Winter Sausage wanted to upgrade its labeling operations. As Greg Vanhazenbrouck, GM for Winter Sausage, explained, “We take great pride in our taste-tested German family recipes. But our preprinted package labels didn’t reflect the care we put into our products. In the field, the graphics wore, and the legibility suffered. So our packages looked aged and less desirable than some competitive products.”
The sausage company turned to print-on-demand (POD), full-color, digital print technology from American Label & Tag for assistance. Vanhazenbrouck notes, “We liked the POD labels for their crisp, clear graphics, rapid turnaround, and reduced inventory costs. POD labeling has held down our cost per label and lowered our total costs due to improved efficiencies. Not only do the new labels give us the crisp brand image we wanted to achieve, but also they’re holding up in the field. Their durable, lasting eye appeal is bound to help sales.”
The flexibility of label design provided by the POD technology helped Winter Sausage to launch new products and to re-package existing products in new sizes and styles to meet consumer demand. With the old system, says Vanhazenbrouck, “When we had to change label data, preprinted labels typically held us up for a week or more while we waited for the labels to be printed and shipped. Print-on-demand allows us to expedite label changes. This keeps production on track and helps secure retail shelf space. POD labels can be ordered with a typical lead-time of a week or less, and this significantly reduces our required label inventories. Now we can carry half the label inventory and order small quantities as needed. Because our inventory handling is more efficient, we’re saving about $70,000 per year in reduced labor. The ongoing savings frees up capital and helps our cash flow.”
