We are sometimes still surprised to hear that entrepreneurs are out there paying for graphic design work for the private label products they are developing. We've always jumped through hoops to help our customers launch new products on Amazon and other online platforms. So, we always offered it free, as part of our customer service!
Aside from us just being really nice people to work with... there are some great reasons for us to handle the graphics for our customers.
A lot of time and money can be wasted with customers trying to figure out what we already know...
When we work with customers that want to use a friend, or someone they really love as a graphic artist, we are more than happy to oblige. It's worked out really well in a number of circumstances. However, we have also seen a number of challenges to going this route:
The graphic artist spends time (and therefore money) going back and forth with us trying to understand all the specs, spacing and sizes needed for different labels & pouches, etc. This is billable time to "start from scratch" so to speak.
When there is a mistake, there is a lot of time wasted. Many customers are trying to launch their brands quickly to meet deadlines, etc. To have to go back and forth with multiple parties, takes time and miscommunications can happen... which only takes more time and money to fix.
Even when we give specs for labels, etc. there are problems that arise outside of simply the graphics. For instance, we have been sent rolls of labels that had the wrong label-backing on them. Even though we mention this to our customers upfront... it still continues to happen. Their graphic designer and printing company talk behind the scenes and make decisions based on their own experiences. While intentions are good, decisions get made that have implications. For instance, we have received label rolls from customers and tried to run them on our label applicator machine... but the backing broke. Either the wrong label backing was used, or the Printer taped multiple runs together onto the same label roll, which makes it weak. As a result, we couldn't run them through our regular production. We either have to apply them by hand (which is much more inconsistent than by machine) or our customer must redo their labels. By the time everything is redone, costs and time have skyrocketed.
In addition to the backing issues, we have seen some subpar print jobs over the years. Sometimes it's the print quality and other times it's the makeup of the actual label materials. If too thin, they can crease and bubble. Some fade in sunlight, etc.
So, all of these can be avoided if a customer wants us to provide complimentary graphics for them.
However, we always do our best to accommodate. We consider that our jobs! So, we're happy to talk through it with any customers that are trying to decide what to do.
We design completely unique private labels and pouches for every customer we work with.
We've private labeled for hundreds of companies over the years. It makes us happy to see everything move along faster, cheaper and more seamlessly for the customers that want us to provide the graphic work for them.
But, whether the customer has their own graphics done, or whether we do them... one thing we have come to realize over many years of helping customers launch brands, is:
Custom Labels and Pouches are a necessity when private labeling a new line of products.
We've seen product manufacturers use the same graphics for all customers and simply insert their customer's contact info onto the labels. While some may call this a "private label", a "white label", or even a "custom label", we would disagree.
If it looks the same as many other companies, then people will realize it's the same product. What do customers do when they realize products are the same? They simply look online for a cheaper price.
Not to mention, it will be very hard for people to take you seriously.
I discussed the need for unique products in another post, you can read here: https://www.cassco-bio.com/post/ways-to-create-a-unique-product
Our graphic artist works hard for our customers and puts them first!
I'm one of the owners of the company... but since customers come first, many times I get told that my projects have to wait. I'm always glad we put our customers first, but sometimes I feel like:
If you would like to talk about launching new brands (or expanding your current brand), we can help! We offer natural pet, equine, koi pond, personal care and natural cleaning products. Since these are every day items that all households use, they can be added to almost any existing brand.
We've been manufacturing natural products for almost 3 decades now. We would love to put our experience to work for you. We still believe in that old school customer service too! So, free graphic design would be our pleasure...
