Labeling and Bag Printing Play a Role in Sales

Packaging offers an opportunity to connect with retailers and consumers.

Packaging is more prominent today in the produce sector, but beyond product protection and the convenience of grabbing a favorite fruit or vegetable item quickly, labeling and bag printing are becoming more important as sales tools.

Packaging has to sell product, so labeling and back printing will take a more prominent position in the overall picture. In addition, at a time when many consumers want more information about what they’re eating, graphics are more important, not only in terms of providing information and storytelling, but by providing links through QR codes.

THE BIG PICTURE

According to Grand View Research, the value of the global food packaging market was worth $400.29 billion in 2024, and it’s likely to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2025 to 2030.

The market researcher is among those observers crediting the surge in online grocery shopping, meal kit subscriptions and food delivery services as fueling the demand for durable and temperature-controlled food packaging solutions.

BRIGHT IDEAS

In some cases, graphics can pique consumer curiosity at just the right time. For example, Vince Mastromauro, director of produce operations at Sunset Foods, Highland Park, IL, says the packaging presentation of seasonal and promotable items has given several commodities a lift, such as cherries and grapes.

When seasonal fruit arrives at the store, the extra attention packaging can provide ensures customers are aware that a fresh addition to the store has rolled in. However, it doesn’t end with seasonal items. In the tomato segment, he says, a bright solar logo with the Sunset identification and slogan “Inspired by Flavor,” along with product information, “really resonates with the customer.”

Mark Hoppenjans, vice president of sales and sustainable business, Serv-Rend, Collinsville, IL, says produce packaging and graphics have to complement with product, and provide a good look at the product.

“Visibility is still really important,” he says. “As you’re walking through a retailer, you have your bulk areas where people still like to touch. But in the packaged space, visibility of the fruit is really, really important as well. And you’re balancing that with these questions as you’re moving through: How can we differentiate ourselves, and how can we put a graphic on there?”

REGULATIONS

Eva Almenar, associate professor at the Michigan State University School of Packaging, says it’s important to recognize the governmental regulations that apply to packaging can also apply to labeling. Regulatory pressure will drive labeling and bag printing in the direction of more recyclable and compostable materials and inks, in that case, with the dyes based on natural ingredients.

As legislation and recollection drive compostability and recycling, labeling and bag printing will have to change in compliance. However, that’s not necessarily an easy task, as there are different requirements for industrial and home composting.

Sinclair International, Queensbury, NY, provides both home and industrial on-product PLU labeling as part of an ongoing product development process. The company started with stickers for industrial composting in 2019. In February, Sinclair announced that its T-55 labels have successfully achieved certification from the Compostable Materials Certification Scheme. At the time of the announcement, Duncan Jones, senior marketing manager, said, “Achieving this certification is a testament to our ongoing dedication to producing certified compostable fruit labeling solutions. It provides additional validation and assurance of Sinclair-T55 labels to our customers, by reinforcing their end-of-life performance, and it meets home and industrial composting standards.”

At Mucci Farms, Kingsville, Ontario, packaging development has included Linerless Label, a series of trays made from 100% recyclable Clay Coated News Back paperboard or micro-fluted kraft board. It is fastened by a one-piece linerless label made from food-approved black label material, and uses 80% less glue.

We do believe that QR codes could be impactful at the store level on in-store signage, leading to links offering product information and general consumer education on greenhouse-grown products.

— Fernanda Albuquerque, Mucci Farms, Kingsville, Ontario

“We’ve been moving toward recycle-ready materials and have adopted mono-material bags to future-proof our packaging,” says Fernanda Albuquerque, packaging development manager. “While flexible packaging isn’t widely recycled yet due to lack of a viable collection system, we’re making sure we’re ready when that changes.”

BEYOND THE TACTICAL

Michigan State’s Almenar advises companies to approach packaging and associated labeling strategically. For example, being able to see the products is critical.

When consumers aren’t shopping in stores, Almenar says, “the label is going to be what is catching that essence.”

At the same time, the consumer desire to understand more about diet and health is making labeling a bedrock issue. If they don’t understand what is and isn’t in a product, consumers may not buy at all. Transparency is such an important issue that Fox Packaging recently blogged about it, saying today’s consumers are more informed, curious and discerning than they ever have been, particularly when it comes to their produce. They want to know what they’re buying, where it comes from, how it was grown.

The company cited a Food Industry Association study demonstrating that 64% of shoppers express a willingness to switch from their preferred brand to another that offers more transparent and detailed product information. Fox emphasizes a point: Transparency is not just nice, it’s a fresh produce differentiator.

GOING THE NEXT YARD

Almenar says labels and bag printing as a means of providing information about consumer wellness interests is a starting point that can be taken in many different directions if food retailers look at graphics as an opportunity.

“They can put on something about the farm or the grower,” she says. “You want to get more information to the consumer via packaging.”

With available resources, food retailers and their vendor partners can create links via QR codes or a social media tag for those consumers who use their smartphones.

To take it a step further, the graphic presentation of a label that helps establish a brand can become the basis of seasonal and other promotions. Almenar points to heart-shaped clear packaging Driscoll’s created as a Mother’s Day gift item. The combination of reputation, label recognition and unique packaging can lead to a successful promotion that satisfies customers and gives the brand an additional boost.

“Some of the produce brands are really moving forward and getting more progressive, and they recognize they have to engage their consumer so that they can become regular customers,” says Serv-Rend’s Hoppenjans.

“I don’t think the brands thought as much about themselves as connecting with those consumers, and now they’re recognizing they have to compete in that space,” he says.

“The challenge lies in the limited label space, especially for products from Canada, where bilingual labeling in both English and French is required,” says Mucci Farms’ Albuquerque. “This takes up significant real estate on the packaging while retailers continue to request greater transparency with and emphasis on product visibility.”

Even some of the labeling basics can be complicated. “Nutritional labeling on fresh produce is voluntary, and it’s tricky for us because the Nutrition Facts tables are different in the U.S. and Canada. Including both isn’t practical from an inventory standpoint,” says Albuquerque.