Nutritional labels are an integral part of food packaging. Besides being a regulatory requirement for food and beverage products sold in the market, they also provide significant information for buyers. As a food business owner, having appropriate nutritional labels for your products always ensures transparency, and instills customer trust on what they buy and consume, ultimately helping them make informed choices. In this blog, let’s dive deep into what nutritional labels are, why nutritional labels are important, and how to get a nutritional label for your product.
What Information does a Nutritional Label Carry?
Here’s a breakdown of what a food nutritional label majorly contains the percentage of:
| Serving size |
| Calories per serving |
| Fat content (Saturated and Trans fats) |
| Added sugars / Natural sugar |
| Sodium, Potassium & Total Carbs |
| Dietary Fiber & Micronutrients |
| Ingredients |
| Allergens |
However, based on the food labeling printed by each manufacturer, there is other nutrient information, the mention of preservatives, regulated certifications, or even health warnings present on a nutritional label.
Why is Nutritional Labeling Crucial?
Consumers are often at crossroads when it comes to grocery shopping. There is a new product coming up every single day. Food brands are springing like never before, and a nutritional label is something that can make you distinct from the rest.
Having an accurate nutritional label also heightens consumer trust, assuring accuracy of the product. Since these labels contain important information and are transparent about what goes into a particular food product, it helps consumers track their calorie intake, avoid certain allergens, or even choose based on taste preferences.
Hence, printing nutritional labels is highly integral when it comes to product packaging not only to boost brand value and trust but also enable consumers to make buying decisions that ensure healthy living.
Steps to Print a Nutritional Label for Your Food Product
Compliance is highly integral when it comes to creating a nutritional fact label. It is commonly printed based on applicable regulations of the country you manufacture and sell your product in. However, there are certain crucial factors that you need to keep in mind before you go ahead and package your brand’s consumables.
Step 1: Get the Nutritional Facts Right
Before designing a nutritional label, it is first essential to analyze the contents of the food product and understand what it contains. Lab testing is one of the most popular ways nutritional facts can be determined. These labs use the latest in food science to offer the list of ingredients and their respective percentage content in one serving of any food. While lab testing is highly accurate, as a food brand, you can also look up nutritional databases, or do a basic nutrient analysis based on your recipe. Now, that the ingredient list is ready based on the serving size, make a draft of your nutritional label ready for approval.
Step 2: Approval from FDA or other Regulatory Body
An approval from a regulatory body like FDA in the United States, or similar regulatory institutions in other countries is a mandate. Without appropriate approval and compliance based on the food safety regulations from these reputed institutions, a nutritional label cannot be considered legit. Hence, once nutritional contents are determined, and the fact label draft is ready, the next immediate step is to get it approved from a regulatory body where the product is going to be sold. Each regulatory institution has a defined set of rules, food safety instructions, nutrients, and more which the product should be in line with.
Step 3: Format the Label
Formatting a nutritional label is the first step you have to make sure before heading to printing. Legible fonts, appropriate spacing, texts, and symbols should be used wherever necessary in accordance with the relevant regulatory body’s rules and compliance. Readability of the contents and its respective quantity/percentage should be ensured in a well organized manner. Furthermore, space out the ingredients properly so that consumers can quickly scan the label and make buying decisions.
Step 4: Design & Print the Nutritional Label
Now comes the most deciding factor of a nutritional label for your product-designing and printing. Once you’re done with finalizing the contents of the label with regulated approvals, it’s time to create a nutritional label with a reputed label provider for food packaging. Here are the steps you as a food brand need to follow.
- Lay out the nutritional label requirements
Ensure all the required information, nutrient breakdown, certification, health claims, and allergens are listed. Branding elements like logo, color palette, and fonts should be incorporated. Make a complete checklist before looking out for a good label printing company.
- Choose a trusted label provider
Partner with a reputed nutritional label provider with a wide range of customization options who will print your labels to accuracy, on high-grade printing stock, and in great quality. Discuss your requirements, and regulatory compliance with your label manufacturer for the best output.
- Mention the placement & design a label draft
The key purpose of a nutritional label should be fulfilled, and the placement of the label should be in such a way that it is easily visible and accessible to consumers. Finalize the design draft to get the best draft that aligns with your brand’s identity, aim, and reputation.
- Determine the order quantity
Gauge your product production in advance and estimate the required units of nutritional labels to be printed. Production needs differ by season, and hence, it is best advised to stock up additional quantities for future needs.
- Get the nutritional labels printed
Print your nutritional labels with great precision using the most appropriate printing technology. Your label provider like Sai Impression will majorly apply flexographic printing for large label quantities, and digital printing techniques for shorter, minimal quantities. Also, based on the product packaging and base material being bottles, jars, boxes, etc, different nutritional label styles like self-adhesive labels, shrink sleeve labels, pressure-sensitive labels, or in-mold labels are printed.
How to Find the Perfect Nutritional Label Provider for Your Products?
The most crucial step in getting the right nutritional label for your product is to find the best label provider in the industry. Look for a label supplier who houses a wide range of unique customization options, abides by regulatory standards, uses high-quality stock and new-age label printing techniques. This will make your label manufacturing and product packaging a breeze.
Keep in mind if the label manufacturer
- Has solid understanding of food labeling laws
- Focuses on durability
- Adopts industry-reliant printing practices
- Offers cost-effective labeling solutions
- Ensures a faster turnaround time
Wrapping Up,
Food products are plentiful in the market. While the quality and taste you provide decides the product’s success, consumer attention first starts with great packaging. And, no food labeling is complete without a legit nutritional label. Buyers are highly conscious about what goes into their body, and a nutritional fact label easily conveys the product’s composition, including serving sizes, calorie counts, allergens, and other crucial information. Hence, a legit, well-printed nutritional label is more than a necessity; it is a vitality for customer trust, and product credibility. Get your brand’s nutritional label from a reputed labeling supplier which serves both as a regulatory requirement, and a marketing tool that promotes your brand and enhances product success in the market.
