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Transcript for Episode 5 - How to adapt your labelling and packaging

The way you label and package your product for a foreign market can have a large impact on everything from ease of shipping, dealing with regulatory bodies, and selling.There are key things to know.

To avoid hold ups, start preparing early. Check both shipping and freight forwarding, as well as local regulatory body advice. And find out what’s needed.

Pay attention to local rules on packaging and descriptions because they may differ significantly from the UK. Information like nutrition for example, could require different labelling.

Research what the consumers in your chosen market may expect to see. When considering packaging styles, make sure you research local buying behaviour and cultural associations. Packaging that may work brilliantly for a British consumer could be rejected elsewhere. Colours for example, have different associations in different countries.

Think about the end-users' needs and lifestyle. If you’re mainly going to be selling online, is your packaging post-box friendly, for example?

You’ll also need to consider language requirements. And in non-English speaking markets look to translate and localise your labelling.

Finally, make sure your product is properly packaged for international travel. Handling is not always delicate, so make sure it’s packed robustly. Check the requirements for all handlers. From home to the end users. And make sure you know what requirements they have for things like barcode labels. Because it’s likely there will be different requirements for different legs of the journey.

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