Can we just apply a sticker in-market?

Sometimes, and it depends on the destination and on which particulars are affected. Where a secondary label is accepted it is usually the cheaper route. Where the requirement touches the principal display panel, or where artwork forms part of an approved registration, a sticker will not solve it.

We already sell this product in another export market. Does that help?

It helps with the work but it does not answer the question. Requirements differ market by market, and an artwork approved in one destination frequently fails another on language, on nutrition format, or on a claim that is permitted in one place and not the next.

When should we do this: before or after registration?

Before you print, and in the markets where artwork forms part of the registration, before the file is submitted. Doing it after registration converts a design change into a regulatory amendment.

Do you design the artwork?

No. We tell your designer exactly what has to change and why, in a marked-up form they can work from, and we re-review what comes back. Keeping design with your team keeps your brand consistent.

Service

Label Compliance

Artwork is the most common reason a first shipment sits at the border, and the cheapest problem to avoid. Every country decides what has to appear on the pack and in which language, and in some markets the artwork is approved as part of the registration. Printing before you know the answer means printing twice, and on retail cartons that is not a small number.

What’s included

A particular-by-particular review of your artwork against the destination requirements
Identification of what must be added, removed, or expressed differently
Guidance on language requirements and whether a secondary label is acceptable or a full redesign is needed
Nutrition and claims review, including claims that are permitted in Canada but not in the destination
A marked-up version of your artwork showing what changes and why
Re-review of the corrected artwork before you commit to a print run

Who else you will need

These sit next to this engagement and we do not do them. They are licensed or credentialed work, and we would do them worse than the people who do them all day. We will introduce you, and coordinate across them so nothing falls in a gap.

Reformulation and ingredient approvals: A food technologist or regulatory scientist. Where a destination will not accept an additive or a claim, changing the formula is their work rather than a labelling question.
Translation and artwork production: Your designer and a certified translator. We mark up what has to change and re-review what comes back to you.

Commercial terms

Fee range: Scoped per engagement
Typical timeline: Confirmed at scoping

Questions

Can we just apply a sticker in-market?: Sometimes, and it depends on the destination and on which particulars are affected. Where a secondary label is accepted it is usually the cheaper route. Where the requirement touches the principal display panel, or where artwork forms part of an approved registration, a sticker will not solve it.
We already sell this product in another export market. Does that help?: It helps with the work but it does not answer the question. Requirements differ market by market, and an artwork approved in one destination frequently fails another on language, on nutrition format, or on a claim that is permitted in one place and not the next.
When should we do this: before or after registration?: Before you print, and in the markets where artwork forms part of the registration, before the file is submitted. Doing it after registration converts a design change into a regulatory amendment.
Do you design the artwork?: No. We tell your designer exactly what has to change and why, in a marked-up form they can work from, and we re-review what comes back. Keeping design with your team keeps your brand consistent.

Read before you brief us

The reasoning behind this work, written out in full and free to read. You will brief us better for having read it, and you may decide you do not need us for part of it.

Why maple is more than pancake syrup
Bulk and retail maple share one tariff line and are two completely different businesses. The customs schedule cannot tell them apart; the regulator, the buyer and your margin all can, and choosing which one you are in is the decision that sets everything else.
Canadian private-label products for premium grocery retailers
Private label removes the hardest part of exporting a brand and adds a question most producers never think about: when the pack carries the retailer name and the registration sits with an importer, what exactly do you own?
The Philippines: no plant approval, and four ways to lose the container anyway
The Philippines does not vet the Canadian establishment before export, which makes it look like the easiest of the six. The detentions happen at labelling, consignment composition and the annexes instead.

Markets this covers

Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore