Building brand loyalty with labelling
Tea and coffee brands bring transparency to packaging.
By Tom Egan
Communication is critical to any successful relationship – especially the one between a brand and consumer. Fair-trade production may have placed many tea and coffee companies ahead of the game on brand transparency long ago, but now, options are plentiful, and shoppers increasingly scrutinize brand ethics. As a result, tea and coffee companies must lean on their packaging labels to relay not only more information about ingredients, but also supply chain practices.
More than ever, consumers regard their purchases as a direct reflection of themselves and want to conduct their own research and assessments before committing to brands with a purchase. As a result, shoppers are asking questions: Where were ingredients sourced? Who made the product? Were the workers treated ethically? What will it do for me? and, finally, what’s really in it? The presence of this information on a label – or lack thereof – can make or break a sale at the point of purchase.
So, when honesty is the best policy in marketing and packaging, what is the best way for tea and coffee companies to communicate effectively without compromising package design? New labelling technologies and techniques make it possible for these brands to resonate with ethically minded and health-conscious consumers.
Highlighting Health Benefits
Due to widespread investment in personal health, interest in organic and natural ingredients is rapidly increasing and not expected to decline, according to the 2018 Beverage Trends in Packaging and Processing Operations Report by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies based in Reston, Virginia. This movement pushes tea and coffee brands to not only reveal specific product contents, but to also showcase clean labels that boast qualifiers like “non-GMO,” “all-natural” or “additive-free.” Highlighting these buzzwords helps to draw the consumer eye to the package and communicate a high-quality, nutritious product.
Still, shoppers are not satisfied unless they have a complete awareness of product contents. By utilizing extended content labels (ECLs), brands can achieve a clean, minimalistic appearance on the front of the package and create more real estate on the back of the package, where consumers can peel back a booklet-style label to reveal a full list of ingredients or nutrition facts.
Imagery also supports messaging of a healthier beverage. In both dry and ready-to-drink (RTD) tea and coffee products, labels depicting fruits or spices not only help to quickly relay flavour profiles, but also hint at more natural sources. With bottled RTD coffee, for example, labels showing images of coconuts or almonds can flag that a beverage is dairy-free and contains alternative milk options. In bottled RTD tea, imagery of a tea plant may indicate the product was brewed from whole tea leaves as opposed to concentrate.
Beyond wholesome ingredients, shoppers also examine labels for added benefits like higher energy, deeper sleep, better digestion and other wellness-driven messages. This demand for greater value contributes to the growing popularity of functional beverages in the tea and coffee markets and beyond.
To ensure imagery and messaging makes the desired impact, tea and coffee brands can utilize new advancements in printing processes that improve clarity and overall image quality. While flexographic printing is still popular for major brands, digital printing has taken beverage packaging by storm, revolutionizing label printing for specialty brands, brands in niche markets and seasonal or promotional products. The digital press, which allows for on-demand printing, is highly efficient and cost-effective for shorter runs, supporting packaging efforts for small-batch coffee and tea producers.
By transferring image design straight from the computer to the printer, digital printing offers beverage brands high-resolution labels with fine-tuned details that enable stronger communication. When the printing is crisp and pops off the label, shoppers can quickly identify and read certifications, flavours, nutrition facts and ingredient lists. In comparison to traditional label printing with plates, digital printing provides ink-to-ink “trapping” that ensures the design doesn’t swell, blot or smudge.
Also upholding premium label quality and positive consumer interaction, raster image processing (RIP) provides colour-matching technologies that maintain consistency between runs, preserving brand image. Advancements in UV inkjet printers and dry toners allow labels to retain their aesthetic quality even after coming into contact with water – an important detail for beverages prone to condensation or stored in ice – while inks that offer eye-catching or tactile elements can highlight key messages or imagery. Finally, innovations in pressure-sensitive labels (PSLs) offer superior conformity to the package and can support the no-label trend by boldly showcasing graphics and information when printed on clear backing.
Appealing to Consumers’ Pathos
In the current market, consumers often feel a sense of responsibility in their buying decisions and choose brands that demonstrate strong moral compasses. Shoppers want to look at a label and confirm that a product was ethically sourced and produced using ethical manufacturing processes. Tea and coffee brands, which often run partial or full production internationally, may have a leg up if they can earn “Fairtrade” or “Rainforest Alliance” certified logos for their labels. These seals quickly inform the consumer that the company uses a limited amount of pesticides, practices sustainable land cultivation and provides fair wages and working conditions.
For shoppers seeking further information about their beverages, track-and-trace solutions provide even greater transparency. Digital coding on each individual unit monitors the package along the supply chain and allows consumers to peek inside the process. Having access to these details builds trust around companies, allowing them to prove they are following safety regulations and have nothing to hide.
Growing concerns of tampering and counterfeiting, which can occur with high-quality, specialty beverage products, are spurring the usage of quick response (QR) codes and radio-frequency identification (RFID). These technologies play a role in traceability, providing real-time tracking of beverage packages. RFID tags, which automatically transmit data via wireless sensors, help to alert consumers of important information about product quality and safety. With QR codes, consumers can quickly verify product origin by simply scanning the label with a smartphone app.
Beyond knowing where their beverages come from and that workers were treated well, consumers also want to buy into brand messages that tug at the heartstrings. Labels that tell passionate stories of brand beginnings, showcase that brands are “locally owned” or highlight that products are roasted or brewed in consumers’ hometowns foster personal connections that outweigh cost or other purchasing factors.
When space limitations on package labels do not permit storytelling, brands can again utilize QR codes to connect with their customers, who can scan the label and read about the brand’s history, farming practices or goals online. This technology helps to drive consumers to the company website, increase brand exposure and facilitate conversation.
Finally, consumers have certainly not forgotten about sustainability. When brands can communicate a commitment to more eco-friendly production that uses greener technologies, fewer resources or recycled materials, they gain the trust of consumers who aim to minimize their own footprints. Purchasing products made in good conscience makes shoppers feel like they are investing in something bigger than themselves and contributing to a healthier, happier environment.
To support eco-friendly goals, tea and coffee companies can utilize sustainable label materials that limit the use of resources. Plant-based inks and labels that are biodegradable or made from natural, recycled, or renewable materials can offer durability and protect image quality while minimizing environmental impact.
Post-consumption, advancements in beverage label liners and adhesives contribute to the recycling process. Liner-less labels, wash-off labels and wash-off adhesives allow for clean separation between labels and glass or plastic bottles, preventing contamination and preserving the integrity of raw materials, ultimately enabling bottle-to-bottle recycling.
New Label Techniques
Tea and coffee manufacturers can find greater insight into labelling trends and techniques at Pack Expo Las Vegas 2019 (23-25 September, Las Vegas, Nevada).
Making its Pack Expo Las Vegas debut, The PACKage Printing Pavilion will specifically target package printing and its role in addressing industry concerns including sustainability, traceability, SKU proliferation and micro marketing efforts. As the industry’s main stage for package printing innovations, the pavilion will highlight digital printing and converting technologies for short-run, on-demand, cost-effective, variable data and personalized packaging.
Exhibitors in The PACKage Printing Pavilion will highlight innovations such as digital colour printing applications for folding cartons, corrugated and flexible packaging, labelling, coding and marketing solutions and other smart package printing options. For more information visit: www.packexpo.com.
Tom Egan is vice president, industry services at PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, which represents more than 850 North American manufacturers and suppliers of equipment, components and materials to the packaging and processing industry. PMMI works to advance a variety of industries by connecting consumer goods companies with manufacturing solutions through the Pack Expo portfolio of trade shows. Learn more at: www.pmmi.org or pmmimediagroup.com.
