A survey found that 60% of consumers are likely to reject a product if the label does not provide enough information about the product. So, before you start your labeling design process, here’s a read to understand the different aspects of label compliance.   

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You have a great product and a fantastic product distribution cycle, but a small labeling error has ruined your brand. That's the power of label non-compliance. It's a common challenge that many businesses face and must be taken seriously. 

Navigating all product regulations can become overwhelming. The best solution is to follow the right label compliance approach with the correct set of tools. Product labeling compliance isn't just about complying with regulatory standards but also about educating your consumer and ensuring their safety and trust. 

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In this article, we’ll define product labeling compliance and why it’s important for any brand, then we’ll dig into the key ingredients of a successful product label compliance strategy.

- What is label compliance?

- Why should you care about label compliance?

- How to maintain label compliance?

What is product label compliance?

Every piece of information that consumers see on a label that informs and educates them about the product is what we call product label information. It's something other than what the brand comes up with. Instead, the industry and the regulatory organizations have laid down guidelines and laws to ensure that certain information on a label is always present. Ensuring compliance with all your product labels is essential for maintaining brand image and integrity.

This brings us to the next question. Why is it so important? 

The importance of labeling compliance

While everyone tells you that the product label needs to be compliant, pause and consider the why. 

1) Help with decision making 

As consumers walk down the supermarket aisle or browse online, they are faced with many choices. Information on a product label helps consumers to make the choice that suits their tastes and lifestyles. For instance the nutritional chart on a food label shows consumers what the product contains and helps them compare it with others to make an informed decision.   

2) Ensure consumer safety 

The safety of consumers should be the highest priority for brands. Failing to comply can cause serious consequences for brands. Recently, FDA issued a warning to Whole Foods for failing to declare allergens on product labeling, leading to massive recalls across locations.      

Such instances cause financial losses and also affect a brand’s reputation in the market. Consumers may become wary of purchasing your products and will choose competitor products over yours, resulting in a long-term decrease in brand value.   

3) Lend authenticity to products 

An OECD report states that the counterfeit pharmaceutical industry is worth $200 billion annually. The statistics are more or less similar for other industries including food and cosmetics. As the demand for a product grows, so does the counterfeit trade.

In such cases, labeling lends authenticity to products. Apart from mentioning manufacturers’ addresses, product ID codes, brands are also seeking smart solutions including barcodes for tracking, and tamper-evident labels to ensure it sets the real product apart from the counterfeits.    

5 Ways to ensure your product labeling is always compliant  

‍1. Stay up to date with all the regulatory requirements

The first step to ensuring your product labels comply with industry standards is understanding all the relevant regulatory requirements that apply to your product or target market. It is also essential to be mindful of the different geographical locations/regions and their distinct labeling laws and standards. For example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States mandates that all pet food products must include the species name in the product name. ‍

2. Build a robust approval process

The second step is to build a robust approval process, including all stakeholders in your label approval process. The approval process must include all the stakeholders, regulatory experts, lawyers, marketing teams, and other industry advisors. The process you establish must allow multiple users to review and verify labels according to the set regulations. Artwork Flow's ComplyAI allows you to streamline your label compliance process amongst team members. You can build your rulebook based on your product's regulatory requirements and let ComplyAI flag all the errors so you can rectify them and take your product to the market. 

3. Maintain accurate product data

The most significant tip for ensuring seamless product label compliance is an accurate record of all ingredients, nutritional facts, allergen information, feeding directions, warnings, product descriptions, food-safe symbols, and the rest. Maintaining this record accurately can help avoid discrepancies in creating product label data without the risk of non-compliance and avoid any legal issues. 

4. Conduct regular audits and reviews 

Establishing a recurrent review cycle is essential to identifying and rectifying compliance issues promptly. Scheduling periodic audits can also help create accurate product labels and document production processes. 

5. Automate your compliance process 

Long gone are the days of manually verifying all the product labels. The naked eye can miss minor errors. Automated compliance tools can help you analyze all your product label designs and flag risks before going to market. Using automated tools like Artwork Flow's ComplyAI, you can streamline your entire product labeling compliance process and mitigate risks quickly. With ComplyAI, you can build your automated rulebook to catch label errors and allow you to correct them promptly. How Artwork Flow's ComplyAI can AI power your label compliance process? Think of it like this: Your design team has given you the product label, and now you have a long line of stakeholders waiting to review it. You can send emails or Slack messages to ask each of them to review it. But questions in the label that keep haunting the bottom line are: 

• Are all the allergens specified accurately? 
• Are the logos represented right?
• Are the colors used appropriately? 
• Are there food-safe symbols mentioned? 

The list goes on. Here's where ComplyAI comes into the picture. Built with smart AI features, ComplyAI will catch your product label errors in a jiffy. All you have to do is build a rulebook that can help you catch allergen information, scan barcode labels, and flexibly meet regulatory guidelines. With ComplyAI, you can instantly catch errors, rectify them, and go to market faster. So why wait? Book a demo and see how Artwork Flow can make compliance easy. 

How Artwork Flow's ComplyAI can AI power your label compliance process? 

Think of it like this: Your design team has given you the product label, and now you have a long line of stakeholders waiting to review it. You can send emails or Slack messages to ask each of them to review it. But questions in the label that keep haunting the bottom line are: 

• Are all the allergens specified accurately? 
• Are the logos represented right?
• Are the colors used appropriately? 
• Are there food-safe symbols mentioned? 

The list goes on. Here's where ComplyAI comes into the picture. Built with smart AI features, ComplyAI will catch your product label errors in a jiffy. All you have to do is build a rulebook that can help you catch allergen information, scan barcode labels, and flexibly meet regulatory guidelines. With ComplyAI, you can instantly catch errors, rectify them, and go to market faster. So why wait? Book a demo and see how Artwork Flow can make compliance easy.