Why Costco Chose The Name 'Kirkland' And What It Really Means

We collect Costco trivia like baseball cards 'round these parts, gleefully scooping up food court hacks (like how to upgrade the delicious pizza with a free topping) and intel on the surprising brand behind the retailer's coffee. It surprised us deeply, however, when we realized that we'd never really paid much mind to the name of Costco's Kirkland Signature house brand. Oh, sure, we absolutely adore the quality we've come to expect from the label — its aged balsamic vinegar sourced from Italy is a must-buy, for instance — but how did Costco's private distribution arm come to be named "Kirkland?"

Apparently, the Kirkland name is a newer development in the annals of Costco lore. Before the 1990s, Costco used to give different calling cards to all its private-label products. In 1995, however, Jim Sinegal, co-founder (and also CEO at the time) was inspired by a "Forbes" magazine article to develop a name that spoke to Costco's identity. Kirkland, Washington was the initial home of Costco corporate, and that city gave the house brand its ultimate name. As a fun fact, Costco had, in '95, recently picked up and moved to Issaquah, but that moniker was dismissed as too much of a mouthful.

Sinegal admired Canadian retailers with private labels that really stood for something. These chains were perceived to put out higher-quality products and had greater respect from shoppers, which became twin goals in Sinegal's mind. Another quirky bit of history: The name "Seattle Signature" was also floated for Costco's merch, but lawyers were unable to lock it down in trademark.

As of 2025, Kirkland Signature had greater revenue as a brand than sports monolith Nike. Costco has labeled everything from toiletries to automobile tires to frozen cheesecake with its Kirkland Signature branding ... and customers count the quality of the label as one of the key reasons to justify the cost of their Costco memberships. Over the years, Costco has been careful to partner with premium manufacturers to produce Kirkland Signature products, like Ocean Spray for cranberry juice, Huggies for diapers, and Reynolds for aluminum foil. 

In many cases, Kirkland Signature offerings are identical in utility, taste, or appearance to the big names alongside them on Costco shelves, only with an attractive savings that warehouse members appreciate. On social media sites like Reddit, happy customers fawn over their finds and accompanying savings: "I converted from Sam's Club to Costco about 12 years ago, but I was today years old when I learned that the Kirkland Signature brand means the quality is top of the line."

Customers have choices when it comes to membership clubs (at least in geographic areas where proximity isn't the main deciding factor), and Costco has managed to elevate itself with its gigantic Kirkland Signature label. It's interesting to think that a city that's not even among Washington State's 10th largest by size gave its name to the untold number of Kirkland Signature products — which now rake in over $56 billion in annual revenue for the company.