At first glance, honey labeling for your brand seems like a relatively straightforward process — you simply need a label to convey nutrition facts and show off your logo. However, actually designing that label can include several nuanced packaging decisions.

What kind of brand identity are you trying to convey? Is your honey bottle a unique size or shape, demanding a matching custom label? Are you a small-scale producer applying labels by hand or a larger organization with an automated production line?

All of these considerations and more play into honey label design and printing. Once you're done with the honey labeling process, you should have custom jar labels you're proud of, ones that show off your products in the best possible light and draw in new customers like flies to honey.

Label Strategies for Different Honey Brands

Honey is a product with a few pieces of commonly associated imagery. From bees and honeycombs to bears and toast, you'll find a few iconic features on custom honey labels from companies big and small. This can be a blessing and a curse. While it's useful to have a starting point for your honey label design, how do you stand out in such well-trod territory?

Whether you're playing with common images or using a palette that is all yours, there are ways to generate interesting honey labels. You can take inspiration from some of the more creative honey producers, including those featured in 99 Designs' gallery of examples.

Some of these companies have opted for a minimal look, using text-heavy art on clear label materials to let the honey's color shine through. Others have opted for an old-fashioned look based on nineteenth-century aesthetics. There are also producers who have gone for a fully modern look, with sans serif fonts presenting their honey as a wholesome ingredient for the health-conscious rather than a rustic treat.

The Glassnow blog suggested that some of the best ideas for attractive honey labels can come from outside the honey space itself. Thinking in more general food labeling terms may help you tap into exciting trends such as minimalism, cutting images and text right down and catching consumers' attention with clean, clear designs.

Different types of brands will necessarily have different custom honey label strategies. If you're a small-scale producer largely selling your products yourself, for instance, it makes sense to play up the homespun and wholesome nature of your honey on labels for farmer's markets. For a modest product with few ingredients, this sense of traditional care can be a compelling selling point.

What to Include on Custom Honey Labels

Honey labels are food product labels, which means in the U.S. they fall under the purview of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since honey and its derivatives are a unique category of food, with their own set of norms and definitions, the FDA maintains a guidance document on correctly labeling honey.

Of special note, the FDA specifies that if a product consists of honey and an additional sweetening agent, including corn syrup or sugar, that item can't be referred to simply as "honey." This rule helps honey producers make their products stand out on store shelves; customers know that bottles labeled "honey" must be just that.

Flavoring agents can be added to honey, but the product label should clearly reflect the flavor. The FDA gives the example of honey with natural raspberry flavoring bearing a label that says "raspberry-flavored honey."

Beyond those specific product naming conventions, honey has to be labeled in line with other FDA requirements. This means including information such as producer name and address, a complete ingredients list and nutrition facts. The latter is worth particular attention, as the nutrition information panel has changed in recent years.

How to Maximize Space with Unique Custom Honey Labels

No matter what jar shape you're using for your honey products, there are ways to maximize space. Your objective is to make sure your labels show off all the brand information customers will want to see, while also leaving the required space for FDA-mandated features.

In many cases, there's another priority at play — to make your custom printed labels as small and unobtrusive as possible so the natural color of your brand's honey shines through. Honey’s golden appearance is compelling on its own, and you shouldn't underestimate it.

If you're using honey jars with flat lids, your best bet may be to put critical information on top of the jar, using a minimal die-cut round honey label or a label printed on clear material on the jar itself. Or, if your jar lid is wide enough to accommodate a large sticker, your jar sides could have no labels at all.

Die-cutting is a powerful technique for honey labeling, allowing you to create uniquely shaped labels that only show what they need to and don't waste any other space. With certain types of designs, a transparent clear BOPP label material may be better — your logo, nutrition facts and other important details can appear around the container, but customers can still see the golden honey inside.

The Value of Working with a Label Printing Partner

Creating high-quality labels that truly showcase your honey brand is simple when you work with an experienced label printing partner. For over 20 years, Lightning Labels has helped companies of all kinds create ideal custom labels that show off their best qualities.

Teaming up with Lightning Labels gives you access to everything you need for high-quality honey label production. With all-digital printing methods, Lightning Labels delivers fast turnaround times and flexible order sizes, and allows you to choose from a variety of label materials, including clear BOPP that lets customers appreciate your product through the packaging. Custom die-cutting allows you to make custom labels and stickers that fit your honey jars, and design consulting services are available to take you from idea to production.

Ready to refresh your custom printed honey product labels? Request a free quote today.