What is the purpose of a label?

Is it just a sticker on a pack in your supermarket? Or is it an essential part of pack design?

The humble label has many uses, amongst which is to communicate essential information such as:

• Contents of the pack
• Use by date
• Product weight
• Price
• Recycling information on the packaging
• Cooking instruction
• EC code, providing traceability about the manufacturer
  
  

Did you know that consumers on average dedicate about 4 seconds to scan any product before deciding whether or not to purchase? How important is that first impression now?

To retailers, all of the above functions are important, but what puts cash in the till and generates profit? It is shelf appeal; the product’s ability to stand out on the shelf and attract new, regular or impulse purchases. So how does a product move from shelf to shopping basket?

Shelf appeal is delivered by the design synergy between the pack, product and label. A shaped, brand-supporting label with a considered, emotive design can transform a product from an also-ran into a front-runner, delivering the results every retail category manager dreams of. It can take a plain, simple low-end product and turn it into a desirable, wholesome healthy-eating lifestyle statement. It can portray a natural, ethically sourced and produced retail champion, purely by the clever use of colours, surface textures and artwork. It can help to sell a choice, as witnessed by current trends, into which the consumer buys reduced regard for cost. It can make the purchaser feel better about themselves, their choices and even their eating habits, by simplifying their purchasing experience and rewarding their 4 seconds deliberation time by invoking a positive emotional response.

So what are the options for eye-catching, shaped labels to boost the sales of your product?

Self-adhesive Labels

This system is proven, tried and tested and is very easy to run and maintain. Self-adhesive labels are carried on a glassine backing liner, which is now readily recycled. This ability to recycle the backing, along with an infinite variety of shapes and textures, has triggered a resurgence in their use. The choices available to designers and marketing departments, enabled by self-adhesive labels, such as shape, design and type of paper, board or other materials, opens up a whole vista of opportunities. 

Shaped logos, critical in brand identification, can be represented physically, and not just printed in ink. Self-adhesive labels can also be used to replace card sleeves on many products, especially shaped pots, saving both packaging weight and cost, essential requirements to retailers, producers and consumers alike. An additional benefit is the lack of silicon coated areas on the label front, which adversely affects presentation, associated with other labelling types.

Suppliers of Choice

There are also a huge number of self-adhesive label suppliers which gives the food manufacturer a greater choice when it comes to sourcing labels. Competitive labelling solutions often only have one or two available suppliers, creating a less competitive environment.

Labels on a Reel

There has been a common misconception that a reel of self-adhesive labels contains fewer labels than competitive labelling types, leading to shorter running times before new reels are required, therefore increasing downtime. This is however simply not true; leading label manufacturers have confirmed that the average reel of self-adhesive labels contain a minimum of 20% more labels than the same size reel of, for instance, linerless labels. Also, a typical 170g linerless board is more expensive than a similar self-adhesive label. When using self-adhesive labels you do not actually require the same weight of material to create the desired effect.

The MULTIVAC Full Wrap Labelling Solution

The MULTIVAC full wrap labeller runs self-adhesive labels, allowing unlimited access to a wide range of shapes, materials and design. The application is highly accurate, with best in class alignment of the label tails on the rear of the pack. The machine has a small footprint and can be supplied with all labelling variations – full wrap, zero downtime, base and promotional labels. A further advantage of this full wrap application is that rear of pack, nutritional information is always on the same physical label as front of pack branding and product information, reducing the risk of mislabelling and product recalls.