Any time I see a typo, or spelling/grammatical error on a label, I immediately question the quality and oversight of the product inside. If they’re sloppy with their labels or packaging, what else are they sloppy about?

A very serious twist on this theme involved putting the wrong label on a salad dressing. Notes author Mike Wehner in an article on bgr.com: “A salad dressing that was distributed across multiple US states has now been recalled after the manufacturer realized there might be fish in it…Near the bottom of the recall bulletin, it is noted that a ‘packaging error’ was responsible and that the wrong type of labeling was used…Any time a product ends up in the wrong packaging, you have to wonder what else might have gone wrong during the manufacturing and packaging process, so go ahead and return it for a refund or, if the cost isn’t a concern, toss it.”

These types of mistakes harm customer service. In this case, lives were endangered because buyers weren’t warned of fish ingredients that can trigger serious allergic reactions.

Product manufacturers investing huge resources into achieving top product quality, then providing comprehensive customer support, too often drop the ball when it comes to labeling and packaging accuracy and correctness. Why does this occur in such an important area of product branding and presentation? What can product manufacturers do about it?

As to the first question, I can only hazard a guess. Today’s rampant sloppiness in all types of communication likely stems in part from a deteriorating commitment to doing it right. Emails and texts are full of spelling and grammar errors – and many people fail to recognize them.

Carry that over to the product labeling world. Clearly, many product manufacturers don’t pay attention to these details. The same sloppiness and lack of attention undoubtedly helps drive such errors as the labeling snafu on the salad dressing.

I just discovered a grammar error on a very expensive nutritional supplement ($30+ for 20 servings) that I’ve been consuming. The manufacturer gets high product quality reviews, but this lack of attention to details prompts my perennial question: If this supposedly strictly quality-controlled product didn’t pay enough attention to their label to catch this error, can I trust their quality at any level going forward?

So, what do product manufacturers need to do? The basics are simple and straightforward: Make a consistent commitment to, and practice of, having multiple people review and proof labels to ensure catching errors. That wouldn’t have caught the mis-packaging problem, but a mindset dedicated to paying attention and rechecking everything might have found this issue before the product hit the shelves.

Here are a couple other tips to help make this happen:

1. Prioritize a labeling and packaging review process. Make it a reliable habit. As needed, hire both outside resources, as well as having dedicated people inside the organization. Besides proofing, conduct regular spot checks on product batches to ensure everything in the container matches what’s on the label/package. (The supplement I referenced earlier claims to be manufactured in a GMP-certified facility and to undergo third-party lab testing. They should carry this level of commitment through to all areas.)

2. Include a periodic review of labels and packaging in this process to determine if changes/updates are needed. This will help product manufacturers maintain relevancy and incorporate the latest and greatest information. While this doesn’t directly relate to a proofing review, it is warranted to ensure that information is both correct and current.

While labels and packaging are a good place to start, don’t stop there. Use this opportunity to review all branding, marketing and messaging from websites to blogs and social media to drip campaigns. And, along the way, re-proof everything. In this day and age, chances are there will be needed corrections.

As part of this review, check out what competitors are doing, scour social media for insights/ideas that merit consideration, and check in about reputation via reviews. All of this can help steer the product and its presentation in new and effective ways.

I’ve often said that you can spend a million bucks on marketing, but if the person answering the phone is a jerk, you’ve wasted your money. In a similar vein, all the time, money and resources that go into creating and growing a great product merit similar consideration of all the details.

Getting labels and packaging right is a major detail that can provide a competitive edge, showing that a commitment to excellence pervades every aspect of product manufacturing and presentation.


Mark Lusky is a marketing communications professional who has worked with Lightning Labels, an all-digital custom label printer in Denver, CO, USA, since 2008. Find Lightning Labels on Facebook for special offers and label printing news.