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3 tips for better cake labels

Different sizes and shapes of packaging for cakes and desserts.

You’d say it’s easy to make someone fall in love with cake. Just the thought of something baked puts you in a good mood. Only that if you’re selling cake, you are not the only one to count on people’s sweet tooth. With so many options around, customers often end up choosing the most appealing cake labels. Love goes through the label, rather than the stomach.

In this article, you will find tips for making your cake labels delicious to the eye and convincing to the mind. Let’s dive in!

1. Choose the information to include on your cake labels wisely

You can consider the information on your cake label as the base of your project. Once you have the information put in place, you can build on it to plan the design and the branding part. So first things first. What should you include?

The information required by the FDA for cake labels

You need to comply with the FDA’s regulations available in your state. Make sure to read the complete list and to have everything in place. We put together a list with mandatory information available in most states:
  • Type and name of the product
  • Manufacturer’s name, address, and permit number
  • The county of issue
  • A sentence that mentions that the product is homemade (if that’s the case)
  • Net weight of the product
  • List of ingredients, from highest to lowest weight
  • List of allergens
  • Expiration date
This list shouldn’t replace your research on the topic.

Information you can use to your advantage

A lot of times, manufacturers and distributors forget that there can be plenty of space on a cake label. No matter if you use cake box labels, or if you use pouches or bags for packaging, you should take advantage of all the available space.

Other than the mandatory information, you can include some witty copy, visual elements to induce a taste or a feeling, and even short phrases that make your product stand out.

Here are some examples: “local ingredients”, “homemade”, “freshly baked”, “baked with love”, “yummy”, “new recipe”. Of course, all the claims should be real.
Information presented in a friendly way.

Various labels designs for a bakery.
A white logo with creative designs on the edges and in the middle "Gluten free baking recipes".

Genuine messages are always a good way to get to your customers and stand out from your competitors. If you have a smaller bakery and you sell healthy products, it’s worth simplifying your words.

The rule is simple. People are attracted to short and easy-to-pronounce words. These are also easier to remember. The same applies to ingredients. A shorter and clearer list of ingredients usually stands for a less processed product.

Other information that you can present in a friendly way is the story of your business. People are interested in knowing what’s behind the product they buy, so you can include a section about how you started, your recipes, your experience, or what drives you.

The more genuine it sounds, the better. Avoid using sophisticated words unless you have a specific target audience that relates to this type of communication.

Six circles each representing drawings of a cake shop story.
A piece of cake up to now, isn’t it? Let’s continue with the next tip.

2. Use the design of your cake box labels to trigger associations

A big part of our daily thoughts and decisions is based on making associations. The advertising industry is focused on triggering feelings and emotions when seeing a product. How can you do that with your cake labels? Find some ideas below!

Make use of symbols

Symbols are a great way to trigger associations. Symbols are visual representations of familiar imagery. Some examples for bakeries that sell cakes could be a whisk, a windmill, an apron, grains.

You can also move towards other areas, like family life, peace of mind, tradition. Think about how you want to position your brand and what your customers relate to.

"Fine Bakery" logo on a brown background and showing the design of wheat.

Mix perceptions

A cartooned strawberry with chocolate on a white background.

Mixing sight with feeling is a great way to help your customer’s mind make the association with the taste. Let’s use an example. Say you’re selling a strawberry cake.

By using the fruit in the visual (the actual fruit, its color, or the shape) together with a cake label that has a nice touch, you are suggesting the flavor and the texture of the product better than by simply using the word “strawberry”.

Create contrasts

It helps a lot to have contrasts in your design. You can play with different colors, shapes, and visual elements. We are used to finding shortcuts everywhere, so it’s good to place valuable information in key places on your cake label.

Whether it’s your slogan, your brand, or a claim, make it easy to spot on the shelf by using contrasts.

A cake design with a slogan that reads "Bake the world a butter place".

3. Bring your packaging to the game

Your packaging plays an essential role in the shelf presence of your product. It’s best to make your cake label and your packaging go hand in hand. This way, you can amplify your product’s appearance. Here are some ideas!

Use multiple cake box labels

Pink and yellow cupcake boxes with a small dark label.

If you’re selling your cakes in boxes, you have plenty of space for labeling. An option would be to use multiple cake box labels.

You could split the branding part from the mandatory information, or use the box to create the contrast we were talking about earlier. 

You could use clear transparent cake labels to get a unitary aspect and focus on the packaging, or bold colored labels to move the focus to the label. Play around with the options and see how it goes. It’s a creative game that could bring you the winning idea.

Use display bakery boxes

When it comes to baked goods, it’s always inviting to show the products. People get an idea about the ingredients and the texture. Even when offering a cake as a gift, it’s always great to get a glimpse.

With display bakery boxes, you bring to the game your strongest asset: the cake itself. It’s clear that in this case, the focus is on the cake.

A display paper box containing a carrot cake.
Source
However, you should still use the label to support the overall aspect of your brand. Customers not only buy a cake, but also a brand. The most successful bakeries have these two aspects aligned.

Choose YourBoxSolution as your business partner

YourBoxSolution is a leading printing company with over 29 years of experience on the market. We offer a large range of packaging and labeling solutions, and our orders start from as little as 250 pieces.

We mostly use BOPP labels, which are a great option for cake labels because they offer optimal resistance, are non-toxic, and easy to customize.

Some of our options for cake labels include:

  • Clear BOPP labels – transparent labels, that let you see through them
  • White BOPP labels – labels with a white background, that can be customized with any color or pattern
  • Metalized labels – labels with silver background, that give a metallic look
All of our labels come with a gloss or matte laminate free of charge.
  • Gloss laminate – gives a shiny and reflective look
  • Matte laminate – gives a non-shiny and more dull look

Tell us about your ideas, and we will come up with something to accommodate it.

We deliver top quality at the best prices.

Get your quote today!

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