4 reasons you need a food & nutrition labelling consultant
Maybe you are puzzled at why companies might hire consultants instead of solving their own problems themselves? As much as I hate to hear it, that question does make sense however, there are many reasons why a company might need to use a consultant to help with their nutrition and labelling obligations (and also why I am able to keep working with some of the coolest foodies in the industry!).
You might not want the responsibility of verifying all the information on your own
Labelling rules are strictly regulated and can get complicated when trying to establish if you have included all the mandatory information correctly, taken account of the minimum type sizes for the text on your label in addition to any specific declarations that may apply to your product type.
A labelling consultant is there to support you in producing compliant labels. They are the experts who know what can or cannot be printed on the label and they are aware of which sets of regulations will apply to your product type no matter how complex that may be.
You are just starting out in the food industry
No doubt you have done tons of research looking at competitor products so that you can make your label the best and the most eye catching. However, if your competitor makes certain claims on their packs, this doesn’t mean that you should too.
Consultants will advise you what is compliant rather than what sells best in the market place. Brands who break the law do so at their own risk and are likely to be challenged by the authorities eventually.
You don’t have the time to learn about labelling laws
Perhaps you are launching several products at once or have just won a new retail contract with a very tight launch timeline. Maybe you just don’t have the energy or desire to check your label designs are compliant amongst all the other important tasks required in the running of your expanding business?
By nature, consultants will provide advice that clearly keeps their client within the law, so do exactly what a labelling consultant tells you!! Obvious I know, but there are so many regulations under constant change, it would be almost impossible for small businesses to keep up. Once you have established your product portfolio and had your labels reviewed, it should become a routine task to add more SKUs in the future if they are of similar ingredients.
You want to hire an experienced and knowledgeable labelling expert
In an ideal world, you would have a team of experts in-house, but the reality is, the number of hours and frequency you would need them means employing these experts full-time is not an option.
This is where the flexibility of using a consultant really comes into its own. You only pay for the services/time the consultant provides. You also benefit from projects being completed speedily because your consultant (unlike in-house employees) isn’t distracted by other business tasks. This means good value for money!
It may seem like a big investment or effort to employ a food and nutrition labelling consultant, though you may find that you are eligible for funding or grants that will cover some or all of the fees. AB Food Nutrition specialises in working closely with organisations of all sizes and has years of experience supporting new and small food businesses not just in the North West, but across the UK. Contact Anne to discuss your requirements for a cost-effective food & nutrition labelling quote.