What are the best labels for food and beverage packaging?
Labels do more than just tell consumers what a product contains. Done right, they boost shelf appeal, build recognition and help customers tell your product apart from imitations. Labels should also be durable, easy to print and convert and versatile in terms of design.
With that in mind, what kinds of labels are best for food and beverage packaging? Let’s take a look:
Cut and stack (general) labels
Cut and stack labels are widely used, and for good reason. They’re often found on canned foods, glass sauce jars and condiments. General labels are usually printed onto large rolls or sheets and then cut down to size, making them cost-effective and energy-efficient to produce.
The right facestock can be printed and coated to create appealing, eye-catching looks: an important factor when you take into account that packaging design enables canned food producers to keep sales high.
Pressure-sensitive labels
Pressure-sensitive labels, or PSLs, are self-adhesive and can be easily applied to and removed from glass, plastic and metal containers. They’re conceived to withstand the sometimes punishing environments your products will be exposed to, such as fridges and freezers, heat, and outdoor settings. Like all labels, they’re also subjected to challenging transport and delivery conditions, which means using high-quality, durable facestock is an imperative.
Wet strength labels
Can your labels stand up to the ice bucket test? Wet-strength labels are most often used for beverages, such as beer bottles and cold drinks. Over the past few years, the beer market has become more and more focused on offering a premium experience - craft beers, for example, often come with intricate label designs that reflect the care that’s gone into developing their contents. As a result, labels have to not only look good, but also resist tearing, damage and wrinkling when wet. What’s more, they should facilitate the recycling process by coming off in one piece rather than disintegrating when submerged in a caustic bath.
AR Metallizing is a leading producer of metallized paper for general, pressure-sensitive and wet strength labels that are ideally suited to food and beverage products. Our labels are high quality, durable and easy to print and convert for eye-catching good looks and shelf appeal. What’s more, they are based on 100% recyclable facestock. Find out more about what we have to offer here.