Great info for the newbie and good reminders and tips for those who have been at it a while as well. Thanks and excellent work guys!

No problem Brian. It’s a real basic primer for those just starting out. Our goal was to spare someone a little pain when it comes time to find their label printer. If anyone has any questions please feel free to give me a call (262-877-2158). I will not try to push labels on you. Being the Sponsor of the Scovie Awards we put an obligation on ourselves to help people in the industry even if we don’t print your labels. Think of BLP Labels as a label consultant if that is what you need.

Yeah, thanx Dan. I’ll be contacting (bothering) you. Need some ideas\info on how to start designing\printing labels.

huvason on 4/20/2006 at 9:18 am said:

Yeah, thanx Dan. I’ll be contacting (bothering) you. Need some ideas\info on how to start designing\printing labels.

That’s what we’re here for…. and please wash the Defcon off your fingers before diaing the phone!

Dan@ BLP Labels on 4/20/2006 at 9:31 am said:

That’s what we’re here for…. and please wash the Defcon off your fingers before diaing the phone!

Awww c’mon, The Huvason is used to the corneal scarring by now.

Huv maybe used to the scarring, but what of his wife? Does she deserve to feel the wrath of Defcon through association only? This is, assuming, the assimilation is not complete with her as of yet…

Great reading there Dan. I use to do offset printing back in the late 90’s and had a lot of fun with that. Just starting to do some freelance design work on the side. Its cool to hear someone talk about the other aspects of selling a sauce…eye appeal.

Ryan on 4/20/2006 at 11:04 am said:

Great reading there Dan. I use to do offset printing back in the late 90’s and had a lot of fun with that. Just starting to do some freelance design work on the side. Its cool to hear someone talk about the other aspects of selling a sauce…eye appeal.

Thanks Ryan! We try to inform people that as humans we buy visually if we are not able to taste the product. The second and third purchases are on taste. Too many times we see people put so much love, time and money into what goes inside the bottle and then short change their sales with an inferior label. Some people don’t want to spend the money on design as it can get quite costly at times. I have told some customers that if they don’t want to invest a ton of money into label design, go to your local Tech School and talk to some instructors in the design classes and see if his/her students can do your label design as a project. This gives the students some real worl experience in design and it might cost you a couple of 2 liters of soada and a couple pizzas.

Dan@ BLP Labels on 4/20/2006 at 11:02 am said:

Huv maybe used to the scarring, but what of his wife? Does she deserve to feel the wrath of Defcon through association only? This is, assuming, the assimilation is not complete with her as of yet…

Who do you think caused all the original scarring?

Mike told me this morning that we “possibly” might get something in the mail that would promote some scarring to us? Make sure you tell Mike that I want to be scarred also… He’s talking about taking it all home!

now this is something I can really stay on topic about, I do most of the grocery shopping in our house, I have to be honest I have bought a few things because the label looked better. as for the label on hot sauce, some of the ones we have, are not very appealing eye wise (in my opinion) because they are so busy you have to really look at everything separately and then take it in as a whole.

on another note, the last part of this informative essay talks about the consumer deciding whether or not the product is truly hot or not, remember the batteries that had the tester strip on them? it’s to bad one can’t be made or hasn’t been made for hot sauce, however trying to get a reading through a glass bottle would be difficult.

Ryan on 4/20/2006 at 11:04 am said:

Great reading there Dan. I use to do offset printing back in the late 90’s and had a lot of fun with that. Just starting to do some freelance design work on the side. Its cool to hear someone talk about the other aspects of selling a sauce…eye appeal.

“Labels can bring your marketing message to life”

Hey ryan, this stands out to me. sounds like a label needs to “pop”

Mrs.Ryan on 4/20/2006 at 11:32 am said:

now this is something I can really stay on topic about, I do most of the grocery shopping in our house, I have to be honest I have bought a few things because the label looked better. as for the label on hot sauce, some of the ones we have, are not very appealing eye wise (in my opinion) because they are so busy you have to really look at everything separately and then take it in as a whole.

on another note, the last part of this informative essay talks about the consumer deciding whether or not the product is truly hot or not, remember the batteries that had the tester strip on them? it’s to bad one can’t be made or hasn’t been made for hot sauce, however trying to get a reading through a glass bottle would be difficult.

I agree with you mrs ryan about choosing a product over another because of its “look”. I think everyone does that. But, its not always 100% true in the case of a sauce collector. See some of “us” buy sauce for our ever-growing collections and that includes even less appealing labels. They may not be “our” favorites but we still buy them. Dont get me wrong, there are many bottles I would never own just because the labels are in (my opinion) bad taste. But as was mentioned above, for the general public (not collector’s) the label does pretty much make it or break in as far as sales go.

Dan@ BLP Labels on 4/20/2006 at 11:29 am said:

Mike told me this morning that we “possibly” might get something in the mail that would promote some scarring to us? Make sure you tell Mike that I want to be scarred also… He’s talking about taking it all home!

He never got back to me, I wasn’t sure if he wanted the bottles full or not.

HAH Send me the full ones and send him some empty ones. That would really chap his arse!! LOL

chris k on 4/20/2006 at 11:42 am said:

I agree with you mrs ryan about choosing a product over another because of its “look”. I think everyone does that. But, its not always 100% true in the case of a sauce collector. See some of “us” buy sauce for our ever-growing collections and that includes even less appealing labels. They may not be “our” favorites but we still buy them. Dont get me wrong, there are many bottles I would never own just because the labels are in (my opinion) bad taste. But as was mentioned above, for the general public (not collector’s) the label does pretty much make it or break in as far as sales go.

some of the labels in our collection, are older so they not as sophisticated as what is coming out now, and I understand that most people will collect certain bottles because CaJohn, brian, or blair made them not because they stood out on a shelf. Not that these 3 have bad labels, I am just using them as an example. as far as new collectors that are just breaking into this, sometimes a label will define who they start to collect, or what they start to collect….(speaking from my experience there)

Ya’ll have very good points. My collection consists of sauces that either look cool to me, or I find humorous. I like to think that I have an eye for detail and an appreciation for the work involved in designing a label. Though I’m not in marketing (yet), I do have a pretty good sense of what sells, and what doesn’t. You have to remember that there are different people out there, and demographics do play a large part in a marketing strategy. The fact of the matter is, that while there are still people out there that appreciate the older, classic designs, the mainstream is people in their late 20’s to early 40’s. Finding the proper balance between class and “hey! look at me!” is how I go about my designs in an attempt to appeal to the broadest spectrum possible. I still like the old designs, but I love the new stuff coming out…that’s my 2 cents…don’t spend it all in one place unless its on me

ryan on 4/20/2006 at 12:31 pm said:

Ya’ll have very good points. My collection consists of sauces that either look cool to me, or I find humorous. I like to think that I have an eye for detail and an appreciation for the work involved in designing a label. Though I’m not in marketing (yet), I do have a pretty good sense of what sells, and what doesn’t. You have to remember that there are different people out there, and demographics do play a large part in a marketing strategy. The fact of the matter is, that while there are still people out there that appreciate the older, classic designs, the mainstream is people in their late 20’s to early 40’s. Finding the proper balance between class and “hey! look at me!” is how I go about my designs in an attempt to appeal to the broadest spectrum possible. I still like the old designs, but I love the new stuff coming out…that’s my 2 cents…don’t spend it all in one place unless its on me

You are absolutely right about market segmentation. Many forms/styles of labels have a place in the market, but may require differing distribution methods or placement. The widest distribution I would think is to get into a variety of large grocery chains/big box shops. They aren’t likely to stock labels featuring anything too far off color. This approach works just fine in a specialty shop, however.

As with any consumer product, you have to think about the target customer when designing your hot sauce label. Many types are valid, but they will impact who you sell to and where you sell your product.

You are both correct about the targeted market segment. The nice thing about a label is that it doesn’t change the product inside. You can target as many different markets as you want by simply using a different label for the different markets. Basically using the “Private Label” system for yourself.

Just an update, Tracy C, MSK and CaJohn are all still OK, we are just limited by the dial-up speed here in th Great Smoky Mountains!!! We will be on tonight…

CaJohn on 4/20/2006 at 1:00 pm said:

Just an update, Tracy C, MSK and CaJohn are all still OK, we are just limited by the dial-up speed here in th Great Smoky Mountains!!! We will be on tonight…

Glad to hear you guys are still kickin’. You guys must be having a blast!

Dan@ BLP Labels on 4/20/2006 at 1:02 pm said:

Glad to hear you guys are still kickin’. You guys must be having a blast!

Oh believe me, they are. Tracy last night was feeling super-human and from what I got out of it, wanted to take on a bear! If that’s not a sign of having a good time, I don’t know what is

ryan on 4/20/2006 at 1:15 pm said:

Oh believe me, they are. Tracy last night was feeling super-human and from what I got out of it, wanted to take on a bear! If that’s not a sign of having a good time, I don’t know what is

“wanted to take on a bear”?

I need to here more about this

We’re doin’ great, however, MSK is trolling for bears!!!

CaJohn on 4/20/2006 at 1:27 pm said:

We’re doin’ great, however, MSK is trolling for bears!!!

CaJohn, tell MSK I got what he sent me, tell him thanks.

hey cajohn are you hiring for the season yet i needs me some work gov’t cut me off

All I can say is that Cajohn must have some great employees if he’s able to go on vacation for week.

ChileChef on 4/20/2006 at 2:03 pm said:

All I can say is that Cajohn must have some great employees if he’s able to go on vacation for week.

yeah but I bet he keeps getting calls for stupid reasons

Trolling for Bears… this is going to be great story!!

ChileChef on 4/20/2006 at 2:03 pm said:

All I can say is that Cajohn must have some great employees if he’s able to go on vacation for week.

Is that a roundabout way of saying “i need a raise”?

LOL Yeah, I’m saving up for a new Kershaw

ChileChef on 4/20/2006 at 2:13 pm said:

LOL Yeah, I’m saving up for a new Kershaw

Have CaJohn give you my e-mail addy and send me an e-mail.

We’ll do

Looks like Chilechef might be thinking about selling out his services while Cajohn is gone

ChileChef on 4/20/2006 at 2:13 pm said:

LOL Yeah, I’m saving up for a new Kershaw

when you email Ryan will you let him know I need some steak knives pretty please and thanks

Mrs.Ryan on 4/20/2006 at 3:38 pm said:

when you email Ryan will you let him know I need some steak knives pretty please and thanks

Have you any idea how much a set of the steak knives cost, even with my discount?

Lets put it this way…Its either the steak knives, or TX.

Dan@ BLP Labels on 4/20/2006 at 12:56 pm said:

You are both correct about the targeted market segment. The nice thing about a label is that it doesn’t change the product inside. You can target as many different markets as you want by simply using a different label for the different markets. Basically using the “Private Label” system for yourself.

While I understand this (and do a tiny bit of it also), I *really* have a problem with it sometimes. My mantra, and one CaJohn already believed also, is “it’s not what’s on it, it’s what’s IN it”. One manufacturer has over 80 different labels for the same cheap cayenne sauce. While that might be okay for a few collectors, I feel that is a rip-off of the general consumer. A different label is naturally thought to be a different product. It ought to be clearly disclosed that it’s the same.

I’d rather have a sophisticated sauce, rather than a sophisticated label- I only plan on eating the sauce

Mrs.Ryan on 4/20/2006 at 3:38 pm said:

when you email Ryan will you let him know I need some steak knives pretty please and thanks

Steak knives huh? Yeah, my wife is tired of using butter knives too. I’ve actually gone to just chewing on steaks

ryan on 4/20/2006 at 3:53 pm said:

Lets put it this way…Its either the steak knives, or TX.

fine so be it, but when we get back from TX it’s a whole new ball game

Jim Campbell (Mild to WildŽ) on 4/20/2006 at 3:54 pm said:

While I understand this (and do a tiny bit of it also), I *really* have a problem with it sometimes. My mantra, and one CaJohn already believed also, is “it’s not what’s on it, it’s what’s IN it”. One manufacturer has over 80 different labels for the same cheap cayenne sauce. While that might be okay for a few collectors, I feel that is a rip-off of the general consumer. A different label is naturally thought to be a different product. It ought to be clearly disclosed that it’s the same.

I’d rather have a sophisticated sauce, rather than a sophisticated label- I only plan on eating the sauce

I agree that it should be disclosed that the only difference is the label Jim, but if I am going to collect them I want the label to be unique..if it’s a common bottle, or I want the bottle to be unique, something has to set it apart, at least for me, I know not everyone shares my opinion, and I respect that.

Mrs.Ryan on 4/20/2006 at 3:38 pm said:

when you email Ryan will you let him know I need some steak knives pretty please and thanks

Chilewilly on 4/20/2006 at 3:56 pm said:

Steak knives huh? Yeah, my wife is tired of using butter knives too. I’ve actually gone to just chewing on steaks

We’ll do. Mine too

Jim Campbell (Mild to WildŽ) on 4/20/2006 at 3:54 pm said:

While I understand this (and do a tiny bit of it also), I *really* have a problem with it sometimes. My mantra, and one CaJohn already believed also, is “it’s not what’s on it, it’s what’s IN it”. One manufacturer has over 80 different labels for the same cheap cayenne sauce. While that might be okay for a few collectors, I feel that is a rip-off of the general consumer. A different label is naturally thought to be a different product. It ought to be clearly disclosed that it’s the same.

I’d rather have a sophisticated sauce, rather than a sophisticated label- I only plan on eating the sauce

I, and I’m sure others as well, agree with you there. What’s in the bottle is most important of all. I guess the basic topic here is getting people to buy something they’ve never tasted. Collector or not, people are automatically drawn to eye catching things. If someone has not heard anything about a sauce, let alone tasted it, its gotta be appealing to the eye. Not saying that is the most important thing, but it certainly helps, especially since the majority of people out there are not collectors.

Mrs.Ryan on 4/20/2006 at 3:58 pm said:

I agree that it should be disclosed that the only difference is the label Jim, but if I am going to collect them I want the label to be unique..if it’s a common bottle, or I want the bottle to be unique, something has to set it apart, at least for me, I know not everyone shares my opinion, and I respect that.

I’m still trying to get it into my head that people *collect* hot sauces My prejudice has been from the mindset that sauces are to be consumed. You all are teaching me though

Jim Campbell (Mild to WildŽ) on 4/20/2006 at 4:02 pm said:

I’m still trying to get it into my head that people *collect* hot sauces My prejudice has been from the mindset that sauces are to be consumed. You all are teaching me though

you will learn fast grasshoppa, as I did

ryan on 4/20/2006 at 3:53 pm said:

Lets put it this way…Its either the steak knives, or TX.

Sorry Mrs.Ryan TX does sound pretty good! Maybe we can get you a set of “Ronco” steak knives

Jim Campbell (Mild to WildŽ) on 4/20/2006 at 4:02 pm said:

I’m still trying to get it into my head that people *collect* hot sauces My prejudice has been from the mindset that sauces are to be consumed. You all are teaching me though

I can atest to that. Maybe I should start to open them.
If I consumed a bottle a day I wouldnt be finished until the end of 2007

Chile that is blasphemous I’ll just wait til after TX than we’ll see about those steak knives

ryan on 4/20/2006 at 4:01 pm said:

I, and I’m sure others as well, agree with you there. What’s in the bottle is most important of all. I guess the basic topic here is getting people to buy something they’ve never tasted. Collector or not, people are automatically drawn to eye catching things. If someone has not heard anything about a sauce, let alone tasted it, its gotta be appealing to the eye. Not saying that is the most important thing, but it certainly helps, especially since the majority of people out there are not collectors.

True enough Ryan! I guess then it boils down to trying to figure out what the most people will find appealing. Flaming butts, obscenities, and the latest ‘fad of the month’ (Runaway bride, Cheney, etc) were never my thing. Sigh… why I’m destined for obscurity I guess

ROFL, omg Jim you have me cracking up….obscurity rrriiiigghht I don’t think that will ever happen

chris k on 4/20/2006 at 4:09 pm said:

I can atest to that. Maybe I should start to open them.
If I consumed a bottle a day I wouldnt be finished until the end of 2007

ROFL YOU’D BE A FLAMING BOOGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mrs.Ryan on 4/20/2006 at 4:09 pm said:

Chile that is blasphemous I’ll just wait til after TX than we’ll see about those steak knives

LOL!! Yeah, I guess ol Ronnie has enough money by now.

Chilechef on 4/20/2006 at 4:16 pm said:

LOL!! Yeah, I guess ol Ronnie has enough money by now.

not to mention my darling sweet tempered hubby would have a heart attack when he saw them in our kitchen

Mrs.Ryan on 4/20/2006 at 4:15 pm said:

ROFL YOU’D BE A FLAMING BOOGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hope I didnt just end up with another name?

when I stop laughing over it, I’ll let ya know if it stuck……LMAO booger stuck OMG I am backing away from the blog now, this is hurting me

Jim Campbell (Mild to WildŽ) on 4/20/2006 at 4:13 pm said:

True enough Ryan! I guess then it boils down to trying to figure out what the most people will find appealing. Flaming butts, obscenities, and the latest ‘fad of the month’ (Runaway bride, Cheney, etc) were never my thing. Sigh… why I’m destined for obscurity I guess

Your right Jim, for a “new” sauce to come out it’s “label’s” got to have that certain appeal. Those “joke-type” sauces dont have that.

I can picture it in my mind, but I haven’t seen it yet?
you know what I mean mrs ryan

Mrs.Ryan on 4/20/2006 at 4:24 pm said:

when I stop laughing over it, I’ll let ya know if it stuck……LMAO booger stuck OMG I am backing away from the blog now, this is hurting me

ryan, please remove the power cord from mrs ryan’s computer for awhile

remove the power cord? that wouldn’t make a difference, I am still laughing over the stuck flaming booger, I am however going to walk the dog, your safe for a little while

Holy Crap!!! $371.80 for 4 steak knives? Texas indeed!

Mrs.Ryan on 4/20/2006 at 4:17 pm said:

not to mention my darling sweet tempered hubby would have a heart attack when he saw them in our kitchen

Depending on the life insurance, could be a way to increase the collection

Chilechef on 4/20/2006 at 4:35 pm said:

Holy Crap!!! $371.80 for 4 steak knives? Texas indeed!

now you know why he gave me a choice

Jim Campbell (Mild to WildŽ) on 4/20/2006 at 4:37 pm said:

Depending on the life insurance, could be a way to increase the collection

the thought has crossed my mind but only for a second, I might miss him a little

Jim Campbell (Mild to WildŽ) on 4/20/2006 at 4:13 pm said:

True enough Ryan! I guess then it boils down to trying to figure out what the most people will find appealing. Flaming butts, obscenities, and the latest ‘fad of the month’ (Runaway bride, Cheney, etc) were never my thing. Sigh… why I’m destined for obscurity I guess

Again, I agree with what you’re saying. Though I find them a bit humorous and have purchased things like that, I don’t design things like that. I’m pretty particular myself, espicially since I can’t afford to be any other way. I get a chuckle out of the “cheney sauce” and the sort, but I haven’t bought any. Closest things I have to that is CaJohn’s Queen of Farts and Sir Fartalot.

Jim it doesn’t have to be a funny label are even a “fad” label it just has to be eye catching all you have to do is get people to stop and look at the bottle once it’s in their hands then your ingredients can speak for themselves

Closest things I have to that is CaJohn’s Queen of Farts and Sir Fartalot.

I wonder sometimes if it hadn’t been that those were named already when he picked up that line (Suncoast Peppers) if he’d of done that. I kinda doubt it.

ryan on 4/20/2006 at 4:41 pm said:

Again, I agree with what you’re saying. Though I find them a bit humorous and have purchased things like that, I don’t design things like that. I’m pretty particular myself, espicially since I can’t afford to be any other way. I get a chuckle out of the “cheney sauce” and the sort, but I haven’t bought any. Closest things I have to that is CaJohn’s Queen of Farts and Sir Fartalot.

I agree Ryan while the names don’t make much sense a few of them are good for a laugh now and then

Re: Again, I agree with what you’re saying.

What- that I’m headed for obscurity?

but I also know that Cajohns does offer every comedy label sauce with a more wholesome non-comedy label

Chilewilly on 4/20/2006 at 4:44 pm said:

Jim it doesn’t have to be a funny label are even a “fad” label it just has to be eye catching all you have to do is get people to stop and look at the bottle once it’s in their hands then your ingredients can speak for themselves

Absolutely true! It’s just trying to figure out what’s ‘eye catching’ since so many different things appeal to so many different people.

Jim Campbell (Mild to WildŽ) on 4/20/2006 at 4:49 pm said:

Absolutely true! It’s just trying to figure out what’s ‘eye catching’ since so many different things appeal to so many different people.

yeah, I agree 100% with that.

Chilewilly on 4/20/2006 at 4:47 pm said:

but I also know that Cajohns does offer every comedy label sauce with a more wholesome non-comedy label

It’s interesting to note, and true most industry wide, that his comedy labels outsell the wholesome ones at least 10 to 1. It would seem that we’re a coarse bunch, we chile heads

Jim Campbell (Mild to WildŽ) on 4/20/2006 at 4:53 pm said:

It’s interesting to note, and true most industry wide, that his comedy labels outsell the wholesome ones at least 10 to 1. It would seem that we’re a coarse bunch, we chile heads

I think it’s the initial shock of OMG does that really say that?

Jim Campbell (Mild to WildŽ) on 4/20/2006 at 4:53 pm said:

It’s interesting to note, and true most industry wide, that his comedy labels outsell the wholesome ones at least 10 to 1. It would seem that we’re a coarse bunch, we chile heads

sad but true

All of you hit the nail on the head about what I was saying about a label. You must get them to buy before they try in most instances. The label is “generally” what gets this done although word of mouth is good but you have a more limited target group.

In regards to the “private label” comment I made, I absolutely understand that it should be disclosed. I was more or less using it as an example of being able to target different market segments. With that being said, I would love to see some numbers from a Private Labeler that bottles the same sauce for different clients. One crappy label and one professional eye appealing label. Put them on the shelf next to each other and see which one sells better.

Jim Campbell (Mild to WildŽ) on 4/20/2006 at 4:53 pm said:

It’s interesting to note, and true most industry wide, that his comedy labels outsell the wholesome ones at least 10 to 1. It would seem that we’re a coarse bunch, we chile heads

Hey Jim I might not no about labels makeing. But I could give some great input. We track are sales at the store. Last week 1357 bottles went out our door about half were fun labels. The rest were the stuff inside. Bret

CaJohn on 4/20/2006 at 1:00 pm said:

Just an update, Tracy C, MSK and CaJohn are all still OK, we are just limited by the dial-up speed here in th Great Smoky Mountains!!! We will be on tonight…

It sounds like another Mid-Wales to me. I had that problem last week

CaJohn on 4/20/2006 at 1:00 pm said:

Just an update, Tracy C, MSK and CaJohn are all still OK, we are just limited by the dial-up speed here in th Great Smoky Mountains!!! We will be on tonight…

lookin forward to hearin from you guys, MSK, I am not sure if I should wish you luck on your trollin or not, you guys must be gettin alot of Fresh air

Chilechef on 4/20/2006 at 4:35 pm said:

Holy Crap!!! $371.80 for 4 steak knives? Texas indeed!

damn, what are they made of ?!?

japanese steel I believe, they freakin rawk….well worth the money

Mrs.Ryan on 4/20/2006 at 5:50 pm said:

japanese steel I believe, they freakin rawk….well worth the money

Is that the sales pitch= “They Freakin Rawk!” Talk about eye catching

Mrs.Ryan on 4/20/2006 at 5:50 pm said:

japanese steel I believe, they freakin rawk….well worth the money

Yeah japanese steel is v.good. I heard quite a lot about that sort of stuff from a wood turning supplier that I use

LMAO, I don’t believe that is what Kershaw uses, BUT, they could possibly up their sales if they use it