland product categories include:
- Clothing
- Luggage
- Health & fitness
- Grocery
- Organic
- Household & cleaning
- Diapers
- Home & kitchen
- Office products
- Pet foods & supplies
- Hardware
- Costco gasoline
Therefore, you can easily get different types of products, depending on your shopping needs and preferences.
Who Makes Kirkland Signature Products?
Although the Kirkland products are under the Costco brand, the retailer does not produce, manufacture, or package any of these items.
Instead, most of Costco’s Kirkland Signature products are manufactured by national brands such as Starbucks, Niagara, and Ocean Spray.
According to the research done, the Kirkland espresso coffee is made by Starbucks, Duracell makes the batteries, and diapers are a product of Huggies.
Moreover, the Kirkland drinking water is from Niagara Bottling, and the wine is from E&J Gallo Winery.
Kirkland Signature Vs. Costco Products: What’s The Difference?
Although big companies manufacture most Kirkland products, the products are not identical to the national brands sold at Costco stores.
That said, Costco has relied on its influence to persuade its suppliers to manufacture high-quality products for the Kirkland brand.
Therefore, Costco negotiates with the big-name companies to differentiate between the national brands and Kirkland items.
Moreover, this ensures that customers can get high-quality products at an affordable price if they shop the private label items.
Lastly, Kirkland Signature products sell 20% less than national brand names, attracting more customers.
How Much Does Costco Make Off Kirkland Signature Products?
Retailers establish private label brands to compete against the big-name companies and earn revenue.
In this case, Kirkland Signature has expanded to become a multi-billion dollar company, enabling Costco to compete against retailers such as Walmart’s Sam’s Club.
Also, according to the financial results from the latest fiscal year, Kirkland Signature brought in $58 billion in sales, which equals a quarter of the total business revenue.
Because of this, Kirkland is the biggest consumer packaged goods brand in sales in the US.
Are Kirkland Signature Products Good?
Kirkland Signature products are a customer’s favorite because they have lower prices.
While they are budget-friendly, they are also high-quality, thanks to Costco negotiating with the big name brands.
On some occasions, the Kirkland products are of better quality than traditional products sold at Costco and other retail stores.
Therefore, if you are looking to buy quality items at a lower price, you can go for Kirkland Signature products.
How Can You Spot Kirkland Signature Products At Costco?
When shopping at Costco, you can easily find the Kirkland Signature products because the packaging has the “Kirkland” logo printed on it.
However, if you cannot locate the products, you can consult the staff to direct you. On the other hand, if you are shopping online, you can search for the specific items you need.
Do Kirkland Signature Products Come From China?
Since different companies and brands manufacture the Kirkland Signature products, some may be manufactured in China.
As earlier mentioned, Costco does not manufacture any of these items; therefore, the origin of most products depends on the specific company.
Can You Return Kirkland Signature Items To Costco?
If you buy Kirkland items from a Costco store or online, you can return the items as long as it’s within the return policy.
According to Costco’s return policy, you can return items such as electronics within 90 days from the day of purchase.
Further, you can do this at the return counter or ship them back via Costco.com.
However, if you bought the Kirkland products via Amazon, you’ll need to confirm the return policy with the seller since this is a third party.
To know more, you can also read our posts who makes Kirkland diapers, who makes Kirkland jeans, and is Costco coming to Maine.
Conclusion
Kirkland Signature is a Costco private label brand. Under this brand, Costco sells different products from coffee, wine, dog food, baby formula, and candy to batteries.
On average, Kirkland Signature products are much cheaper than national brand name items; therefore, more customers prefer them.
Additionally, most Kirkland items are products from national brands such as Starbucks. Lastly, Kirkland Signature products bring significant revenue to the Costco brand due to the high sales.
