Costco has gained a cult following thanks to its great deals and great prices on items like clothing, outdoor items, appliances and groceries. The wholesale club’s headquarters-style Kirkland Signature brand is the most prominent brand in each store, but regular shoppers are used to spotting big names like KitchenAid, Kohler and LG. Look closer, though, and you’ll notice that there are some brands you’ll never find at Costco—no matter which location you visit.
That’s because Costco’s relationships with outside brands are extremely complex, and the quality standards of its partners are well known. There have also been cases where Costco has dropped brands due to poor performance or severed partnerships due to controversy, such as when the store dropped Chaokoh coconut milk due to reports that the brand used unethical monkey labor, or when it pulled palm cheese from its shelves due to the founder’s controversial social media posts. Still, Costco’s focus on its own in-store brands has led to less influence from outside brands and may have left some big names reluctant or simply ineligible to partner with the popular warehouse retailer.
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It is very difficult to compete with the Kirkland Signature brand
Kirkland Signature Bakery sign inside a Costco store. – Erman Gunes/Shutterstock
One of the biggest reasons you don’t see many other brands at Costco is that over the years the store has focused more on its Kirkland Signature brand, leaving less shelf space for outsiders. Costco was founded in the 1970s selling other branded products in bulk, but that changed 30 years ago with the launch of the first two Kirkland Signature products in 1995. The store brand has since grown rapidly to become a force that now accounts for a quarter of Costco’s revenue, with Kirkland Products bringing in billions of dollars in profits annually. Additionally, many well-known brands are actually the companies behind Kirkland Signature products. For example, Costco brand wines come from many well-known vintners in California and other well-known wine regions around the world.
Also worth noting is Costco’s marketing plan, which may seem trivial given the lack of a major public advertising campaign, but is actually very strategic. In addition to requiring a shopper membership (thereby ensuring that only those truly motivated to buy enter the store), Kirkland’s brand isn’t typically sold elsewhere, which makes it feel even more exclusive.
Costco shoppers prioritize value over brand labels
A shopper browses the deals in the meat section at Costco. – Elliot Cowend Jr./Shutterstock
While a well-known brand might easily attract customers at other stores, the whole point of being a Costco member is to get the value, not the name brand. Because of this, and the limited variety of each of Costco’s products, even well-known brands that have a presence on Costco’s shelves often have to sell at lower profit margins. For example, a 24-pack of San Pellegrino sparkling water sells for between $18.94 and $24.69 at Costco. The same amount would cost between $27.98 and $35.76 or more at the grocery store. When it comes to appliances, the difference is even greater: The Cuisinart Barista Bar Coffee Maker retails for $249.99 at Costco, but sells for $379.95 on the Cuisinart website.
Of course, similar Kirkland Signature products will still drive a greater wedge between retailers and outside brands. For example, in 2025, Lululemon, which had never partnered with Costco, filed a lawsuit against the store, accusing it of selling popular clothing under the Kirkland Signature brand. The outcome of the lawsuit has not yet been determined as of February 2026, but if successful, it could pave the way for more legal challenges from outside brands unhappy with Costco’s practices.
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Read the original article on Foodie.