Online European label operator enters Australia
The local label print sector has a new player, with online operator Prime Labels setting up in business here, targeting start-ups, SMEs and blue chips with custom labels and stickers.
Located in Castle Hill, NSW, Prime Labels has an extensive web-to-print site. It is offering multiple versions in the same print run, premium finishing and converting, and high-quality labels in any shape or size. It will print labels on paper or film, with hot foil stamping if required.
Burim Ahmedi, who is heading up Prime Labels in Australia, said, "We are targeting small business who want to take their labels to the next level with a premium look, in short runs. Artisan food and drink businesses would be a prime example. They may have been printing their own labels but now want to move their products from the market stall to the local IGA or butcher's shop. We will print any run length, with any shape label, with embellishments such as gold foil if required."
Ellie Martin, business development manager, says the transparent pricing, which is viewable on its website, will be appealing to potential clients. For example, for 1000 labels in one design 40x60mm size in four-colour on high gloss 80gsm stock with no varnish or lamination, it is charging $220.88 inc gst. Martin said, "For customers the simplicity of the process and the ability to go online at any time will also be drawcards."
It is also offering free delivery anywhere in Australia, with turnaround times of between five and ten days. The labels are manufactured at Prime Labels' German headquarters on an HP Indigo, then shipped back to Australia.
The company is owned by substrate supplier Avery Products, which in turn is owned by label giant CCL. Prime Labels has a team of 35 who manufacture and deliver a million self adhesive labels on rolls each day, to brands and businesses across Europe, including Germany, France, Italy and the UK.
CCL operates in the volume part of the label business, with its Prime Labels business developed to handle short run work. It has been operating in Germany for the past nine years, expanding across Europe in that time. Martin said, "We will be applying the growth template from Europe to Australia."
Prime Labels is the latest in a series of big overseas operations to start up a web-to-print business in Australia, with VistaPrint famously the first, and others including promotional products business Prima Print, which last month invested in eight new Ricoh digital colour print systems.
Prime Labels is entering the market here with a widely distributed research promotion, which highlights the benefits of labels to brands, and which says that “colour and finish is what consumers value most when it comes to standout product labels”.
According to its research almost three quarters (73 per cent) of consumers agree that a label has the power to make a craft food or drink product feel premium. The research revealed that gold and silver are the colours that enable a product to feel premium. Some 21 per cent of consumers believe a metallic finish on a label would contribute to driving a higher price point and present a premium craft food or drink product to the market.
When it comes to craft brands standing out amongst others, the research found that 35 per cent of consumers preferred a matte finish to a gloss finish, which 26 per cent preferred. And while a matte finish is the most successful way to communicate a product that is of craft origin, only 9 per cent of consumers felt a transparent label was the best finish for a label.
The Prime Labels research revealed that 63 per cent of those surveyed also associate a matte finish with eco-friendly. In terms of label materials, paper is the most popular material for a craft food or drink label at 55 per cent. The research revealed that paper labels have a significantly higher association with environmentally friendly, handmade, and organic products.
