By 2023, the global dropshipping market had achieved a staggering valuation of $243.42B, with projections indicating a surge to $301.11B by 2024. Fueled by its minimal startup and overhead expenses, the dropshipping market is experiencing unprecedented growth. Now, over 30% of eCommerce stores rely on dropshipping for their orders.
In this highly competitive business competition, establishing a recognizable brand is crucial for distinguishing yourself from your rivals. Cultivating a brand not only fosters customer loyalty but also paves the path to success within your target niche.
Join us as we will explore everything you need to know about branded dropshipping. From product selection to brand-building strategies and even finding the ideal dropshipping partner, we’ve got all your bases covered. Let’s dive in!
What is Branded Dropshipping?
Branded dropshipping is a business model where an online retailer sells products under their own distinctive brand name, all while a third-party supplier handles the manufacturing and shipping processes.
Much like traditional dropshipping, where a store doesn’t keep the products it sells in stock and outsources the manufacturing and shipping parts, it combines the benefits of having a brand, which carries the identity, reputation, value, and perception of a business for customers.
While traditional dropshipping focuses on selling products without emphasizing brand identity, branded dropshipping prioritizes building a unique brand around the products and ultimately builds brand loyalty and differentiation in the market.
This approach allows the online store to establish a recognizable brand identity. They achieve this by using custom packaging, adding their brand labels to products, and sometimes stamping or printing their logo on the items.
In a broader sense, branded dropshipping can also involve selling products from trusted brands in the retailer’s store, but it’s crucial to have permission from the brand owners. However, it’s worth noting that many brands may be hesitant or reluctant to collaborate with dropshippers, as they want to maintain control over their product quality and production methods.
Therefore, the most effective strategy for operating branded dropshipping often revolves around creating your distinct brand, which allows you to effectively engage with your target audience and cater to their specific needs in the long run.
To build and customize your brand in dropshipping, you have four key options: thank-you cards, custom shipping, product packaging, and product customization. If you want to know more about optimizing the customization experience, here’s HyperSKU’s excellent example of our experienced branded dropshipping service:
What are the Benefits of Branded Dropshipping?
Branded dropshipping offers many advantages that make it an appealing and promising choice for businesses, as the whole dropshipping business will continue to grow in the following years. According to Dropshipping.com, the whole dropshipping business will be worth over $500 billion by 2027. The value of the dropshipping market is also expected to grow further, reaching over $370 billion in 2025.
Let’s look at some of the benefits of branded dropshipping:
Higher Profit Margins
A normal dropshipping business often has a 10 to 30% profit margin. With branded dropshipping, you can increase your products’ retail prices, resulting in even higher profit margins. A unique brand presence on your products also makes them more appealing and easier to sell to customers, increasing your sales potential.
Increased Customer Loyalty
Building a unique and trusted brand through branded dropshipping fosters customer loyalty. Shoppers tend to stay committed to brands they trust and resonate with. When customers connect with your brand, they are more likely to keep coming back for your products.
Stand Out with Brand Differentiation
In an already crowded dropshipping market, having a distinct brand is your ticket to standing out. Building differentiation sets you apart from the competition by offering customized products under a unique, powerful, and compelling brand image. The distinctiveness can lead to the ability to charge premium prices for dropshipping branded products.
Stand Out in the Market
In a crowded dropshipping market, having a distinct brand is your ticket to standing out. This uniqueness sets you apart from the competition. The uniqueness and distinctiveness can lead to the ability to charge premium prices for dropshipping branded products.
Lower Initial Investment Fund
Branded dropshipping enables you to launch your business without the burden of upfront inventory costs. This approach significantly reduces your initial financial commitment.
Easily Scalable
Branded dropshipping operations are highly adaptable. You can effortlessly scale your business up or down as per your needs, offering flexibility and growth opportunities.
Moreover, research by Small Business Trends shows that up to 70% of consumers prefer buying from companies that represent their values. This highlights the importance of brand alignment and representation with customer values in shaping brand perception and purchase decisions.
Branded dropshipping not only helps attract customers but also keeps them around, offering a significant edge over other potential competitors. However, it’s important to exercise caution and avoid dropshipping copyrighted or patented products to avoid legal issues.
How to Start Brand Dropshipping Business Step by Step
If you’re trying to figure out how to do branded dropshipping for your brand, don’t worry. Once you break down the process, finding branding dropshipping products, and handling every other aspect of the business gets much simpler and easier. So, let’s get into the steps of dropshipping your own brand.
Step 1: Identify Your Niche
The first big move in setting up your branded dropshipping business is finding the right niche, which means figuring out the specific group of people you want to sell to. It’s like choosing what you want to be really good at.
You shouldn’t rush this part because you’ll waste your time and money if you pick the wrong thing. So, take your time, do your homework, conduct comprehensive product research, and only decide when you’re sure.
Here’s a trick: think about what you really like and are interested in. It’s easier to sell things that you care about or you’re interested in. Let’s say you like photography! Then, selling camera kits or other related equipment will be a great start. This makes your brand more real and helps you connect with the people you want to sell to since you already know your niche.
Another tip is to stay updated with what’s popular. Check out social media, like Instagram and TikTok to see what’s trending, like cool topics or hot-selling items. Google Trends and AliExpress Dropshipping Center are also great tools for this. They tell you what people are searching for online. Also, look at what other stores are doing. Are they following the latest trends, or do you see gaps in the market you can fill?
This step is super important because it helps you choose a niche that fits your interests and the market’s needs.
Step 2: Choose Your Products
Now that you’ve researched, it’s time to decide which products to sell in your branded dropshipping store. You want to find products that match the needs of the people you aim to sell to. This might take some time, but picking the right product is worth it.
When you’ve picked a niche, it’s essential to choose a specific set of products that belong to that niche. This way, you won’t overwhelm your customers with too many choices.
What’s even better is that when you have products from the same niche, you can easily test them. This means you can see if your customers really like these products. If they do, you can keep selling them. But if something doesn’t sell well, you can swap it for a different product from another niche that will make you more money.
While following your passion is great, remember you’re here to make a profit. Is your niche specific enough to have fewer competitors but still broad enough to make money? Can you keep your brand promise and meet your goals while making your products appealing to the people you want to sell to?
In a nutshell, researching and testing products are the keys to success in this step. Also, finding the balance between what you love and what products really make you money.
Looking for some good ideas? Check out our recommendation for the best private-label products to sell!
Step 3: Create Your Brand Name, Brand Messages, and Other
This step is often considered one of the most challenging parts of branded dropshipping. Crafting a unique brand and releasing a memorable brand message into the market isn’t a cakewalk.
Photo by Patrik Michalicka on Unsplash
Brand Name and Message:
Take your time When working on your brand name and message. You want people to remember your brand and message when they see your product. This increases the likelihood that they’ll search for your brand when they enter the market.
Try the free business name generators provided by Shopify and Canva to help you brainstorm brand name ideas. These platforms offer a wealth of inspiration, generating a list of suggestions in just seconds. Simply input your desired keyword and get creative possibilities to build your brand image.
Stand Out from the Crowd:
Once you’ve figured out your niche and products and who you’re targeting, it’s time to consider how to make your dropshipping brand different. Develop a brand story that tells your history, goals, and values, and show how these align with the issues your customers face.
Make it clear how your brand is the solution to their problems so customers connect with your online store in an emotional sense.
Building a Memorable Brand:
What story you want to sell is the key here. Use your brand story to inspire a unique brand name that’s easy to remember, relevant to your niche, and straightforward to spell.
Create a simple, instantly recognizable logo that matches your brand image. Ensure that your font choices and color scheme prioritize readability, especially since your logo will appear on various branded packaging and products.
Your logo should also reflect the brand voice and value you plan to use and represent when communicating with customers and followers across channels. It is important to put some thoughts into what tone you are aiming for.
The Role of a Logo:
If you’re stuck for logo ideas, consider hiring a graphic designer. A well-crafted brand story can guide them in creating the perfect logo for your branded dropshipping store. If possible, don’t overlook this investment, as your logo serves as the face of your dropshipping store.
Having a hard time designing your own logo? We recommend Canva and Hatchful’s tools to create your own distinctive logo. Canva’s logo generator offers a vast collection of professionally crafted templates, free icons, and illustrations, along with font combinations to suit every style. Hatchful’s logo maker steps in to ensure your logo embodies professionalism, offering a user-friendly tool for crafting unique and free logos tailored to your brand’s vision.
Step 4: Find a Branded Dropshipping Supplier
Now that you’ve chosen what to sell, it’s time to find the right supplier. This is a big deal because you want quality products at a good price to satisfy your customers and ultimately build up a reputation. That way, your customers get great stuff, and you make a decent profit. We have sorted out some essential qualifications for a good supplier. Here’s what to look for:
- Dropshipping Friendly: They should be okay with dropshipping.
- Private Label/Custom Packaging: They let you put your brand on products and package in your way.
- Product Branding: They allow you to add your branding to the products.
- Fast Shipping: Quick shipping is a must for happy customers.
- Quality Products: You want products that match your brand’s quality.
Not every supplier has all these features, but more is usually better. Let’s focus on private labeling. A private label supplier makes products with your brand name, custom packaging, and personalized messages. This can give you a competitive edge among all your competitors out there.
Finding a reliable private label-friendly supplier can be tough, but HyperSKU is definitely your top choice. We offer private label and customization services, like thank-you cards, custom shipping, product packaging, and product customization, helping you build a strong, competitive, and reputable business.
Here are the 8 Best Branded Dropshipping Suppliers that we recommend:
Find out more information about them in the following part.
Step 5: Choose a Platform
Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik
Selecting the right platform is crucial in establishing your branded dropshipping business. You need a platform that effectively connects you with your target audience. There are several common options when choosing a platform to sell, each with its advantages and drawbacks:
1. Your Own Website:
Managing your own website gives you complete control over design and functionality. However, it demands technical skills and well-structured marketing strategies to succeed.
2. E-commerce Marketplaces:
Selling on popular marketplaces like Amazon or eBay provides access to a vast customer base. Yet, customization options are limited, and you may incur hosting and transaction fees.
3. E-commerce Platforms:
E-commerce platforms like Shopify offer the advantage of customizing your store’s design to match your brand identity. They simplify the technical aspects of running a website. However, they still require some technical expertise, and you’ll be responsible for customer data security.
It’s essential to make your choice with your target customers’ shopping habits. Think about customization options, associated fees, and integrations with your dropshipping service. Shopify, for instance, is well-known for its user-friendly interface and extensive integration options, making it a popular choice among branded dropshippers. If you want to know more about opening up a store on Shopify, don’t miss out on our piece here!
Step 6: Set up Your E-commerce Store
Dropshipping can involve a lot of repetitive tasks, but automation software like HyperSKU can be a game-changer. These applications offer a comprehensive suite of features, including product importing, order fulfillment, stock and price monitoring, and even branding templates. You can import products in bulk, edit descriptions and images to match your brand identity, and create a cohesive customer experience – all within a single platform.
Setting up automation apps before marketing ensures a smooth operation when you start receiving orders.
After setting up automation to streamline the store’s operations, let’s focus on creating an excellent customer experience through website design. Needless to say a poorly designed website will drive visitors away as people are no strangers to online shopping.
Prioritize a clean, user-friendly layout with clear navigation. Platforms like Wix and Shopify offer extensive customization to create a visually appealing and branded experience. Remember, it’s not just about looks. Every element, from logo placement to product descriptions, should contribute to building a strong and recognizable brand identity that keeps customers coming back.
If you’re facing challenges in setting up your Shopify store, explore our Shopify dropshipping tutorial. It offers step-by-step guidance to help you establish your store with ease.
Step 7: Market Your Store
Image by Freepik
If you’re starting from scratch, promoting your products online is crucial to kickstart your dropshipping journey. Remember, it is always difficult at first. Design and carry out a creative marketing campaign tailored to your target audience, incorporating your brand and logo for strong market recognition.
Effective product promotion is a direct path to early sales and increased revenue. To attract more customers, it’s vital to market your products effectively in the channels mentioned below:
Social Media:
Highlight your social media presence on platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Twitter to showcase your products and boost sales. Collaborating with the right influencers can drive substantial traffic to your business. A mix of authentic, organic content and paid ads that connect with your brand voice and value can help avoid appearing overly sales-focused.
Check out our video to learn about the Top 5 Social Media Trends in 2024!
SEO/Blog/Content:
Elevate your online presence through strategic SEO practices. Improve your website with relevant keywords and high-quality blog content while enhancing navigation with internal links. Expand your reach with guest blogging opportunities and craft SEO-oriented product descriptions to attract organic traffic and boost visibility on search engines.
Paid Ads:
Maximize audience engagement in the shortest time with targeted ad campaigns on platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads. Harness segmentation and retargeting strategies to pinpoint your ideal demographic based on gender, age, and location. Monitor campaign performance closely and experiment with various ad formats to optimize results.
Influencer Marketing:
Collaborate with influencers whose audience aligns with your target niche to amplify your brand’s message effectively. Reach out with personalized pitches, provide clear guidelines, and track campaign metrics to assess ROI and drive engagement. Partnering with micro and nano influencers offers a cost-effective solution, tapping into highly engaged, niche audiences.
Email Marketing:
Engage your site, e-commerce business, or social media followers to sign up for emails. Use email updates to share discounts, promotions, and new products or designs.
Enhance Your Store’s Visuals:
Now that your dropshipping business is automated, focus on improving your store’s appeal to customers. Incorporate your brand visuals, including themes, attractive product pages, and strategic logo placement. Platforms like Wix and Shopify offer customization options and templates for creating attractive themes and designs.
Step 8: Provide Customized Customer Services
When it comes to customer service, it’s not just about handling common issues like delivery and returns. It’s about going the extra mile to provide tailored care to all your customers. When encountering any problems, resolve them immediately. Communication is key in letting your customers know you’re there to care for them and their voices matter.
Remember to include your brand name in all your customer messages. This ensures that customers always connect with your brand with the great customer service provided.
Step 9: Monitor Performance and Make the Necessary Adjustments
Image by pressfoto on Freepik
Running a dropshipping store can be challenging, and even the most skilled marketing team can’t guarantee the success of every campaign. Adaptability is key in this ever-evolving industry, and adjustments are often required, even after a successful campaign.
Dropshipping is a dynamic field, and to thrive, you must continuously fine-tune your operations and marketing strategies. This ensures that you make the most of your investments and resources for your dropshipping businesses.
In the final step, your focus should be on monitoring, improving, and scaling your dropshipping business. Eliminate products with high return rates, negative ratings, or slow sales. Continuously introduce new products within your niche to keep loyal customers engaged and expand your offerings as successful products emerge.
Above all, maintain your commitment to your brand identity and your audience to ensure lasting success.
8 Best Branded Dropshipping Suppliers
If you search the web, you’ll find dozens of branded dropshipping suppliers out there. And while having a lot of options is great, many of the suppliers you’ll come across are not great. So, in the section below, we will go over some of the best (according to our own research) branded dropshipping suppliers in the world.
HyperSKU
Founded in 2018, HyperSKU is a China-based, private-label dropshipping supplier. Customers using HyperSKU can customize their products according to their exact needs and specifications, from the branding of the product all the way down to the packaging.
One of the biggest benefits of using HyperSKU as a private-label dropshipping supplier is the sheer variety of products you can choose from. You can private label anything from electronics and home appliances to beauty products and more. Also, since they handle the entire fulfillment process, you don’t need to physically deal with any of your private-label products. As a result, you can solely focus on marketing and customer support.
- Service Rating: 4.8/5
- Price: No upfront fees
- Niche: Women’s clothing, pet supplies, electronics, and more
- Advantages: Extensive quality checks & factory comparisons from a wide range of customization options
- Disadvantages: Might have MOQ for custom orders. Price quotes upon request.
Printful
Printful is by far the most popular print-on-demand supplier in the world. Using Printful, you’ll have exclusive access to various products you can customize, including clothing, home decor, and accessories. Their specialties lay in providing a high-quality printing service, which includes embroidery, sublimation printing, and direct-to-garment. Aside from that, Printful also offers its customers a handful of tools to create custom designs while the supplier handles the entire production and fulfillment of products.
- Service Rating: 4.2/5
- Price: Custom
- Niche: Clothing, car accessories, smartphone accessories, more
- Advantages: Easy to use, integrations, a wide variety of niches
- Disadvantages: Product options aren’t balanced
Apliiq
Apliiq is one of the global dropshipping leaders for custom hoodies, hats, and t-shirts. Their services involve embroidery, applique, and screen printing. What makes them unique is the variety of fabrics and materials you can choose to make your clothing out of. On top of that, they will also handle the entire production and shipping side of your private label business, meaning you will only need to focus on marketing and customer service.
- Service Rating:4.6/5
- Price: Custom
- Niche: Printing
- Advantages: High-quality prints, fast service, various brands
- Disadvantages: Lacks transparency
Supliful
Supliful is a dropshipping supplier that makes owning a private label business a hassle-free experience. Using Supliful, you can private label and dropship various products, including home goods, electronics, and clothing. All of the products that you can find on Supliful are sourced from China. Aside from the product front of the business, Supliful also offers its customers services such as product sourcing, shipping and fulfillment, and quality control. Using the Supliful platform, you will have access to your own dashboard, where you can keep track of orders and access the different shipping options available.
- Service Rating: 4.7/5
- Price: $149-$249
- Niche: Wellness
- Advantages: No upfront fees, lots of customization options
- Disadvantages: Relatively expensive
CJ Dropshipping
CJ Dropshipping offers its customers the ability to dropship a variety of electronics and clothing, and beauty products. The products you can dropship from CJ Dropshipping are made in China, but the supplier offers you the option to take complete care of the product sourcing, quality control, and fulfillment. On top of that, you can use their platform to keep track of your orders and tracking and choose the shipping option that best works for you.
- Service Rating: 4.6/5
- Price: Custom
- Niche: Electronics, Clothing, Accessories, and more
- Advantages: Wide variety of products, relatively low fees, fast shipping
- Disadvantages: The website could use some work
Blanka
Blanka is one of the leading print-on-demand branded dropshipping suppliers of clothing and accessories. What makes Blanka unique is that they offer various printing options, ranging from embroidery to direct/to/garment. Using the Blanka platform, its customers can use integrated tools to create custom designs while the supplier takes complete care of the printing, shipping, and fulfillment of any incoming orders.
- Service Rating: 4.7/5
- Price: $0-$99
- Niche: Beauty
- Advantages: Great products, a wide range of plans, easy to use
- Disadvantages: Options can be overwhelming
Spocket
Spocket is a renowned dropshipping supplier of clothing, jewelry, and home goods. Spocket is unique because it sources the products on its website from the United States and Europe. Aside from that, this dropshipping supplier also provides its customers with a platform for managing and tracking their orders. Customers can also take advantage of various shipping options, some of which include fast shipping, but that is limited to certain products.
- Service Rating: 4.2/5
- Price: $0-$99
- Niche: Beauty, clothing, accessories, and more
- Advantages: Easy to use, great customer service, wholesale products
- Disadvantages: Doesn’t facilitate major drop shipping platforms
Dripshipper
Drippshipper is one of the more unique branded dropshipping suppliers in the sense that the company’s only focus is coffee products and supplies. From private labeling the products you want with your own logo to launching your website, the Dripshipper claims that thanks to their unique and sophisticated service, you can start a private-label coffee business in 1 day.
If you visit their website and take a look at the “Our Coffee” page, you will be surprised at the large variety of coffee that you can label and sell as your own. Besides that, Dripshipper will also handle the order management, tracking, shipping, and fulfillment of orders. That way, all you’ve got to do is focus on the marketing.
- Service Rating: 4.3/5
- Price: $30 – $197
- Niche: Coffee
- Advantages: Great customer service, reporting, analytics, and shipping management
- Disadvantages: The cost of products is a little pricey
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) About Branded Dropshipping
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Is Branded Dropshipping Profitable?
The answer is a big YES! Dropshipping is a booming business model with an estimated annual growth rate of 32%. On average, dropshipping businesses make a 20%-30% profit on each sale, according to BlueCart. Remember that your actual earnings can vary based on factors like your supplier and product costs.
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What Is the Difference Between Regular and Branded Dropshipping?
Regular dropshipping deals with generic and unbranded products. Branded dropshipping requires the dropshippers to customize the product and add their own unique brand to it.
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How Do I Transition from Regular to Branded Dropshipping?
Transitioning to branded dropshipping will take time and effort. To make the shift, you must find the right product, determine your target market, and create a unique branding and marketing campaign to attract customers who are interested in your brand, the products you sell, and the message you want to share with the world.
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Is it Legal to Dropship Other Branded Products?
Branded dropshipping is legal when following regulations. Avoid copyrighted and prohibited items, adhere to platform rules, and ensure compliance with local laws. For rebranding products, you must find a legitimate wholesaler to ensure that you’re doing everything legally.
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Do I Need to Consider MOQ Cost When Doing Branded Dropshipping?
Yes, certain dropshippers require a MOQ when ordering. When sourcing branding and packaging services from suppliers or dropshipping agents, MOQs are common and vary based on the type of service, like white labeling or private labeling. These MOQs can range from 500 to several thousand units. This is why it’s very important to consider the cost of MOQ when transitioning to branded dropshipping.
Ready to Start Your Branded Dropshipping Business?
Branded dropshipping offers an excellent opportunity to expand your market reach and connect with a broader and more potential audience. While transitioning to this approach demands time and effort, the potential for increased profitability is undeniable.
To thrive in the world of dropshipping, finding the right suppliers and crafting a unique marketing strategy is crucial. If you’re ready to embark on this journey, look no further than HyperSKU. As a trusted private-label dropshipping supplier, we empower you to tailor dropshipping stores to align perfectly with your marketing goals.
Create your top-notch dropshipping business with HyperSKU! With us, you have the power to create a unique private-label dropshipping experience. From heartfelt thank-you cards that foster customer loyalty to branded packaging for an unforgettable unboxing experience and product customization for exclusive offerings, we’ve got you covered. Visit HyperSKU today and take your business to new heights!