Private Label certification: Your product, your brand, with a Kiwa certificate
Do you want to sell a certified product under your own brand without being the manufacturer yourself? With Kiwa’s Private Label certification, you can.
This is a flexible solution for companies that source products from a certified manufacturer and bring them to market under their own name. Private Label certification is particularly relevant for trading companies, distributors and brands seeking quality assurance without having their own production facility.
What is a Private Label product?
A Private Label product is a product from a certified manufacturer that is supplied by another company under its own brand name. A Private Label certificate includes one or more products from an existing ‘master certificate’, but is issued in the name of the private label holder.
How to obtain a Private Label certificate?
A private label (PL) certificate can only be issued based on an existing valid certificate (the ‘master certificate’). The product covered in the PL certificate must be identical to the one in the master certificate. The holder of the master certificate must provide written consent for issuing a PL certificate for the product.
What does this mean?
For each PL certificate, a contract must be established between the PL certificate holder and Kiwa, outlining the agreed terms. The PL certificate holder thereby becomes a certificate holder under Kiwa’s certification regulations. The contract (or signed annexes) specifies from which master certificate the private label certificate is derived.
How does certification work?
Before approval, an evaluation visit must take place at the PL certificate holder’s premises. The company must establish an internal quality management system covering aspects such as:
- Complaints
- Storage, packaging, and transportation
- Incoming and outgoing inspections
- Non-conforming products
- Branding
The PL certificate holder is audited at least once every two years. The relevant Board of Experts determines the frequency of these visits.
What does this mean for product marking?
The marking requirements for Private Label products are generally the same as those for the master certificate. However, a Kiwa Private Label certificate is issued in the name of the PL certificate holder, without any reference to the master certificate holder. If agreed upon with Kiwa, unique production or batch coding can be applied.
The Private Label certificate holder is responsible for the correct marking of certified products. Generally, the marking is done by the master certificate holder.