The Art of Labeling: Why Millimetres Matter – Jessica Tuteur, President & General Manager, Infinity Bottling

We recently spoke with Jessica Tuteur who opened Infinity Bottling’s state-of-the-art, 35,000 sq. ft. facility, in July 2018. Previously, Jessica was in wine production, marketing and branding for over 10 years.

We were interested in hearing her perspective on the details that can make or break the labeling process at the bottling facility. Details, she said, many don’t consider early enough.

Here is what Jessica told us…

Avoid Unnecessary Disconnects

I often find there is a disconnect between marketing, design, and practice. Bottling is about a measured precision. Each packaging component needs to be very exact – bottle, cork, capsule, label, box – within millimeters of the spec. It is the physics that matters the most at the bottling stage.

However, many brand and marketing teams, as well as designers, get invested in their decisions too early. For example, they don’t think to bring us their ideas and paper stock for the label before they get it approved. This can lead to a glass and label mismatch, where the label doesn’t work with the shoulder or heel of the glass that has been selected.

Collaborate Early

A better way is to involve us early, allow us to collaborate, offer solutions, and do a test run before getting sign off on the components. I advise my clients to have several cases of glass at their disposal. This allows them to check the label against the variations that naturally occur in the glass, particularly on the heel and the shoulder. In other words, allow time in the project schedule to do more research, allow for trial and error, and test runs with prototype labels to assess the paper, adhesive, and size.

Quick Turnarounds Waste Time, Money, and Lead to Frustration

Bringing the final product together should not be a last-minute effort. Quick turn arounds don’t help anyone. Fast turnarounds only lead to frustration and add time and money to the cost of goods. None of us want to see this happen given tight margins and the goal of increasing profit. I had one client who came to us at the last minute and ended up having to tweak the label 5 times. It was all a matter of millimeters, but they resisted shaving off a millimeter or two. In the end, they spent 3 times more time than they had “planned” for, spent more money than was in their budget, and were late launching their new vintage. Not good for anyone involved.

Be Aware of the COVID Effect

Having time on your side is even more important, this year, because of the COVID-19 effect. Some glass molds are being produced in smaller quantities, or not at all. And, for those wineries bottling smaller quantities there can be delays in receiving the glass. More than usual, volume will dominate and wineries with larger quantities will receive their orders first.

So please, save yourself the headache and anxiety. Plan ahead, collaborate early, and reap the rewards of coming in on budget and launching your product on time. Win, win for all.

Find out more about Infinity Bottling, here. Find out more about ASL Print FX’s Prototyping capabilities, here.