When designing your labels, there are a couple of things to consider, a check list of requirements and recommendations to make sure you include all the right information for your customers:


- Blend Name - 
Important to have a catchy blend name or number, this is how your consumer will recognise and remember which of your range they liked the most and hopefully buy more. Make it easy to remember and easy to differentiate from your other products in the range.


- Net Weight -
Clearly state the net weight of your product on your front label, either in imperial or metric, show the net weight after the "e" symbol to show it is a machine filled estimated weight. Ensure you use the right unit of measure after the weight too i.e g, kg, lb, oz


- Best Before Date -
It is a requirement to state a best before or roasted on date, we recommend the more widely consumer recognised Best Before, and it is worth stating "Best Before : See Base" to avoid having to leave lots of space on the label for batch/date coding.


- Batch Code Data -
Each of our batches of coffee is assigned a batch code for quality and traceability reporting and logging. This information is our own requirement and not that of any third party, however we recommend it is printed with the Best Before details for clarity.


- Manufacturers Address -
Required ONLY if you are intending on selling to 3rd party sellers, retailers or stores then it is a requirement to state the manufacturers written address in order that a consumer can contact the manufacturer directly in the event of any issues under their consumer rights. We recommend using "Roasted & Packed for (YOUR BRAND) by 918 Coffee, Shaftesbury, SP7 9AN"


- Contents -
It may be a requirement of the 3rd party selling platform you have chosen to state the actual contents of the packs you sell in order to avoid any potential allergen issues. Check with the platform you intend to sell on prior to completion of your label design.  


- Format -
The consumer will need to know what format the coffee is in; Whole Bean, Filter Ground, Espresso Ground etc, therefore it is advisable to consider this on your front label if you do not intend on adding additional labels to denote this information. Something to consider is to make it a generic design that can be adapted to suit a number of your variants. e.g design your label so that it includes 250g & 1kg where one can be highlighted/crossed through or circled by hand etc. This will reduce the number of label variants you need to have printed. 


- Nutritional Information -
Some sales channels may require you to state the nutritional information on the packs, this is not standard practice currently, however it is worth checking before you commit to large volume production runs of labels. This type of information is usually reserved for the back of pack as it requires a good amount of space to be legible.


- Barcode -
Some sales channels may require you to include barcodes on the packs, there is a few different standard format barcodes that can be required so it is worth checking before you commit to large volume production runs of labels. This type of information is usually reserved for the back of pack as it requires a good amount of space to be legible.


- Roast Profile -
It is definitely worth considering including a roast profile for your coffee so consumers can select their favourite profile from your range. Although we recommend keeping this metric visual and not over complicated. A simple scale out of 5 is normally sufficient.


- Varietal -
Whilst this is not essential, often using terminology that consumers are used to comparing products to is a good idea to be included. Stating a % Arabica will lead to a higher consumer confidence in your product.


- Tasting Notes -
This area is often subject to strong debate, but it is wise to remember that consumers require a "buy me" attribute to your coffee, being a drink, this will more often than not be related to taste, so a note on the main taste is a good idea, however we don't recommend going to hard on the descriptors as this can often lead to over confusion and potentially putting off some consumers. It is important to remember taste is a very subjective thing and will not be the same for all.


- Layout -
A key area to label design is to keep the layout clear and easy to divulge by the consumer. Over complex, crowded and wordy labels will often be overlooked in favour of a clearer label, so clear, concise, colourful, good use of space and inspiring! Some of the keys to label success