Your next bestseller is probably at ExCeL: White & Private Label Expo London 2026

If that's the stage you're at, or the stage you want to get to, clear 11–12 November. The White & Private Label Expo is back at ExCeL London, and this year's line-up includes people from Temu, Debenhams Group, Sainsbury's Tu and Alibaba.com.

This year there's a familiar face among the show's ambassadors: our co-founder and CMO, Emili Horncastle. For Emili, the role pulls together everything she does. She's a tech founder, a supply chain specialist and a fashion designer, and the expo is where all three meet.

That mix is exactly what new brands need. She knows how a product gets designed, how it gets made, and how it gets sold and delivered on Shopify. If you're turning a white label find into a real brand, she's a good person to talk to.

Two days, one hall, and a lot of suppliers in one place. Organisers expect around 16,000 retailers, brand owners and online sellers. More than 300 white and private label manufacturers will be on the floor, covering 20+ sectors, from pet products and apparel to home, kitchen and electronics.

• When: Wednesday 11 November, 10:00–17:00, and Thursday 12 November, 10:00–16:00

• Where: ExCeL London, Royal Victoria Dock

• Talks: around 100 seminars and keynotes across both days

• Price: free. One ticket also gets you into Smart Retail Tech Expo, the E-commerce, Packaging & Labelling Expo and the Retail Supply Chain & Logistics Expo

The floor is split into private label, white label and wholesale zones. That means you can compare suppliers side by side in an afternoon, instead of over months of calls.

The keynote programme reads like a who's who of UK retail and global marketplaces. Here's who we'd plan the day around.

• Tom Wintle, Temu
  

Tom leads business development for FMCG, health and household at Temu. His session, "Selling on Temu: opportunities, growth and success strategies", covers how the marketplace grew, how its local-to-local model works and what successful sellers do differently. If you've wondered whether Temu is a channel for your own brand, this is the 30 minutes to answer it. Day 1, 12:30, Keynote Theatre 1.

• Carol Kane, Debenhams Group

Carol co-founded boohoo.com in 2006 and now runs the Debenhams Group as founder and group executive director. She opens Keynote Theatre 1 on day 1 at 11:00 with her story of building, scaling and reinventing retail.

• Ben Smith, Tu Clothing at Sainsbury's

Ben runs one of the UK's biggest private label fashion brands. His talk, "Behind the label", is about how AI design tools, digital product passports and RFID are making private label more transparent and traceable. Day 1, 11:45.

• Michelle Lau, Alibaba.com

Michelle, managing director at Alibaba.com, walks through Accio Work: AI support from product research and supplier vetting all the way to listings and ads. Useful if you want to go from idea to own-brand product faster. Day 1, 14:45, Seminar Theatre 3.

Some of the most useful talks come from people who've done it recently:

• David Connor, Kanzen: TikTok Shop took his skincare brand from around 100 parcels to 10,000 in three months. He'll talk about what comes after going viral (day 1, 14:00).

• Shani Higgs, PerfectTed: how the matcha brand reached 35,000 stores in 50 countries with almost no paid marketing (day 1, 14:45).

• Lucy Bowes, Lucy & Lola: she took blank pet accessories, added embroidery, and built a business close to £2M a year through content (day 2, 12:30). White label in its purest form.

• Lewis Blitz, Skinnydip: turning an idea into a product people actually buy (day 2, 11:00).

A quick refresher first. White label means a ready-made product you put your own brand on, usually with a low minimum order. Private label goes further: a manufacturer makes a custom product to your spec.

The expo is free, so it's tempting to just wander. You'll get more out of it if you walk in with a list of questions for every stand you stop at:

1. What's your minimum order quantity? Can you start smaller for a first run?

2. What can I actually customise? Just the label, or the formula, colour and packaging too?

3. Which certifications and safety tests do you have for the UK and EU markets?

4. What are your lead times, and what happens to them in peak season?

5. Can I get samples, and how much do they cost?

6. How do you ship to the UK, and who handles customs?

A few talks help you ask those questions better:

• "From launch to recall" with Tracey Fanning of J.S. Held covers the product compliance mistakes that lead to delays and recalls (day 1, 13:15).

• "Getting the chemistry right" with James Clews of Technikraft lists what to ask a chemical manufacturer before you trust them with your product (day 2, 13:15).

• "China sourcing 2.0" with Anna Davidson of eCom Profits Lab looks at how AI is changing product research and manufacturing (day 1, 16:00).

And one thing that's easy to forget while you're comparing samples: sourcing is only half the job. Once the stock lands, your customers still need an easy way to get it, whether that's delivery, a local drop-off or collecting in store. That last step is where we spend our days at Zapiet, so if you're planning a launch, come and say hi to Emili at the show.

If you only have time for a handful of talks, these are the ones we'd pick.

Times are from the official agenda as of 3 November and can still change.

Whether you're hunting for your first white label product or adding a new line to a brand that's already selling, two days at the White & Private Label Expo can save you months of emails. Tickets are free. Grab yours here.

Emili will be at ExCeL on both days, alongside brand owners and retail leaders from across the UK and beyond. If you spot her, say hello and tell her what you're building.