Amazon has another program called Amazon Accelerator that, at first glance, looks a lot like Launchpad. The two programs are actually quite similar in terms of promotion and marketing support. However, with Launchpad, sellers keep control of their supply chain and their brand, and receive specialized placement for their products. With Accelerator, brands become suppliers to Amazon which then sells their products as its own, on the main marketplace.
Accelerator is a good program for sellers who have created a brand, and grown it on Amazon, but now want to “sell” it to Amazon and watch it get taken to the next level. With Accelerator, Amazon takes control of the brand, and the products become private labels sold as Amazon’s own products. There is shared ownership between Amazon and the manufacturer for products that are enrolled in this program.
We see that most private label and brand owners, who understand selling on Amazon and want to have control over their business, opt for Launchpad. While manufacturers (mostly from China) choose Accelerator. It provides these manufacturers with a great option to enter the marketplace at scale, while focusing on what they do best – production.
If you are interested in Accelerator, make sure you don’t mind handing control over branding and supply chain to a bigger, much more powerful partner.