The Link Between Food Labels And Marketing

_{Ian Renton  | 20/02/2020 | Food Labels}

The link between food labels and marketing is that the message must be consistent and brief.

What makes your food product special? Is it healthy? If so, how?

Does it have less sugar or fat, made from local Australian ingredients or something else?

The headline on your website, your printed literature and other advertising media should be almost identical to the label on your food product. The only difference is that your website or other media will go into more details and often outline a background story. Unless you are major grower or importer or food manufacturer, it is unlikely that your major benefit is price. In fact, having the lowest price could even be a disadvantage because when it comes to food, we really want something that is tasty, healthy or at the very least will do us no harm.

It is not easy to come up with a unique selling proposition for your food product but it is important. Of course, you must be aware of the laws governing your food labels. That is something your competitors will also be doing. If you are not selling on price and I don't recommend that you do, then most likely you will be sprouting the health benefits on your food labels. It is then vital that these health benefits are also front and centre on your website and other marketing material. Consistency of your marketing message will bring in good sales for your food products proving that message and offering is compelling enough.

Examples Of Strong Messages On Food Labels

If you are food manufacturer or supplier, then it is worth searching for examples of strong messages on food labels. To research this article, I simply went to my refrigerator to see what I could find. I have not included the brand names. Some are well known while others are not.

The four products I found are eggs, garlic dip, jam and cheese. Here are the marketing messages on these labels.

Eggs: Naturally Grown. Perfect Balance. Genuine Quality. 700g.

X-Large Cheese: 30 Pack. Country Light Tasty. 50% Less Fat. Natural Cheese Slices.

Jam: For a superb taste, mix fruit on top down into jar. France. Rhapsodie de Fruits. All Natural Ingredients. Wild Blueberry. Low G.I. 100% Spreadable Fruit. An old French recipe of delicious wild blueberries sweetened only with fruit juice concentrate. Net wt 284g.

Garlic Dip: The authentic flavour. Garlic Dip. 100% Australian Owned. 250g Net.

Rather than give a critique of all of the text of the labels, it is worth noting that some labels had a lot of information whilst other labels had very little information. All of the labels were large enough to include more information if required. As a side note, the egg label is quite large and a custom shape. There are two cheese labels and two jam labels. The garlic dip actually has three labels. The egg labels and the garlic dip labels have less text but very compelling images which highlight the benefits.

The phrase, 50% less fat is very appealing on the cheese label. The jam label had the most compelling label with man benefits on it but that will not guarantee a sale but it is quite an achievement for a French jam company to get its jam into an Australian supermarket.

Two questions for you to consider for your food labels are these: What benefit and marketing message will you convey to your potential buyers and customers? Secondly, what photo or images will you provide that will highlight your written message?