After the passing of a beloved family member, a family decided that his special barbecue sauce recipe should be available to the public. They wanted to create a label with shelf appeal that would get this new variety of barbecue sauce noticed in the local market.

The initial solution for this challenge was to create short runs of labels to test how the local market responded to different versions of the label. Using digital printing to create small batches of simple, rectangular labels, one version of the label was created with the complete story of the barbecue sauce alongside a photograph from the family, while another was created with only that photograph. After that market testing, the label design with the complete story was shown to be much more effective. With the final label selected, the new company was able to go to market in the local area with a label that their customers responded to. The final label was printed on film stock that could be applied by machine to the jars of barbecue sauce, allowing for efficient production as the brand moved forward. The small label batches were especially valuable for the company because their marketing and distribution efforts were focused on the local area. With digital printing, they were able to create a label that could be produced in quantities that they needed and with a quick turnaround that allowed them to get their product on the shelves faster.

Through design and consumer testing, the new barbecue sauce was branded using a label that gave them the following benefits:

• No big investments upfront to create labels
• Film stock was able to be applied by machines
• Full color allowed the label to tell the story of the barbecue sauce in a compelling way
• Shelf appeal
• Quick turnaround
• Short run for testing