Choosing Cost Effective Labeling Within The Beverage Industry

Beverage labeling is an important marketing tool that will provide a way to differentiate your product from others within the marketplace.   Technology within the labeling industry has made tremendous growth.  This is especially true when it comes to labeling beverages.  The label is no longer seen as just a display of the products name; it is now seen as part of the entire package.  The product, the package and the label all become a part of the complicated marketing mix.

Within the beverage industry there are four main types of labels to choose from: cut and stack labels, roll-fed labels, full wrap hot melt or spot glued film labels or shrink sleeves.  When you are considering the type of label you need to think about the application method, how established the brand is and the expected production volume of the product.

Take bottled water for instance; the product is produced in high volume.  You will want to select a label for the product with the lowest cost and most efficient application method.  The most cost effective method for labeling water is cut and stack labels.  They are inexpensive, easy to apply and can be produced in a high volume quickly.  Fancy labeling doesn’t make sense because bulk products, such as water aren’t purchased based on the bottles label.

Consider labeling beer, wine or liquor on the other hand.  They are produced in large quantities but are not often sold in bulk like water.  This makes the label a necessary entity within the marketing mix.  The extra cost to design, produce and apply the label can be hidden in the costs of the product.  The additional costs accrued with the label will easily be generated with new sales.

A popular look with beverage labels is the clear, no color look.  This look can be achieved using the same application process with traditional labeling equipment using pressure sensitive, roll fed and full cut wrap cut and stack labels.  Clear full wrap cut and stack labels are popular because they produce the clear, no color look using traditional labeling equipment that is already owned.

The category that the beverage falls under will depend a lot on what type of label is used in the process.  Another factor is the brand influence the product has.  Consider sports drinks.  The clear bottle and colored product is what draws people in to make a purchase.  They recognize the brand of their favorite product and buy based on that.  The label doesn’t play as much of a role once a product is established. Introducing a new line of drinks from a popular brand doesn’t require a new label design.  Whereas introducing a new product with a brand not yet established will need a label that speaks volumes over established brands in the same category.

At Anchor Printing, we take pride in offering our clients cut & stack labeling, pressure sensitive labels, roll-fed labeling, shrink sleeves as well as flexible packaging options. Contact us today at http://anchorprinting.com for all of your label design, printing and packaging needs.