The Kirkland Signature Secret: Which Famous Brands Are Actually Making Your Costco Products

There is a reason Kirkland Signature generates $90 billion in annual sales and commands more consumer loyalty than most of the national brands it sits beside on the warehouse floor. The reason is not just that Kirkland products are competitively priced. The reason is that many Kirkland products are not generic alternatives to famous brands — they are, quite literally, made by those famous brands.

Starbucks roasts the coffee. Duracell makes the batteries. Reynolds Brands makes the aluminum foil. Diamond Pet Foods makes the dog food. Perrigo produces the baby formula. The same manufacturers producing the name-brand products consumers pay premium prices for at other retailers are producing Kirkland Signature versions of those products — often to the same or higher specifications, at 20 to 35 percent lower prices.

There's a lot of Costco folklore out there surrounding Kirkland products and who actually makes them. Half of it is TikTok silliness with zero evidence. So it's time for a grown-up version — this list sticks to the products where there's an actual source, label, FAQ, or reporting to back it up. User Intuition

This guide is the complete, sourced, rumor-separated-from-fact investigation into which famous brands are behind your favorite Kirkland Signature products — and which viral claims are simply not true.

The Confirmed Partnerships: Famous Brands Behind Kirkland Signature

☕ Kirkland Signature Coffee — Roasted by Starbucks

This is the most well-known Kirkland brand partnership — and the one that requires the least detective work to confirm, because Costco advertises it directly on the packaging.

When the Kirkland House Blend bag or the product page says "Custom Roasted by Starbucks," you don't have to do much detective work. Select varieties of Kirkland Signature Coffee are actually roasted by Starbucks Coffee Company. Jetfuel

Kirkland Signature Medium Roast Coffee 40oz bag — $19.39 (48¢/oz). Starbucks Coffee 12oz bag — $10.79 (89¢/oz). Jdallthomas

The math is striking. The Kirkland Signature version, roasted by the same company to a comparable standard, costs nearly half the per-ounce price of buying Starbucks directly. This is the Kirkland value proposition in its purest form — same manufacturer, meaningfully lower price.

The partnership covers specific Kirkland coffee varieties — not the entire Kirkland coffee lineup. If your Kirkland coffee bag says "Custom Roasted by Starbucks," you have the Starbucks version. If it does not say this, you have a different Costco coffee supplier.

🔋 Kirkland Signature Batteries — Made by Duracell

Former Costco CEO Craig Jelinek confirmed in an interview that Kirkland Signature alkaline batteries are actually made by big-name brand Duracell. slideshare

This confirmation from Costco's own former CEO is about as authoritative as a manufacturer disclosure gets — and it explains why Kirkland batteries consistently perform at or near the top of third-party battery performance tests despite costing significantly less per battery than buying Duracell directly.

Because Costco slaps the Kirkland label on them, they usually run about 20-35% cheaper than the comparable name brand sitting nearby. Data-Mania, LLC

The practical implication for every Costco member: when you buy the Kirkland Signature AA or AAA batteries, you are buying Duracell-manufactured batteries at a meaningful discount to what Duracell commands at Target, Home Depot, or anywhere else. There is no quality trade-off. You are buying the same product at a different price.

🍫 Kirkland Signature Aluminum Foil — Made by Reynolds Brands

Take one look at a box of Kirkland Signature aluminum foil and you'll see the word "Reynolds" printed right on the packaging. Each box is manufactured by Reynolds Brands, the maker of Reynolds Wrap, often considered one of the most durable types of aluminum foil on the market. Protisglobal

Unlike many Kirkland manufacturer partnerships that require research to confirm, Reynolds Brands makes no attempt to conceal their involvement — the Reynolds name appears directly on the Kirkland Signature foil packaging alongside the Kirkland logo. Costco and Reynolds are working together for the Kirkland Signature aluminum foil in a not-so-secret way, popping the Reynolds logo right next to the Kirkland Signature one. User Intuition

Reynolds Wrap is universally considered the premium aluminum foil brand among home cooks and professional chefs. Buying Kirkland Signature aluminum foil means buying Reynolds Wrap manufacturing quality at Costco member pricing.

🐾 Kirkland Signature Dog Food — Made by Diamond Pet Foods

Websites including Dog Food Insider claim that Kirkland Signature Dog Food is actually manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods, also known as Schell and Kampeter, Inc. That might not be enough evidence on its own, but in 2012 the Kirkland brand was part of a recall for Diamond dog foods following a salmonella outbreak at Diamond's production plant in South Carolina. Costco and the Kirkland brand were both named in a class-action lawsuit. There's been no word of a break with Diamond following the incident, and the Kirkland brand remains popular with pet lovers. Algocentric Digital

Diamond Pet Foods is a significant manufacturer in the premium pet food space — producing food for multiple respected pet nutrition brands. Their manufacturing of Kirkland Signature dog food is about as well-documented as any non-labeled Kirkland partnership gets, confirmed through both industry reporting and the 2012 recall that made the manufacturing relationship a matter of public record.

👶 Kirkland Signature Baby Formula — Made by Perrigo

Kirkland Signature baby formulas are made by the pharmaceutical brand Perrigo. Perrigo's StoreBrandFormula.com, which catalogues the company's retail relationships, includes Costco on its list of partners. Algocentric Digital

Perrigo is one of the largest manufacturers of store-brand pharmaceutical and nutritional products in the United States — producing generic and store-brand versions of medications, vitamins, and nutritional supplements for major retailers nationwide. Their production of Kirkland Signature baby formula means Costco members are accessing pharmaceutical-grade baby formula manufacturing at warehouse pricing.

🐟 Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Fish Oil — Made by Trident Seafoods

Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Fish Oil is made by Trident Seafoods. While the partnership has mainly been on the down-low, a 2017 class action lawsuit against Costco and Trident unveiled the secret. User Intuition

Trident Seafoods is one of the largest vertically integrated seafood companies in the United States — operating fishing vessels, processing facilities, and distribution across the Alaskan seafood supply chain. Their production of Kirkland Signature fish oil supplements means the product has a direct supply chain connection to the Wild Alaskan fisheries whose omega-3 content the supplement delivers.

🛏️ Kirkland Signature Mattresses — Made by Stearns & Foster

Stearns & Foster, who makes Costco's mattresses, is nothing short of a luxury brand. Costco is smart to keep this third-party distributor in the public eye. Apexstrata

Stearns & Foster is a premium American mattress manufacturer with a heritage dating to 1846 — producing mattresses that retail for $2,000 to $4,000 or more at specialty mattress retailers. The Kirkland Signature mattresses produced by Stearns & Foster at Costco pricing represent one of the most dramatically leveraged quality-to-price advantages in the Kirkland product lineup.

🥃 Kirkland Signature Spirits — Multiple Premium Producers

The Kirkland spirits lineup is one of the most discussed and most debated in the Costco member community — and the confirmed producer partnerships are genuinely impressive.

Kirkland's tequila brand is manufactured at the Corporate Distillery Santa Lucia in Mexico, which uses 100% blue agave in its production process. Protisglobal

For those who fancy a single malt or blended Scotch whisky, the Kirkland Signature variety means you're getting a product sourced from Alexander Murray & Co. — a Scottish expatriate-founded bottling business in Calabasas, California. Treetopgrowthstrategy

Rumors have long persisted that the Kirkland Signature Premium Small Batch Bourbon is made by the eminently popular George Dickel brand. While the bourbon rumor has not been officially confirmed, the geography of the production and the spirit profile are consistent with this attribution. Protisglobal

🐠 Kirkland Signature Shrimp — Kader Exports

There are certain situations where anonymity goes out the window. Such a case occurred in 2020 when concerns over a possible food-borne illness meant the reveal of the brand behind Kirkland Signature's pre-cooked frozen shrimp: Kader Exports. Treetopgrowthstrategy

🚗 Kirkland Signature Motor Oil — Warren Distribution

As Costco's motor oil packaging reads: "Manufactured by Warren Distribution" — and that's always a good thing. Warren Distribution is a highly regarded lubricants manufacturer serving both retail and commercial markets. Apexstrata

The Viral Rumors That Are NOT Confirmed

There's a lot of Costco folklore out there. Half of it is TikTok silliness with zero evidence. This list sticks to the products where there's an actual source, label, FAQ, or reporting to back it up. User Intuition

The Grey Goose vodka claim — UNCONFIRMED

The most viral Kirkland claim on the entire internet is that Kirkland Signature vodka is secretly Grey Goose. The evidence: both are made in France from French wheat. The problem: France makes a lot of vodka from French wheat, and Grey Goose has never confirmed any production relationship with Costco. Rumors have long persisted about Costco's vodka being produced by Grey Goose, though this has never been verified. Protisglobal

Grey Goose's parent company — Bacardi — has not confirmed the relationship. The vodka industry is full of brands using similar ingredient profiles that produce similar flavor profiles without sharing production facilities. The Grey Goose rumor is probably the single most persistent piece of Costco folklore that remains genuinely unconfirmed — and buying Kirkland vodka hoping for Grey Goose is buying based on an enjoyable story rather than documented fact.

The Huggies diaper claim — UNCONFIRMED

The claim that Kirkland Signature diapers are made by Huggies (Kimberly-Clark) has circulated for years without reliable sourcing. Some diaper enthusiasts have noted similarities in diaper construction between Kirkland and Huggies diapers, and some early Kirkland diaper production was connected to Kimberly-Clark. But as of 2026, no confirmed current manufacturing relationship exists in the public record.

The Prego pasta sauce claim — UNCONFIRMED

Claims that Kirkland Signature marinara sauce is made by Prego circulate regularly and have no confirmed sourcing behind them.

The Strategy Behind the Kirkland Manufacturing Model

Understanding why famous brands agree to manufacture Kirkland Signature products explains the entire model's commercial logic.

There are generally two scenarios. Co-Branding: In some cases, the relationship is public — like the Kirkland Signature coffee roasted by Starbucks, where the bag proudly displays both logos. This is a partnership where both brands benefit from the association. Private Label Manufacturing: This is the more common and secretive scenario. A major brand agrees to produce a product to Costco's exact specifications. User Intuition

For the manufacturers, the Kirkland partnership provides factory utilization — keeping production lines running at full capacity during periods that would otherwise represent idle manufacturing time — at the cost of allowing Costco to sell the output at a lower price than their branded product. The manufacturer earns production margin without cannibalizing their branded business, because the Costco member who buys Kirkland coffee is largely a different purchase than the Starbucks customer who buys Starbucks at a grocery store.

Costco is always looking for the best quality and value, so they might switch suppliers to improve a product or secure a better deal for their members. This flexibility is a core part of the Kirkland Signature strategy, ensuring the brand never becomes complacent. User Intuition

This supplier flexibility — the ability to change manufacturing partners if quality or economics shift — is what gives Costco the institutional leverage to maintain Kirkland's quality standards across the entire product lineup without becoming permanently dependent on any single manufacturer relationship.

The result of this model, executed consistently for three decades, is a private label brand that has achieved what no other store brand in American retail history has managed: $90 billion in annual sales, genuine consumer enthusiasm, and a quality reputation that rivals the national brands it sits beside rather than simply undercutting them on price.

At MOJO Sales & Branding, we understand the full Costco ecosystem — from the institutional mechanics of the Kirkland Signature strategy to the roadshow programs that give emerging brands the chance to join the warehouse's most selective assortment. Contact us at 732.433.7873 or Susan@MOJOSalesandBranding.com.

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