Labeling Innovations from Weber

The Nutrition Facts Label proposal has finally been announced! As we mentioned before, this will be the first major change in decades for these iconic labels.

The FDA hopes these changes will address public health issues like obesity, heart disease and diabetes by providing more realistic information. Using new technology and a better understanding of health issues, the FDA believes these labels will help consumers make better decisions and understand more about what they eat.

 

Here are the major changes proposed:

Bigger and Bolder Calorie Count

The FDA proposes that the calorie count be one of the boldest and most prominent lines on the label by using larger text.

Food manufacturers will no longer be required to list calories from fat since nutritionists say that information isn't as important.

 

Added Sugar Line

As we predicted in our last post, the FDA would like to add an additional line under sugars for "Added Sugars." These reflect the amount of sugar added in addition to the natural sugars in the product.

 

Vitamin D and Potassium Listed

The proposed label will require food manufacturers to list the amount of Vitamin D and potassium.

 

Serving Size

And finally, the biggest change to the Nutrition Facts food label is serving size. As we mentioned before, the serving size information was determined in 1990. The FDA proposes that the serving sizes be based on what is typically eaten by consumers today. This means food like ice cream could jump from half a cup to a full cup.

Also, some foods may require two labels. One that lists the Nutrition Facts per serving size and one that lists the facts of the entire container. This will make calorie counting simpler.
 

The FDA believes that the less math the consumer has to do the more time they have to understand the label and hopefully make healthier choices. There are several studies that show that people who regularly read Nutrition Facts labels are healthier. The purpose of this label is to inform the customer.

 

How Long Will It Take to Change

There will be a 90-day comment period for experts and members of the public to give their input. The FDA will then issue a final rule after the 90-day period. At that point, manufacturers will have two years to implement the changes.

 If you have any questions about nutrition labels or any other food labeling, talk to one of our Label Experts.

 

This Thursday the White House will announce the first major changes to mandated food nutrition labels since 1990. Recently the FDA announced that they sent the White House new guidelines for the food labels based on new health information and American eating habits.

 

Why are they changing?

A lot has changed in America's eating habits since the nutrition label requirement was put in place. As more Americans become aware of dietary issues or want to eat healthier, there is more demand for clear nutrition labeling.

In fact, a USDA study found the number of working adults who frequently read Nutrition Facts labels rose from 34 percent in 2008 to 42 percent in 2010.

 

Predictions on Food Labeling Changes

1. Calories Section

The most common suggestion for labeling changes is to make the calorie count on labels more prominent. Nutritionists today make many dietary suggestions based on calories. Some also recommend removing the "Calories from Fat" information in order to focus on the overall calorie count.

 

2. New Line for Added Sugar

Today food manufacturers are not required to separate natural sugars from added sugars. Nutritionists believe it's important to add a line for added sugars.

However, of all the proposed changes, this one is sure to have the most push back from the food industry since it claims it isn't possible for it to distinguish the two in it's labs.

 

3. Whole Wheat Information

Food manufacturers can say that a food product is "whole wheat" even if the food only contains a small amount. Nutrition advocates are pushing for a listed percentage of whole wheat.

 

4. Clear Unit of Measure

Because America does not use the metric system as its primary measurement system, it can be confusing for the average consumer to understand how much sugar they're actually eating. Nutritionists suggest a familiar unit like teaspoons rather than grams.

 

5. Updated Serving Size

Have you ever eaten a snack that you assumed was a single serving only to find out it was one and a half? The serving size information was created based on the eating habits of American's in 1990 and earlier. As our diets have changed and we've increased "on-the-go" eating, there is a need to adjust this part of the food label.

When I think about February, I always think of chocolate. It's a month full of Valentine's Day sweets! To celebrate we're highlighting our friends at GrownUp KidStuff. They produce delicious gourmet chocolate sauces and use visually-striking labels.

 

A Gourmet Artisan Brand

GrownUp KidStuff is a family-owned business out of Evanston, IL that specializes in artisan sauces. They make 4 chocolate sauces, a butterscotch and a caramel each packed in 11 ounce jars.

Like many other small businesses, GrownUp KidStuff must compete for shelf space and sales with long-established, national brands.

As a result, the job of standing apart from these mega-brands often relies on attractive labeling.

The label, designed by Don Strandell, underscores the playfulness of the company name while incorporating important product, nutritional and warming information. Unfortunately, they were having some challenges with their labels color consistency when we met them.

 

The HP Indigo Solution

We invited GrownUp KidStuff co-owners Don Strandell and Connie Wastcoat to our plant for a tour and to discuss their current label challenges.

After a discussion on color consistency and quantity we determined the best solution for their labels is to print them on the HP Indigo WS6000 digital label press.

Brands like GrownUp KidStuff do not have the space to hold an inventory of labels and often make changes to their products based on the demands of their customers. Running these on the digital press keeps their order minimums low and allows for even smaller minimums on one label and higher quantities for their most popular flavors.

Our Graphics team worked with the label designer, Strandell, to select the specific browns they wanted to be a part of every label.  We also made sure the label material could withstand the storage environment.  Chocolate sauce jars are stored on store shelves, refrigerators and heated in a microwave. Not only does our Semigloss material hold up to those changes but with the added laminate any sauce that touches the label will not ruin the design or wipe out important health information.

We understand that the package needs to represent the hard work Strandell and Wastcoat put into their work. A high-quality product shouldn't be packaged with a poor quality label.

 

 

We understand how important your packaging design is for your brand. To make sure we're producing exactly the label you designed, we have the artwork reviewed by our team of graphic specialists.

I recently had a chance to learn more about the Graphics Department when I interviewed our new Graphics manager, Joe Lozano.

 

What does the Weber Graphics Department do?

The team is made up of six graphic design and pre-press specialists with collectively over 40 years of experience.

This group handles label design, art file preparation, proofing, color correction, and plate-making for flexographic print jobs. Every new label, including artwork, goes through this department. They also handle some re-orders and label artwork updates.

 

Back in 2005, when the Julian Pie Company was experiencing phenomenal growth, the company realized that it needed to add automation to an awkward, labor-intensive operation of labeling and sealing its boxes of freshly-baked fruit pies.

Now, after over eight years on the production line, the company knows it made the right decision when it chose labels and a custom system from Weber Packaging Solutions to solve its dilemma.

Recently, while exhibiting at a trade show in the area, a few members of our Marketing team decided to swing by Julian Pie Company's bakery to see how things are going now that they've automated their labeling process.

 

One of the hot trends we discovered at the Dairy Deli Bake trade show was many brands are offering multiple flavors for their products. This included:

• Limited Edition Flavors
• Seasonal Flavors
• Experimental Flavors

Let's say you have a business that specializes in jams and sauces. You might want a special holiday jam or to test a new flavor combination for your hot sauce line.

The more flavors you can offer, the bigger your potential customer base. But this can also lead to some packaging challenges.

If you want to use the same label size and label art for every flavor, you can simply have labels preprinted and then later imprint the variable information, such as ingredients or nutrition fact, on-site using a Zebra or Datamax thermal-transfer label printer.