Liquor Labels: Tips to Enhance Your Products
- Alkam
- Mar 27
- 5 min read
An effective liquor label is an essential element to sell your products. It is the business card that distinguishes them from all the others, in addition to being a mandatory element according to current laws.
Above all, you cannot do without it because it ennobles, enhances and valorises the peculiar and most representative characteristics of your product, making it unique in the market of its kind.
Before moving on to discuss the fundamental and performance requirements of labels, let's start with a brief description of the relevant legislation.
Notes on the current legislation in force on liquor labels
The new regulation that establishes what must be indicated in the labels on liquor bottles can be summarized in the following points:
It must indicate the percentage of sugars and/or sweeteners contained in the drink;
The list of ingredients must be read in decreasing order of quantity by volume of pure alcohol;
It can be indicated as an alcoholic beverage and, therefore, with the definition of "strong alcohol", if with a minimum alcohol content of 15% by volume;
The ingredients of rum, vodka, gin, bitter, must be indicated according to the nomenclature standard provided for in the regulation; in the absence of this, the product must be indicated only as "spirit drink";
Do not name the alcoholic beverage with emphatic and fanciful words for advertising purposes.
Marketing aspects for liquor packaging
The packaging of a bottle of liquor is the tool that best guarantees the necessary launch of the brand and its persistence among the most popular products on the market.
Packaging a glass bottle consists of several stages and has the purpose of creating an image that captures people's attention, whether placed on the store shelf or behind the counter.
Read on to discover the most important points of a functional packaging design!
The shape of the bottle
Spirits must be contained in high quality bottles, the choice of which can be based on vintage shapes or innovative shapes aimed at having a greater impact on the market among all other products.
Among the various models of bottles, we can mention those with a classic shape, as well as those for Bordeaux distillate, Whisky, Spirit VDN distillate, Platin distillates, ceramic ones for liqueurs or gin, etc.
The brand logo
The letters of the logo must stand out well on the bottle and be easily readable. There are many possibilities for creating bottles with special prints.
The design on the bottle
Even a silkscreen or digital print on glass can become a highly respectable sign of distinction.
By means of screen printing on glass it is possible to print up to 6 colours, with the brilliance of golden or patinated shades.
Digital printing, on the other hand, allows you to print images in relief, to offer a sensorial as well as visual experience.
The cap
The closure system also helps to express the quality of the product: it is the point on which most of the attention is focused as it is the detail that needs to be fiddled with every time the bottle is opened.
Neck branding
The neck of the bottle is an exceptional place to add special messages and to not overload the front of the bottle.
Depending on the shape of the bottles, the neck marking can also be printed directly on the glass.
The symbol
The graphic symbol serves, in addition to giving a further distinctive and exclusive trait to the brand, to tell its story. Furthermore, it is also aimed at making the memory of the brand indelible in the memory of those who observe it. Indeed, many times, the shape of the bottle is created in such a way as to contain and incorporate the graphic symbol and form a whole with it.
The product contained
Whether it is vermouth, whisky, or vodka, the contents must be clearly visible on the bottle, making it easy for the consumer to find.
The important thing, however, is that this evidence does not overshadow the references regarding the brand or the history of the product.
The label materials
The key to selecting the color choice is to create contrast, which can highlight the essential details of the label. This helps consumers to focus more on details such as the brand name, the type of liquor and the origin.
Based on the choice of paper, you can create three groups of colors. These include coated paper, uncoated paper, and another that contains both coatings. With the Pantone Coated Color Book guide, you can choose coated papers with very vivid and refined colors.
Through metallic paper you can obtain extremely bright colours, guaranteed by the metal support it is equipped with.
This type of paper, which is obtained by superimposing any color on a silver base, allows you to obtain particular chromatic effects by playing with graphics and materials. The metallic, moreover, ensures resistance and non-deformability of the label, even if it comes into contact with the humidity of the freezer.
Natural paper is the right option for a choice aimed at eco-sustainability . In this case, it is advisable to leave the paper in its original color, except for printing on it in a cream or beige color, so as not to cancel out its characteristic natural effect.
Focus: Eco-sustainable materials for labels
Labels that meet the company's eco-sustainability criteria are produced with materials free from organic matter, therefore created with 100% plant material.
For environmental sustainability purposes, the materials come from recycled paper in order to minimize the waste of water and trees to be cut down.
Water-based inks from renewable resources have a highly appreciable ecological profile as they are odourless, non-polluting, meet high presentation standards and compliance criteria aimed at reducing environmental impact.
Moving on to natural glues , they can be of vegetal or animal origin.
The first ones are cellulose or starch based. They are used in aqueous solution and are also widely used for gluing wallpaper, paper bags, etc.
Glues of animal origin , on the other hand, are obtained from waste connective tissue of animal parts, such as bones, tendons, skin, etc.
For bottle labeling , in particular, casein-based glue can be used because it adheres perfectly to the glass and is easily removed during washing. This last characteristic, however, also represents its weak point as it does not give it resistance to humidity.
Special glues are therefore recommended to obtain prolonged resistance to humidity, due for example to the storage of bottles in refrigerators, freezers or ice buckets.
How to choose the right supplier for liquor label printing?
When commissioning the production of labels, it is best to turn to a supplier whose mission is primarily focused on the eco-sustainability of the labels.
This goal can only be achieved by using green and compostable materials, which represent the emblem of respect for the environment and the protection of the future of the planet.
A valid supplier produces versatile self-adhesive labels , with cutting-edge printing technologies, flexible print runs and formats that are easily applicable in the most varied sectors.
Furthermore, it must be able to offer sincere technical support, always aimed at the customer's interest in the long term, to ensure a punctual supply that always complies with the orders received.
Alkam is an industrial label maker with 30 years of multi-sector experience in digital, off-set, flexo and screen printing . If you want to test our print quality, request the free sample kit!