Costco adds big-name brands, shoppers won’t believe what’s new

Costco tries to keep customers guessing about its products.Shutterstock

Millerchip made it clear that while Costco likes to delight members with surprising big-name partnerships, it also leverages its Kirkland Signature brand to add new items.

“Novelty has been driving growth in the category, with popular products such as Dubai Chocolate performing extremely well. Kirkland Signature continues to grow faster than overall sales, with KS products typically offering 15 to 20 percent value compared to domestic brand alternatives of equal or better quality,” he shared.

Costco has been steadily adding Kirkland Signature items to its lineup, while also mixing up the items in its food courts.

“In the first quarter, we launched approximately 45 new KS products, including daily cleansing towelettes for dry faces, caramel blueberry croissants and various apparel products, as well as our newest food court product, the caramel brownie sundae,” Millerchip added.

These projects performed well.

Millerchip added: “Kirkland Signature continues to grow faster than overall sales, with KS products typically offering a 15% to 20% higher value than national brand alternatives of equal or better quality.”

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While Costco likes to keep members interested by adding new items, its core focus is keeping member prices low. This also means lowering prices where possible.

“As always, our goal is to be the first to lower prices when we see an opportunity. Some examples of price reductions this quarter include KS Chicken Pot Pies from $4.29 per pound to $3.99; KS Bacon from $18.99 to $16.99 per pack; KS Whipped Cream 3-pack from $10.49 to $8.99; and KS Walnut 3-pound pack from $14.49 to $12.99,” the CFO said.

Costco is raising membership fees for Gold members by $5 in September 2024, now to $65, and for Premium members by $10, now to $130. However, the chain isn’t putting the increased revenue into its proverbial pocket.

“Costco appears to be reinvesting some of last year’s increased membership fees into better pricing for members while allowing the remainder to flow into profits, which is a win-win for members and shareholders,” CFRA research analyst Arun Sundaram told Investing.com.

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Morningstar equity analyst Noah Rohr believes Costco is doing a good job using price to drive membership and sales.

“I think Costco’s pricing is fair and in most cases its low-price value proposition is better than its peers,” he told RetailDive.

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• Kirkland Signature aims to provide quality comparable to well-known brands at a lower price. Costco positions its private label brands as “as good or better than leading national brands” while typically selling for about 20% reductionenhanced value for members according to the tasting chart.

• Many Kirkland products are actually made by well-known brand manufacturers. This means Costco can offer premium products under the Kirkland brand while avoiding the higher marketing costs of typical branded products, Mashed reported.

• The Kirkland brand accounts for a huge share of Costco’s sales and profits. It has grown into a major revenue driver, generating tens of billions of dollars annually and bolstering Costco’s negotiating power with suppliers.

• Costco leverages supplier relationships to benefit members and partners. According to AInvest, many domestic manufacturers have partnered with Costco to produce Kirkland products, creating a symbiotic relationship in which suppliers benefit from large-volume orders and Costco obtains quality products at a lower cost.

• Costco adds value by selectively tailoring its product assortments to emphasize Kirkland. The recent changes reflect Kirkland’s increased offerings in categories such as health, beauty and mattresses, in part to offset external cost pressures and enhance value perceptions, according to TheStreet.

• This strategy also helps Costco maintain competitive pricing on name-brand items. By limiting SKU variety and buying in bulk, Costco can negotiate lower prices on Kirkland and national brands, effectively passing the savings on to members.

Costco reiterated the importance of its private label brands in its annual report.

“We sell many products under the Kirkland Signature brand. Maintaining consistent product quality, competitive pricing and the availability of these products is critical to developing and maintaining member loyalty. These products also generally have higher margins than national brand products and represent an increasing proportion of our overall sales,” it shared.

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This article was originally published by TheStreet on December 21, 2025, and first appeared in the Retail section. Click here to add TheStreet as your preferred source.