Craft Brew Labels: Applying Them Efficiently and Economically

Craft brewing starts with a passion for great pilsner, ale, porter, stout or other brew styles that appeal to the brewer’s palate. Often, the person or group behind starting a craft brewery spends years reading about the brewing process and sampling different brands and styles to refine their connoisseurship. After education and tasting are complete, the brewer often starts out producing private micro brews to help refine beverages that will eventually be sold commercially.

However, before a craft brewer is ready to stock store shelves with its products, several things must be done, including: buying or leasing a brewery location, purchasing brewing equipment, establishing a supply chain, and implementing a process for beverage bottling and labeling. Because craft breweries often start out with a conservative budget, these resources must be acquired economically and implemented quickly to start earning a return on investment (ROI).

Product labeling is one of the final production phases before a brew goes to market, but it’s one of the most essential phases. Because customers aren’t familiar with the new product, the label often makes the first impression. This doesn’t mean you need to get fancy and use labels that feature gold leaf, paper made from special wood, and other expensive touches, but you do need a labeling solution that translates your label design into a crisp, clear image on the container.

This why many fledgling craft breweries turn to Flexo-Graphics for assistance with the labeling process. In addition to producing fabulous looking craft brew labels whose size, composition (i.e., label stock), and adhesive are perfect for a brewer’s requirements, we help the brewer implement the labels as inexpensively and efficiently as possible.

One example of how we do this is by using our digital print center to produce label designs digitally. Because digital printing can be done exceptionally fast compared to conventional printing methods, it’s ideal for getting products to market quickly, creating labels for short production runs (e.g., seasonal beer), and making quick changes to logo designs and other printed elements.

Concerning cost, you may have heard that digital printing is more expensive per label than other printing methods, which is often true. However, as Wikipedia notes, “[The cost] is usually offset by avoiding the cost of all the technical steps required to make printing plates.” Using a digital printing process can also save money, and so can having your craft brew labels printed on demand or, alternatively, ordering them in bulk to reduce cost per label.

If so, we’re ready to supply you with labels for bottles and/or cans that make your libations stand out among the sea of others that are stocked in the same store aisle, and supply the labels on a basis that fits your budget. We have over 30 years of experience in producing custom labels that help beverage makers build a dedicated customer base and hit financial targets.

If getting the right product labels for your craft brews is standing in the way of moving the drinks into in the commercial supply chain, please contact us today to schedule a free consultation by calling (262) 790-2740, or use the contact form on our website. We look forward to providing you with the very best craft brew labels for your distinctive drinks at the best price.