What’s your label?

11 May 2016



What’s your label?


What's your label?

Labels inform customers about a product's contents and can add value to - or detract it from - a package's end-of-life and sustainability credentials. Thomas Hagmaier, president of FINAT, explores the global trends in the label market, examining the portfolios of Coca-Cola, Anheuser Busch, Powerful Water and Cumbres de Abona winery.

Those in the labelling industry will likely tell you that their product or brand is the most dynamic and innovative available today. While high-quality label design and printing to attract consumers is, of course, essential, Thomas Hagmaier, president of FINAT and CEO of Hagmaier Etiketten, says that today, "our industry is challenged to provide so much more for the brand-owner and consumer".
"To meet a growing raft of brand-owners' demands," he says, "the label supply chain has to meet a raft of challenges posed by industry innovations, new packaging and labelling choices, online retailing, refinements in imaging technologies, sustainable solutions and international regulations."


Label the future


FINAT is a hub of knowledge for its member companies, which represent the entire label supply chain, and is well positioned to provide expert evaluation of what to expect in the label market, paying particular attention to self-adhesive labelling.
Digital and analogue print technologies for label and packaging print will continue to merge this year, FINAT reports. Enhancements such as UV and electron-beam (EB) curing will make it possible for label printers to implement short and long-print runs, and a wider portfolio of label formats - including self-adhesive, wet-glue, wraparound, in-mould, shrink and stretch-sleeve labels - and flexible packaging. Traditional roll-to-roll print technologies are also evolving to accommodate a choice of label types in addition to self-adhesive labels.


Label printers will increasingly offer brand-owners an extended label-supply service, giving brand-owners' packaging managers the opportunity to fine-tune their supplier base. Digital prepress for high-definition print and sophisticated colour-management systems that deliver image consistency across print processes are the current main points of focus for the industry.
Label printing is also evolving to reflect the important role of digital technology in everyday life. The addition of QR codes, printed electronics and personalisation as part of label printing is expected to grow even more this year.

Planet-friendly labelling


The complexity of the self-adhesive-label substrate led FINAT to establish a recycling committee and provide in-depth information on all aspects of label and label-waste recycling. Label-release liners, a valuable recyclable product, are now recycled at a number of locations, and FINAT encourages brand-owners and label printers - the two closest industry links in the supply chain - to make more meaningful use of these facilities. Suppliers of labelling film and paper will begin to contribute more in this arena, with a focus on low-calliper substrates and enhanced recyclability features.

Market demand and legislation


FINAT's research indicates that label use will increase this year, despite concerns over the effects of e-commerce on the industry. Internet sales are increasing too, but a product's primary label remains the prime medium for establishing branding and first contact with a potential customer. In a recent end-user survey, FINAT learned that over 80% of brand-owners and packaging buyers do not believe the e-commerce platform will affect label design. The label-product mix, however, will reflect a move to short-label print runs and just-in-time delivery in the international consumer market, while product packaging, which bears local-language labels, will relocate to regional centres.


International health and safety legislation will require space on labels, particularly in the food sector, and the finite space limits will challenge designers and printers. This will encourage the use of multilayer leaflet labels, linerless labels and clear-film labels on clear-container substrates, giving products the 'no-label' look and making back-printing on the label possible.

A profitable outcome


Managing director of FINAT Jules Lejeune says, "The label industry supply chain is extended, representing several different specialities in equipment and substrates. That is why FINAT's role in providing a leading knowledge base and maintaining reliable market data is so important, particularly in today's fast-changing environment.
"Our members believe 2016 will bring more profitable business to them as suppliers of label printing, print equipment and label substrates as they continue to innovate, offering more sophisticated solutions to meet the demands of brand-owners and consumers around the globe."

Ecofriendly water

Powerful Water's new bottles and sleeve labels, launched in November, are 100% recyclable, and the company says it is the first natural-energy water in the UK and Ireland.
"Reducing our impact on the environment is important to us, and we are always looking at ways to improve our product and packaging," company founder Ed Woolner says. "This was a new product for us, so the packaging was really important. We've been pleased with the overall service received from our suppliers and hope to be putting more orders their way soon. We have exciting plans, launching in Sainsbury's, Boots and Spar."


To encourage responsible disposal, the message on the side of the bottle reads, 'This bottle is 100% recyclable, make a positive difference'.


The line has three variants of the sleeve for the three different flavours - cranberry and apple, coconut and lime, and citrus and zest. Powerful Water's supplier says the move to a 100% recyclable sleeve with a stronger recycling message is a great step in a sustainable packaging strategy.

Simply recycle

The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) has recognised Coca-Cola for its innovations in plastic recycling in 2016, highlighting its partnership that incorporated SpearRC recyclable, pressure-sensitive labels into all Simply Beverages products.


"Until this partnership, Simply Beverages' pressure-sensitive labels were difficult to remove in the recycling stream. The Coca-Cola Company added new innovative label technology to its Simply brands as a part of its commitment to adopting more sustainable packaging," says Noel Stewart, innovation engineer at Coca-Cola.


SpearRC is a pressure-sensitive film label compatible with the PET recycling process, offered at an affordable cost to brand-owners. Kara Pochiro, communications director at APR, applauds the initiative, saying, "We recognise that innovation drives the growth of recycling and is essential to the success of the plastic recycling industry."


APR's technical director John Standish adds, "SpearRC label technology meets the strictest test result guidance, and we can confirm that it is fully compatible with the PET recycling process."

Limited-edition labelling

For 23 years, Goose Island has fanned the flames of desire among its customers by releasing only a limited quantity of Bourbon Country Stout, on Black Friday. While many flock to shops, beer lovers will stand outside for hours - sometimes days - to get their hands on the annual Bourbon County series.


Last year, the stout was released as a collector's bottle with Constantia's unique flag label. Instead of the typical 12 and 22oz bottles, Bourbon County Brand Stout is now packaged in 16.9oz brown bottles with embossed lettering.


Goose Island challenged its label suppliers to add a flag to the neck label, drawing consumer attention at the shelf and highlighting Goose Island's legacy as the originators of bourbon-barrel ageing. The neck label is a full wrap with a tab that pops out from the bottle. Special treatment was applied to the neck label to allow two-sided printing of the flag component and to ensure it maintained its perpendicular shape once applied. The back label was tapered to match the bottle with a custom die-cut shape.


"People stand in line all over the country for these beers, and now they have collectible bottles to commemorate this year's series," says brand ambassador Joshua Smith.

Stylish traditions

Founded in the south of Tenerife in 1986, the Cumbres de Abona is a reference point in wine production in the Canary Islands. Avanza Packaging faced a major challenge when it was asked to embody the brand's 26-year traditions while recreating an aesthetic and structural renovation of its image. Lucia is the result of the meticulously technical and creative work. The development of the Cumbres de Abona project consisted of elevating the existing identity to gain relevance while respecting the personality and recognition the brand has gained throughout its history.


Initially, the winery had a label on a green bottle, but the new design uses black glass to radiate elegance, sinuous curves, stylised shoulders and a significant mouth that only high-quality wines boast. The defining element is the engraving on the bottom half of the bottle. Its aesthetic and structure fuse years of history with a stylish design that reinforces the brand's identity and stands out for its originality.



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