Jam Into Summer With Custom Jar Labels

Summer is here, baby!

The incoming summer months mean people prepare to spend their days hanging out at breweries after long bike rides, attending craft fairs and farmer’s markets with family and friends, and generally enjoying the great outdoors. 

For craft food businesses, summer is a huge opportunity to generate profits. But your products won’t jump off the shelves by themselves. Now’s the time to consider your marketing strategies — and the best place to start is your custom jar labels. 

As a craft food business, you need to ask yourself a few questions: do you have the right design for your vibe? Have you considered the colors, font, and shape? Do your labels feel unique? Do customers find them attractive and comment on your design? 

Lots of questions. We know. But don’t panic.

Here, we’ll break down how custom jar labels can build brand awareness and dive into the benefits of custom labels for jarred goods like jams, jellies, and honey.

Why Choose Custom Jar Labels?

In the modern world of digital marketing, there are countless techniques that craft food businesses can use to get their products in front of potential buyers.

Sometimes, though, the best approach to marketing starts with something simple — like a beautiful, well-designed custom label.

Stand Out on the Shelf

Custom jar labels are most likely the first thing that a potential customer notices when browsing, whether that’s at the grocery store or a farmers’ market. In the most basic sense, custom jar labels help products stand out amongst competitors. This can be done using bright colors, unique fonts, or interesting label shapes. 

For custom jelly labels, softer colors and more playful fonts convey a fun and exciting vibe that may grab a customer’s attention. Meanwhile, custom jam labels tend to be more rustic — utilizing earthy tones or a more vintage aesthetic. Hand-drawn illustrations also work for jam labels, as well.

Honey often utilizes a minimalist design when paired with the hexagon pattern — think about honeycomb patterns and how to tap into honey’s natural aesthetic.

It’s noteworthy that jams, jellies, and honey are very competitive spaces for craft food businesses – most farmers markets have at least one. But if you’ve got strong branding paired with an attractive label (and good customer service), there’s a good chance customers will choose you over the competition.

Build Brand Awareness

Understanding the importance of a visual identity is a pillar for successful marketing, regardless of the industry. But in the craft food business, creating a recognizable brand is especially vital as you need to stand out from the competition.

Custom jar labels are an opportunity to create a distinct visual identity that people know and trust — think of everything your brain signals when you see a can of Coke. A memorable design means that there’s a positive association with your brand. 

Plus, with the right kind of design, you can include your business name, logo, website, social media handles, and other pieces of information that customers might find beneficial. The right kind of information on jam and jelly labels can significantly strengthen brand awareness.

7 Tips for Designing Jar Labels

Now that we’ve covered the benefits of custom jar labels, let’s discuss some specific design tips for craft food businesses to consider when creating jam and jelly labels.

But the first question you need to ask yourself is whether you’ve got jam or jelly on your hands. Now, let’s talk about designing the best custom jar label possible. 

Keep It Simple

Remember what your dad said: Keep it simple, stupid! Don’t overload your custom jar label with too much information or design elements. A cluttered label is confusing and overwhelming for potential customers. Have you ever passed on a product because the label had so much going on that you couldn’t tell what it was? Your customers do that too. 

Utilize Consistent Colors & Keep Branding Consistent

When a customer sees your jarred product, they should recognize it — whether they bought it previously or noticed it because of product marketing. This is why it’s important to use colors that are consistent with your brand image and product type. 

Moreover, the branding for your craft food business should be consistent across all products, increasing customer trust. Beyond jam, jelly, or honey, your craft food business may also create spices, oils, or a jar of ingredients (like a cookie kit). Ensuring consistent branding across your products means customers will be more likely to recognize your brand, trust it, and buy it.

Consider Label Shape

When thinking about design, it’s easy to get trapped — literally — in a box. But hey, labels don’t need to be squares! A simple and easy way to add a design flair to your label is by utilizing unique label shapes in a fun and exciting way. For example, if you’re selling honey, maybe your label is shaped like a honeycomb — just an idea. 

Embrace Typography & Fonts

Look, not everything needs to be Helvetica. Or Arial. Or Times New Roman. There’s a huge marketplace for fonts and typography. Experiment with various styles and find what fits your custom jar label the best. It’s another way to display the style and character of your brand. Remember, while you can do anything you want with your label, jars intrinsically appeal to a more rural branding. 

Use White or Negative Label Space for Your Benefit

Design is as much about space as it is about finding the right image or look. Never underestimate the impact and beauty of clean and simple design — or one that spreads out over space in a funky way. Using negative or white space on your custom jar label is an innovative and exciting way to create a modern, minimalist look.

Make Sure You Include All Label Requirements

Any label design for food items goes beyond creating something visually appealing. There’s a practical element to it as well. When designing jam and jelly labels, you must follow all FDA label requirements. That means net weight, contact information, a nutritional label (if you’ve hit that stage of your business), and everything else you need before putting a product on store shelves.

In other words, be sure to plan for what’s required. Nothing will cut into your profits quite like getting shut down by the government. 

Have Some Fun Already!

And hey, speaking of fun, custom jar labels are a great place to showcase some of your brand’s personality. Adding a touch of humor or playfulness is a great way to encourage a customer to pick your product. They might laugh at a funny illustration or maybe your witty product names. 

A good rule of life: Never underestimate the power of a good pun!

Start Designing Your Custom Jam and Jelly Labels Today!

Custom jar labels are an essential building block for a successful craft food business. They not only help your products stand out against the competition — but help build brand awareness. Pretty nice, right? 

Celebrate the summer and prepare for the sunshine; get your creative juices flowing, and let the team at Stomp be the peanut butter to your custom jelly & jam labels. (Sorry… But remember, we weren’t lying when we said we don’t underestimate the power of a good pun!)

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