diff --git a/src/api/client.js b/src/api/client.js
index 3249230..89d6a65 100644
--- a/src/api/client.js
+++ b/src/api/client.js
@@ -163,6 +163,11 @@ export const api = {
 
   getBrands: () => request('/api/brands'),
 
+  // Richer per-brand summaries for the home page card grid. `getBrands` above
+  // still returns plain names and is what the sidebar and admin pages use.
+  getBrandCards: ({ refresh = false } = {}) =>
+    request(`/api/brands/overview${qs({ refresh: refresh || undefined })}`),
+
   getBrandCategories: (brand) => request(`/api/brands/${encodeURIComponent(brand)}/categories`),
 
   getBrandProducts: (brand, { category, limit = SHOW_ALL_PRODUCTS_LIMIT, offset = 0 } = {}) =>
diff --git a/src/components/BrandCard.jsx b/src/components/BrandCard.jsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9579216
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/BrandCard.jsx
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+import { useState } from 'react';
+import { Package, Tag } from 'lucide-react';
+
+export function BrandCard({ brand, onClick }) {
+  // Hooks run before the null guard, matching ProductCard: React identifies
+  // hooks by call order, so bailing out above them would change how many run
+  // between renders if `brand` ever went from set to null.
+  const [imgError, setImgError] = useState(false);
+
+  if (!brand) return null;
+
+  const {
+    name = 'Brand',
+    product_count = 0,
+    category_count = 0,
+    categories = [],
+    image_url,
+    initials = '?',
+  } = brand;
+
+  const showImage = Boolean(image_url) && !imgError;
+
+  return (
+    <button
+      onClick={onClick}
+      title={name}
+      className="group relative flex h-full flex-col overflow-hidden rounded-xl border border-ink-900/10 bg-paper-50 text-left shadow-sm transition hover:-translate-y-0.5 hover:border-amber-500/60 hover:shadow-md cursor-pointer"
+    >
+      {/* There are no brand logo assets in this project, so the image band
+          shows a representative product photo and falls back to a monogram
+          rather than a generic stock image that would misrepresent the brand. */}
+      {showImage ? (
+        <img
+          src={image_url}
+          alt={name}
+          loading="lazy"
+          onError={() => setImgError(true)}
+          className="h-28 w-full bg-ink-50 object-contain transition duration-300 group-hover:scale-105"
+        />
+      ) : (
+        <div className="flex h-28 w-full items-center justify-center bg-ink-900">
+          <span className="font-display text-3xl font-bold tracking-wide text-amber-500">
+            {initials}
+          </span>
+        </div>
+      )}
+
+      <div className="flex flex-1 flex-col gap-1.5 p-3">
+        <p className="truncate font-display text-[15px] font-semibold text-ink-950">
+          {name}
+        </p>
+
+        <div className="flex items-center gap-2.5 text-xs text-slate-500">
+          <span className="flex items-center gap-1">
+            <Package className="h-3 w-3 shrink-0" />
+            {product_count.toLocaleString()}
+          </span>
+          <span className="flex items-center gap-1">
+            <Tag className="h-3 w-3 shrink-0" />
+            {category_count}
+          </span>
+        </div>
+
+        {Array.isArray(categories) && categories.length > 0 && (
+          <div className="mt-auto flex flex-wrap gap-1 pt-1">
+            {categories.slice(0, 3).map((c) => (
+              <span
+                key={c}
+                className="truncate rounded-full bg-ink-900/5 px-2 py-0.5 text-[10px] text-slate-600"
+              >
+                {String(c)}
+              </span>
+            ))}
+          </div>
+        )}
+      </div>
+    </button>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/src/components/BrandGrid.jsx b/src/components/BrandGrid.jsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..224e63e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/BrandGrid.jsx
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import { Boxes } from 'lucide-react';
+import { BrandCard } from './BrandCard';
+import { Spinner, EmptyState } from './Atoms';
+
+export function BrandGrid({ brands, loading, error, emptyTitle, emptySubtitle, onSelect }) {
+  if (loading) {
+    return (
+      <div className="flex h-64 items-center justify-center">
+        <Spinner label="Fetching brands…" />
+      </div>
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (error) {
+    return (
+      <EmptyState
+        icon={Boxes}
+        title="Couldn't load brands"
+        subtitle={error}
+      />
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (!brands || brands.length === 0) {
+    return (
+      <EmptyState
+        icon={Boxes}
+        title={emptyTitle || 'No brands yet'}
+        subtitle={emptySubtitle || 'Add a product from the User page, or ingest a brand from the Admin panel.'}
+      />
+    );
+  }
+
+  // Denser than the product grid - a brand tile carries far less content.
+  return (
+    <div className="grid grid-cols-2 gap-4 sm:grid-cols-3 lg:grid-cols-4 xl:grid-cols-5">
+      {brands.map((b) => (
+        <BrandCard key={b.slug || b.name} brand={b} onClick={() => onSelect?.(b)} />
+      ))}
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/src/pages/HomePage.jsx b/src/pages/HomePage.jsx
index e860cf9..391591e 100644
--- a/src/pages/HomePage.jsx
+++ b/src/pages/HomePage.jsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { useEffect, useState, useCallback, useRef } from 'react';
 import { Sidebar } from '../components/Sidebar';
 import { TopBar } from '../components/TopBar';
 import { ProductGrid } from '../components/ProductGrid';
+import { BrandGrid } from '../components/BrandGrid';
 import { ProductModal } from '../components/ProductModal';
 import { ChatPanel } from '../components/ChatPanel';
 import { api } from '../api/client';
@@ -12,6 +13,14 @@ export function HomePage() {
   const [brands, setBrands] = useState([]);
   const [brandsLoading, setBrandsLoading] = useState(true);
 
+  // `selectedBrand === null` already means "All brands - show every product",
+  // so it cannot also mean "show the brand cards". This is the explicit
+  // landing-vs-listing switch.
+  const [view, setView] = useState('brands'); // 'brands' | 'products'
+  const [brandCards, setBrandCards] = useState([]);
+  const [brandCardsLoading, setBrandCardsLoading] = useState(true);
+  const [brandCardsError, setBrandCardsError] = useState(null);
+
   const [categories, setCategories] = useState([]);
   const [categoriesLoading, setCategoriesLoading] = useState(false);
 
@@ -37,14 +46,27 @@ export function HomePage() {
       .finally(() => setBrandsLoading(false));
   }, []);
 
+  const loadBrandCards = useCallback(({ refresh = false } = {}) => {
+    setBrandCardsLoading(true);
+    setBrandCardsError(null);
+    api.getBrandCards({ refresh })
+      .then((res) => setBrandCards(res.brands || []))
+      .catch((err) => {
+        setBrandCards([]);
+        setBrandCardsError(err.message);
+      })
+      .finally(() => setBrandCardsLoading(false));
+  }, []);
+
   // Initial load: health + brands, then poll health every 30s
   useEffect(() => {
     loadBrands();
+    loadBrandCards();
     const checkHealth = () => api.getHealth().then(setHealth).catch(() => setHealth(null));
     checkHealth();
     const interval = setInterval(checkHealth, 30000);
     return () => clearInterval(interval);
-  }, [loadBrands]);
+  }, [loadBrands, loadBrandCards]);
 
   // Load categories + default browse listing whenever the brand changes
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -87,13 +109,16 @@ export function HomePage() {
       });
   }, [selectedBrand, selectedCategory]);
 
-  // Re-browse whenever brand/category changes (only relevant once a search hasn't overridden it)
+  // Re-browse whenever brand/category changes (only relevant once a search
+  // hasn't overridden it). Gating on `view` also stops the landing page firing
+  // an unbounded /api/products request before the user has asked for one.
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (mode === 'search' && !query) browse();
+    if (mode === 'search' && !query && view === 'products') browse();
     // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
-  }, [selectedBrand, selectedCategory]);
+  }, [selectedBrand, selectedCategory, view]);
 
   function runSearch() {
+    setView('products');
     if (!query.trim()) {
       browse();
       return;
@@ -129,9 +154,9 @@ export function HomePage() {
         categoriesLoading={categoriesLoading}
         selectedBrand={selectedBrand}
         selectedCategory={selectedCategory}
-        onSelectBrand={(b) => { setSelectedBrand(b); setQuery(''); }}
+        onSelectBrand={(b) => { setSelectedBrand(b); setQuery(''); setView('products'); }}
         onSelectCategory={setSelectedCategory}
-        onRefreshBrands={loadBrands}
+        onRefreshBrands={() => { loadBrands(); loadBrandCards({ refresh: true }); }}
       />
 
       <div className="flex flex-1 flex-col overflow-hidden">
@@ -147,36 +172,70 @@ export function HomePage() {
             setSelectedCategory(null);
             setQuery('');
             setMode('search');
+            setView('brands');
           }}
         />
 
         <main className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto">
           {mode === 'search' ? (
             <div className="p-6">
-              <div className="mb-4 flex items-center justify-between">
-                <p className="font-display text-sm font-semibold text-ink-900">
-                  {hasSearched
-                    ? `Results for "${query}"`
-                    : selectedBrand
-                    ? `Browsing ${selectedBrand}${selectedCategory ? ` · ${selectedCategory}` : ''}`
-                    : 'Browsing All Brands'}
-                </p>
-                {products.length > 0 && <p className="text-xs text-slate-500">{products.length} shown</p>}
-              </div>
+              {view === 'brands' ? (
+                <>
+                  <div className="mb-4 flex items-center justify-between">
+                    <p className="font-display text-sm font-semibold text-ink-900">Browse Brands</p>
+                    {brandCards.length > 0 && (
+                      <p className="text-xs text-slate-500">
+                        {brandCards.length} brands ·{' '}
+                        {brandCards.reduce((n, b) => n + (b.product_count || 0), 0).toLocaleString()} products
+                      </p>
+                    )}
+                  </div>
 
-              <ProductGrid
-                products={products}
-                loading={productsLoading}
-                error={productsError}
-                showSimilarity={hasSearched}
-                emptyTitle={brands.length === 0 ? 'No catalog data yet' : 'No products found'}
-                emptySubtitle={
-                  brands.length === 0
-                    ? "Run `python scripts/seed_sample_data.py` in the backend to load sample brands, or use the Admin panel to ingest a real one."
-                    : 'Try a different brand, category, or search term.'
-                }
-                onSelect={setSelectedProduct}
-              />
+                  <BrandGrid
+                    brands={brandCards}
+                    loading={brandCardsLoading}
+                    error={brandCardsError}
+                    emptyTitle="No catalog data yet"
+                    emptySubtitle="Run `python scripts/seed_sample_data.py` in the backend to load sample brands, or use the Admin panel to ingest a real one."
+                    onSelect={(b) => { setSelectedBrand(b.name); setQuery(''); setView('products'); }}
+                  />
+                </>
+              ) : (
+                <>
+                  <div className="mb-4 flex items-center justify-between">
+                    <div className="flex items-center gap-3">
+                      <button
+                        onClick={() => setView('brands')}
+                        className="text-xs text-slate-500 transition hover:text-amber-600"
+                      >
+                        ← All brands
+                      </button>
+                      <p className="font-display text-sm font-semibold text-ink-900">
+                        {hasSearched
+                          ? `Results for "${query}"`
+                          : selectedBrand
+                          ? `Browsing ${selectedBrand}${selectedCategory ? ` · ${selectedCategory}` : ''}`
+                          : 'Browsing All Brands'}
+                      </p>
+                    </div>
+                    {products.length > 0 && <p className="text-xs text-slate-500">{products.length} shown</p>}
+                  </div>
+
+                  <ProductGrid
+                    products={products}
+                    loading={productsLoading}
+                    error={productsError}
+                    showSimilarity={hasSearched}
+                    emptyTitle={brands.length === 0 ? 'No catalog data yet' : 'No products found'}
+                    emptySubtitle={
+                      brands.length === 0
+                        ? "Run `python scripts/seed_sample_data.py` in the backend to load sample brands, or use the Admin panel to ingest a real one."
+                        : 'Try a different brand, category, or search term.'
+                    }
+                    onSelect={setSelectedProduct}
+                  />
+                </>
+              )}
             </div>
           ) : (
             <ChatPanel brand={selectedBrand} onSelectSource={setSelectedProduct} />