Jenkins Freshpac Systems have around 400 active labels on the go at any point in time and on average generally modify over 70 labels and introduce another 40 odd new labels each year. This is a great time of year to check the label needs of your customers well before heading into the 2018 season to provide plenty of breathing room for changes and improvements.
Many retailers are looking seriously at moving towards the Databar label format with the ‘big two’ Australian retailers talking to their produce suppliers now and we have some New Zealand avocado and kiwifruit exporters changing their label designs over to this stacked barcode format called databar.
Eighty percent of labels in the US are supplied with Databar and so we are seeing this trend follow closer to home in Australia and New Zealand.
What makes a great label design?
Ask five people and you’ll get five different responses. One thing for sure though, the label real-estate space is small at around 20 mm so it is critical not to overcrowd your label. The best place to start for label design is to confirm your mandatories – what must be on your label? Things such as country of origin, PLU, variety and brand. Once these are agreed then they need to be prioritised. This simple process will make it crystal clear how your label should look. You can still be creative and have fun with labels, with sharp branding, messaging, different shapes and even multiple images or repeatable variable designs on the same reel. Check out the Southern Produce labels below where the Southern Green and Love Kiwi images are repeated on the same reel.
Fruit labels are an easy target for the uneducated, often referred to as ‘pesky’ or ‘damn annoying’ however when you sit back and think about it, that little sticker punches well above its weight. Consumers really do want to know where their produce is coming from and they want to know how to find it again as they chase that quality brand. The label is an important piece of your marketing puzzle and it’s the only piece of branding that ends up in the consumers home.
Please contact either Kevin Jamieson ([email protected] ) or Chrissy Mumford ([email protected]) regarding your fruit labelling needs.