Same same but different

Most brands of smoke alarms are in fact the same brand!

Think your buying a quality smoke alarm from a well known brand? It may not be what you think. Whilst different brands of smoke alarms may look different on the outside, open them up and it's highly likely they will have the same printed circuit board (PCB) from the same manufacture in China. How does this happen?

This is known as "white labelling" and it's nothing new. Instead of researching, developing and manufacturing their own designs, a smoke alarm brand may source a PCB and in some instances the whole smoke alarm from a manufacturer (usually in China). The manufacturer doesn't put their company sticker on the alarm instead, the purchaser (the smoke alarm brand we know) will place their own sticker on the back of the alarm and sell it as a "high quality" smoke alarm at their own price. This saves the smoke alarm brand time, effort and above all, money which would otherwise go into developing their own smoke alarm.

Whilst white labelling is 100% legal, consumers may be mislead into thinking they are purchasing a unique product when on the inside it's the exact same thing as the next brand.