The increase of the takeaways and home deliveries from eateries in recent times has led to the rise in grab-and-go meals.
As a restaurant, hotel, or bakery operator, giving special attention to food and beverage items is of paramount importance.
Are you planning to serve pre-prepared meals and beverages to your customers? If the answer is a yes, then you can consider food labeling on the packaging. These can aid in the easy identification of the products for both the customers and the employees. It also keeps the meals organized and looking neat.
Labeling requirements in the food and beverages industry can be vast and include fresh produce, central bakeries, beverages, processed foods, and meat or poultry. Choosing a clean label with crisp print can help put forth nutritional information, SKU data, expiration dates, safe handling instructions, etc.
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Bolster Branding
When you add a label to your food products, it can act as the perfect space that helps you to advertise your entity. It can aid to put a coherent image of your products. It is vital to your overall branding exercise and can help identify yourself with the prospects.
A key aspect to keep in mind while deciding on the placement of the establishment logo is the choice of colors and the overall aesthetics of the label. The placement of your brand logo on the customer’s foods and drinks ensures word of mouth brand promotions travel fast and far.
When you start to offer pre-prepared meals or takeaways, ensure to put food labels on menu items. You can make use of this space to inform your customers about any delivery service that you offer. Choosing to put the contact details like a WhatsApp number or website address can be crucial game-changers.
Decrease in Needless Contact
Maintaining sanity and hygiene amid an ongoing pandemic is the most sought-after objective of the customers today. It ensures a safe environment for both your customers and your employees. The lesser the direct exchange contact points between them, the lower the chance of any germ spread.
Easy readability of the labels of both your food and beverage items can help in
- Better organization
- Minimizing unnecessary contacts
- Bringing in ease of usage and storage by employees
- Removing the need for extensive sorting
- Easy identification by the customers
- Pre-made meals and drinks to be safer
Escalation of Order Accuracy
A big problem that the food and beverages industry faces today is order mix-ups or inaccurate orders. To increase a restaurant’s customer satisfaction, organizing on-the-go meals can be a great start.
Proper food labeling can help avoid any confusion that your customers may have due to similar-looking pre-prepared meals. Also, it can help the employees not spend time scouting for products and be correct every time.
It helps match the exact expectation of the customers and foster a positive image of your brand among the customer minds. Therefore, it can help boost the inflow of prospects and drive sales.
Waste Reduction
Though it can sound a little unbelievable, attaching food labels to your menu items can be a great way to reduce food waste. Restaurant inventory is costly, and a chief outflux can be food wastage.
Since food is perishable and has a short shelf life, the ingredients can start rotting if not used in time. It can have a detrimental impact on the bottom line of your restaurant.
Food labels can ensure you tackle this inventory issue easily. The expiration dates mentioned on the labels can guide you to utilize the food and beverages before it starts to disintegrate. It can also help in cutting down the chances of foodborne disease spread. It is especially valid for menu items that contain temperature-sensitive ingredients.
Requisites of a Food and Beverage Label
If you want to ensure that your customers have your brand products with proper food and beverage labels, you can opt to include the below in your packaging. Also, crucial to note is that there are state statutory laws regarding food labels, and you can make sure to adhere to them.
- Logo
- Name of food or menu item
- Country or state of origin
- Net weight or Capacity
- Storage instructions
- Date mark
- Allergy warnings if needed
- List of ingredients
- Expiration Date
Therefore using food labeling can aid you in numerous ways. If you have a restaurant, hotel, or bakery, you can enjoy various benefits using food labels and serve your customers better.
