Private Label Swimwear: What Boutique Brands Need to Know
Private label swimwear lets a boutique retailer sell swim styles under its own brand name instead of a manufacturer's label. Be Wicked Inc. has produced private label swimwear, lingerie, shapewear, and bodystocking lines since 2010, working directly through its own factories rather than a middleman. Be Wicked works with retailers of all sizes, from independent boutiques and specialty stores to established brands, major retailers, and large chain stores, bringing the same factory access and production support to every private label swim partner.
This guide covers what makes swimwear different from other private label categories, current minimum order quantities, and how the program compares to standard wholesale and dropshipping. For full pricing, sizing, and current styles on the standard catalog, see the wholesale swimwear program page. If you already know you want to build your own swim line, register for a wholesale account and reach out to Be Wicked's team directly.
What Is Private Label Swimwear?
Private label swimwear is swim apparel manufactured by one company and sold under a different company's brand name. Be Wicked Inc. designs, cuts, and produces the garment, while the retailer applies its own hang tags, packaging, and brand identity before selling it to its own customers.
This differs from white label swimwear, which ships as a ready made, unbranded style that any retailer can label without changes to the fabric, cut, or construction. Private label gives a boutique more say over styles, prints, and finishing details, since the retailer chooses which of Be Wicked's factory produced swim lines will carry its brand.
Private label also differs from a standard wholesale order. A wholesale buyer purchases Be Wicked's existing catalog from the Swimwear collection under the Be Wicked name and resells it as is. A private label buyer instead builds its own branded swim line using Be Wicked's manufacturing capacity, at the minimum order quantities listed below.
What Makes Swimwear Different From Other Private Label Categories?
Swimwear carries manufacturing considerations that lingerie, sleepwear, and shapewear do not share to the same degree. Fabric has to hold its color, shape, and stretch after repeated exposure to chlorine, saltwater, sunscreen, and direct sun, so the fiber blend a factory chooses matters more for swim than it does for most other private label categories.
Fiber manufacturers report that chlorine and UV resistant stretch fibers can last up to ten times longer than unprotected spandex in swimwear, according to LYCRA's swimwear fiber technology page. A private label partner that asks about fiber composition up front avoids a swim line that fades, sags, or loses recovery after a single season of pool and sun exposure.
Fit consistency across a size run also carries more weight in swim, since a suit that fits inconsistently from a small through an extra large shows up immediately in a fitting room, more visibly than a loosely fitted robe would. Branding on a private label swim line usually lives on components unique to the category, including the interior lining, the hardware on a bikini top, and the drawstring closures, rather than only on an exterior woven label.
What Should Boutiques Look for in a Private Label Swimwear Manufacturer?
Boutiques should look for a swimwear manufacturer with chlorine and UV resistant fabric options, consistent sizing across a full size run, and the ability to brand swim specific components like linings and hardware. A factory that also handles the retailer's other private label categories, such as lingerie or shapewear, in one relationship simplifies production and communication.
What Is the Minimum Order for Private Label Swimwear?
Be Wicked sets its private label minimums per style and color, not per total order, so a retailer's first swim order size depends on how many styles it wants to launch with. Current minimums are:
- Swimwear: 1,200 pieces for each style and color
- Lingerie: 1,200 pieces for each style and color
- Bodystocking: 1,200 pieces for each style and color, across a minimum of 4 styles
- Shapewear: 1,200 pieces for each style and color
- Denim: 1,000 pieces for each style and color
A retailer launching a single one piece style in one print meets the minimum at 1,200 units. A retailer wanting a small bikini and cover up capsule collection can mix styles within the swim category, as long as each style and color combination reaches the 1,200 piece minimum. For the general mechanics of how Be Wicked's private label program works across every category, see the Private Label Lingerie Guide.
How Does Private Label Swimwear Manufacturing Work at Be Wicked?
Getting a private label swim line into production starts with a direct conversation, not an online order form. A boutique retailer emails Be Wicked's team at orders@bewickedusa.com to describe the swim styles, prints, and quantities it wants to produce under its own brand.
From there, Be Wicked's team walks the retailer through style selection from its existing swim catalog of one piece suits, bikini sets, and cover ups, or discusses custom development for a fully original swim line. Once styles, prints, and minimum quantities are confirmed, Be Wicked produces the order through its own factories and ships the finished, retailer branded swimwear.
Because Be Wicked owns its manufacturing relationships rather than brokering through a third party, a retailer working directly with Be Wicked's team can ask questions about fabric composition, lining construction, and turnaround at any point in the process.
Private Label Swimwear vs Wholesale vs Dropshipping: What Is the Difference?
Wholesale swimwear means a boutique retailer buys Be Wicked's existing catalog under the Be Wicked name and resells it in its own store, with no minimum style development or rebranding involved. Dropshipping goes a step further for swim specifically, since it lets a seller list swim styles year round without holding seasonal inventory, an advantage that matters more for swim than for categories that do not swing with the seasons.
Private label sits apart from both. It requires the highest commitment, since a retailer is investing in its own branded swim line at the 1,200 piece per style and color minimums above, but it is also the only one of the three that results in a swim line the retailer fully owns and controls. A retailer that has outgrown generic wholesale reselling, or wants a swim collection customers cannot find under any other name, is the retailer private label is built for.
Who Should Choose Private Label Swimwear?
Private label swimwear fits a retailer that already has a customer base and wants a branded swim collection to sell to it, rather than a retailer just starting to test the swim category for the first season.
Retailers building a direct to consumer brand, a resort gift shop, or a multi location boutique chain are common private label swim customers, and the 1,200 piece minimums also fit established brands and chain stores that need factory direct swim production at scale. Private label has grown into a meaningful share of retail overall, with store brand sales reaching 271 billion dollars in 2024, a trend that gives boutique swim retailers confidence customers already trust private label goods. A retailer still unsure whether swimwear is the right category should start with standard wholesale or dropship instead, and consider private label once it has sales data on which cuts and prints its customers want.
How Do You Start a Private Label Swimwear Line With Be Wicked?
Starting a private label swim line with Be Wicked begins with registering for a wholesale account, then contacting Be Wicked's team directly to scope styles and minimums.
Register for a wholesale account to get the process started, or email orders@bewickedusa.com directly with the swim styles, prints, and estimated quantities you have in mind. Be Wicked's team, based at its Commerce, California facility, will confirm minimums for your specific style mix and walk you through the production timeline before you commit to an order.
Register For A Wholesale Account
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum order quantity for private label swimwear?
Be Wicked requires 1,200 pieces per style and color for private label swimwear, matching its lingerie and shapewear minimums, with bodystocking requiring a minimum of 4 styles and denim set at 1,000 pieces per style and color.
How is private label swimwear different from private label lingerie?
The program mechanics are the same, but swimwear factories choose chlorine and UV resistant fiber blends, hold tighter fit consistency across a size run, and place branding on swim specific components like linings and hardware instead of only on a woven label.
Can I dropship a swim line while I develop my private label collection?
Yes. Be Wicked's dropship program lets a retailer list swim styles without holding inventory while a private label swim line is in development, so a boutique does not have to choose one path before the other.
What fabric should I request for a durable private label swim line?
Boutiques building a private label swim line should ask about chlorine and UV resistant stretch fibers, which fiber manufacturers report can last up to ten times longer in swimwear than unprotected spandex, so the finished garment holds its color and shape through a full swim season.
Start Your Own Swim Line With Be Wicked
Private label swimwear gives a retailer of any size a branded swim collection it fully owns, built through Be Wicked Inc.'s own factories rather than a broker or a generic dropship catalog. The minimums above set the entry point for each category, and Be Wicked's team can confirm exact quantities and timeline once you know which styles and prints you want to launch with.