National brand

The brand name of a product that is distributed nationally under a brand name owned by the producer or distributor, as opposed to local brands (products distributed only in some areas of the country), and private label brands (products that carry the brand of the retailer rather than the producer.)

National brands must compete with local and private brands. National brands are produced by, widely distributed by, and carry the name of the manufacturer.

• Local brands may appeal to those consumers who favor small, local producers over large national or global producers, and may be willing to pay a premium to "buy local"
• The private label producer can offer lower prices because they avoid the cost of marketing and advertising to create and protect the brand. In North America, large retailers such as Loblaws, Walgreen and Wal-Mart all offer private label products.

On the other hand, marketing and advertising may give consumers the impression that the national brand is superior to a local- or private-branded product.

References

• According to Kotler: The World's Foremost Authority on Marketing Answers Your Questions / Philip Kotler, 2005
• Retail Price Cutting and Its Control by Manufacturers / Albert Haring, 1976
• National Brand and Store Brand Price Competition: Who Hurts Whom? / Raj Sethuraman, 1995