Products Labels and Their Importance to Consumers

Product Labels and their importance to consumers

Product label is a piece of information of a product. Product label is also a way to introduce products. Labeling is an important process in the food processing chain and should not be overlooked. The label is the first point of contact between a consumer and the producer. It is used to identify one product from another and also to make a decision over which product to purchase. The label is therefore the most important marketing tool for a product. It should be attractive and eye catching while at the same time being informative. A dirty, confused, untidy label will not help to sell a product. Small scale food processors should aim to label their products with the best label they can obtain or afford in relation to the value of the product. The purpose of a food label is to provide consumers with information on the product, to advertise the product and distinguish the product from that of competitors (establish a brand). Besides that, a label is a legal requirement. The legal minimum requirements of labels in most countries are product name, manufacturers name and address, date of manufacture and best before date (sell by date), ingredients list (in descending order of weight) and net weight of product in the package. The additional information that is optional is the brand. It is optional to include a brand logo, but in terms of marketing your product and establishing your brand in the market place, it is important to define and include a brand logo. That way the consumer will quickly be able to find your products and come back to buy them. Besides more, instructions for preparing the product, storage instructions or instructions on storage after opening, examples of recipes in which the product can be used, an e number if the product is being exported to Europe, a bar code are also the information that is optional. Date of Minimum Durability (“best before”) means the date which signifies the end of the