Kirkland Signature products didn't appear until the '90s.
If you’ve ever been to Costco, you understand the enthusiasm. The warehouse is full of amazing buys—and you know there’s always going to be something new and amazing with each trip. It’s a one-stop shop for clothes, grocery deals and even some more bizarre purchases. But if there’s anything you remember after scanning the multitude of stocked shelves, it’s a single brand name: Kirkland.
Ever wondered about the Kirkland Signature brand history? Here’s what we know.
The History of “Kirkland Signature”
Around 30 years ago, it’s unlikely you would have found the Kirkland name in your Costco warehouse. That’s because up until the ’90s, Costco didn’t have a single brand that covered all of its packaged goods. Rather, about 30 different brands made up all the store-brand products at Costco.
But Jim Sinegal, Costco’s co-founder and then CEO, was inspired by an article in Forbes to overhaul Costco’s branding. In 1995, Costco took all its private label products and gave them a single brand name: Kirkland Signature. The name came from the company’s original Washington State headquarters. While Costco had recently moved to Issaquah, Sinegal said, “Nobody could spell Issaquah, so we kept it.”
It comes down to consistency and being instantly recognizable. While it was common for other stores at the time to have specific names for specific products (food separate from clothing separate from home goods), Costco thought differently.
By creating a single overarching brand for all its private label products, the warehouse chain helped shoppers make decisions. The Kirkland brand meant a product would be high quality, regardless of what people were buying. There’s a reason loyal Costco customers will tell you to buy the store-brand products first.
While it may be seen as a risk to blanket so many different products together, it has definitely worked in Costco’s favor. This past fiscal year, Costco made $58 billion in sales from just the Kirkland brand alone! Now that’s some customer loyalty.
Melany has been writing food news for Taste of Home for four years. Her knowledge of current culinary trends comes from her extensive time spent on FoodTok and scouring Instagram for any unusual food, charcuterie design or coffee shop creation. Apart from freelancing, she has worked at bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Half Price Books and as a barista. She has always wanted a career in writing, and got her start at Taste of Home. When she’s not working, Melany is playing the latest video game, curled up with a book or spending time with her cats.
Kirkland Signature is Costco's private label brand, featured on a wide array of products sold across Costco's warehouses and its website. Launched in 1995, the brand takes its name from the original location of Costco's corporate headquarters in Kirkland, Washington.
is Costco's proprietary trademark for its house brand merchandise. The name comes from the location of Costco's original headquarters in Kirkland, Washington. This brand is used only on merchandise sold at Costco stores or through its web sites. You can't get anything with that label anywhere else.
Sinegal asked staff for suggestions for a name and someone floated Kirkland Signature, a spin on the location of the company's Washington State headquarters, and came to executives with a design. (“Seattle Signature” was also considered, but Costco couldn't trademark the name.) “We liked it,” Sinegal said.
Costco uses the Kirkland Signature brand on clothing and food, sporting goods, beauty products, paper goods, supplements and organic products like grass-fed beef and wild-caught salmon. Kirkland's, Inc. on the other hand, is a U. S. retail chain that sells home decor, furniture, textiles, accessories and gifts.
Nationally known companies like Starbucks, Duracell, and Reynolds produce an exclusive version for Costco that meets its strict standards for quality and price point. Costco's goal is to make Kirkland's products "equal or better quality than national brands" while striving for comparative savings of at least 20%.
By creating a single overarching brand for all its private label products, the warehouse chain helped shoppers make decisions. The Kirkland brand meant a product would be high quality, regardless of what people were buying. There's a reason loyal Costco customers will tell you to buy the store-brand products first.
Kirkland Signature is Costco's house brand, allowing it to increase its profit margin on many of the basics sold in its warehouses. E-commerce is generating an increasing share of overall Costco revenues.
Costco helps keep its costs down by taking advantage of wholesale discounts, but that's only one of the many ways it keeps Kirkland Signature products affordable. Striving for efficiency throughout the process, from factory to shelf, helps minimize overhead.
But Kirkland Signature isn't just popular because of the affordable deals. It's considered a premium in-house brand, with more than 350 products at a high-quality caliber.
Kirkland Signature is Costco's proprietary trademark for its house brand merchandise. The name comes from the location of Costco's original headquarters in Kirkland, Washington. This brand is used only on merchandise sold at Costco stores or through its web sites. You can't get anything with that label anywhere else.
That's what Costco buyer Mark Klauber and his team were searching for when they collaborated with Westland Milk Products in Hokitika, New Zealand, to create Kirkland Signature™ Grass-Fed Butter, launched in 2021.
It's been confirmed that Kirkland coffee is produced by Starbucks, the much-loved Seattle-based giant. This is no big secret, since Kirkland coffee bags have been marked with the words "custom-roasted by Starbucks" and the signature logo — at least until recently.
The brand's partnership with Costco continued until 2009 when the retailer decided to take things into its own hands. To prevent supply chain issues — and keep the hot dog's price low — Costco made the production switch to its own meat processing facilities.
Both the Kirkland whole-bean espresso blend and its decaf blend are (or were) supplied by Starbucks, but Costco appears to have used another company for its Colombian coffees (including the “Colombian Supremo” variety). California-based Rogers Family Co. has been named as one supplier of this coffee.
The company's first location, opened in 1976 under the Price Club name, was in a converted airplane hangar on Morena Boulevard in San Diego. Originally serving only small businesses, the company found it could achieve far greater buying clout by also serving a selected audience of non-business members.
The History of Costco. The company's first location, opened in 1976 under the Price Club name, was in a converted airplane hangar on Morena Boulevard in San Diego.
The Price Company (corporate parent of Price Club) and Costco merged in 1993 to become Price/Costco. In 1997 the corporate name was changed to Costco Companies, Inc., and in 1999 the present corporate name was adopted.
The Kirkland Signature 10 hearing aids were withdrawn several months ago following issues with the charger. Costco then broke off relations with Sonova, the supplier of the KS10s, although Sonova will honour the warranty and supply fixes.
You may have heard a rumor that the Kirkland Signature™ brand vodka sold at Costco is actually GREY GOOSE® Vodka, just in different packaging. We can definitively put this myth to rest. This viral claim is completely false, and GREY GOOSE® Vodka does not produce nor privately label Kirkland vodka.
Introduction: My name is Dr. Pierre Goyette, I am a enchanting, powerful, jolly, rich, graceful, colorful, zany person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
Melany LoveUpdated: Nov. 10, 2023
Tim Boyle/Getty Images
