Fixing a Food Label Audit Failure
A visit from Trading Standards is stressful enough without a food label audit failure. When their officers looked at the labelling on Relish Coffee’s food-to-go range, the message was blunt: get your labels sorted. Relish, a Newcastle upon Tyne producer of chilled sandwiches, wraps, salads and sweet treats, needed to act, and they needed help doing it.
Fourteen Years, One Remarkable Customer
Relish had been a Positive ID customer for something like fourteen years by this point. It began as a one-woman band. The founder, Jo, built the business from nothing into a serious operation: around forty staff and a fleet of roughly fifteen delivery vans running across the Newcastle region. That kind of growth is a story in itself, and it is exactly the kind of customer we love working with.
Pete worked with Jo regularly – on general IT matters to do with her business – and had advised her that her labels would not meet the new regulations and would likely lead to a food label audit failure. A problem many business owners kick down the road simply because they are busy.
Great food producers are not always great with IT, and there is no shame in that. Pete was always happy to help – a happy customer is a loyal customer – even if they drive a hard bargain.
Jo knew her product inside out. What she needed was someone to take the labelling problem off her hands entirely.
So she called us.
Positive ID Labelling already provided labels, the printing systems, and importantly, the Nutridata system that did most of the legwork in making the labelling data, accurate allergen declaration, QUID ingredient order, weights etc, correct.
Bringing the Solution to the Kitchen
We agreed to come to her to solve her food label audit failure, on-site in Newcastle, for a modest fee to cover labour, accommodation and travel expenses. Pete Howells drove up to spend the day getting it right in the room rather than over email.
The job was a proper piece of work but Pete knows food labelling like the back of his hand. Overcoming the food label audit failure is a simple project for someone with so much experience and knowledge in the topic.
Pete went through every product and took the worst-case scenario: the pack that needed the most information squeezed on within the law. He looked at every type of packaging Relish used, from sandwiches and filled baps to salad bowls and cakes of varying sizes. The goal was twofold. Keep the number of label designs down to a minimum, and keep each label as small as the content allowed, so Relish paid for labels that worked and not a millimetre more.
Then came the hands-on part. Over roughly six hours on-site, Pete created label designs there and then, printed them at full size, and offered each one up against the actual product. Test, adjust, reprint, test again, until every pack had a label that fitted properly and carried everything it had to. By the end of the day, every version was mocked up and ready to overcome the food label audit failure Jo had suffered.
Back to Trading Standards, and a Sign-Off
The mock-ups went to Trading Standards for approval. They came back with a handful of modifications, which Pete folded into the draft designs. A little back and forth later, everyone was satisfied.
The final range met every Trading Standards requirement and every legal requirement for what has to appear on pre-packed food for direct sale to the consumer (often known as Natasha’s Law), while still hitting the cost and efficiency targets we had set out to protect.
The first print run went through cleanly. Better still, every label Relish would need from then on was already built, ready to reprint simply by opening the files Pete had designed during that day on-site. One very happy customer. One food label audit failure dealt with.
Why This Matters
Plenty of suppliers would have emailed a price list and left Relish to work it out. We would rather solve the actual problem, even if that means a long drive and a day on your kitchen floor. Getting pre-packed food labelling right is not just a compliance box to tick, it is the difference between a food label audit failure reversal and a business under pressure.
If you produce sandwiches, food-to-go or any pre-packed product like Relish, and you are not certain your labels meet the law, that is a conversation worth having early.
There is plenty on our site about what a compliant food label needs to show, and we are always glad to talk it through. Call us on 01332 864895 or send your details through the enquiry form, and we will tell you honestly what your labelling needs.
Positive ID Labelling provides our in-house nutrition, allergen and costing software Nutridata, free to all our food business label customers, whether they are printing sandwich labels on demand or printing fixed-plan labels en masse.
I had an amazing experience working with Positive ID Labelling, especially Natalie. The labels were absolutely brilliant quality and exceeded my expectations. Natalie was fantastic throughout the whole process. Communication was amazing from start to finish. She was so helpful, guided me through everything, and made the whole experience stress free and enjoyable. She was also genuinely funny and a pleasure to work with, which made everything even better. I’ll definitely be working with Natalie again on future projects and would highly recommend Positive ID Labelling to anyone looking for high-quality labels and excellent customer service.
Fantastic label printing service. Labels to a very high specification. Helen was great at sorting out our requirements, quotes, and order.
We’ve had a great experience working with this supplier, especially with Natalie - she is always very responsive, professional, and friendly. The pricing is highly competitive and the sales service has been excellent from start to finish. If I could offer one suggestion, it would be to improve the account and invoice management process. It would be really helpful if there were a system for clients to easily track their past orders and invoices in one place. Overall, very pleased with the service and look forward to continuing our collaboration.
Absolutely brilliant service from start to finish. The team are brilliant and the product was excellent quality and exactly what I wanted. Natalie is amazing as are her colleagues. Will definitely be a returning customer. Thank you
Honorary Toon Army Membership
One last note. Jo’s success in business afforded her the benefit of a box at St. James’ Park, and the night before the work, Pete was invited to join Jo, her family and a few colleagues to watch Newcastle United beat Brentford 2-1 in the luxury of Relish’s corporate box at the stadium.
A fitting reward for a customer who had built something special. Relish has since been bought out, and Jo has retired comfortably on the proceeds, which is about the happiest ending a supplier could hope for a customer they had worked with for fourteen years. We continue to supply the new business owner with labels and support.
Ready to get your food labels right first time? Call 01332 864895 and let’s talk it through.
