The Cabot Creamery Cooperative has been synonymous with the state of Vermont since the company’s inception in 1919. But, the farmer-owned cooperative that makes cheese, butter and other dairy products will be nixing the Vermont aspect of its custom labels, as not all of its products are solely made in Vermont. Instead, the company’s new logo will say “Owned by our Farm Families in New York & New England.”
This has caused many Vermont officials and business owners to become very concerned as they’re worried the state will lose the widespread publicity that comes with being featured on the labels of the highly distributed Cabot products.
“For this Vermont boy, Cabot is Vermont and Vermont is Cabot,” said Governor Peter Shumlin in an interview with the Associated Press.
Vermont is a state that’s known for its support of locally made foods. They even boast a “maple specialist,” according to the AP, that conducts detailed quality control checks of each maple refinery based in the state.
But, in order for a company to use the state’s name – let alone using an image of the state on its logo similar to what Cabot had been doing for decades – most of the product needs to be made in Vermont. For example, with butter 75 percent of the cream must be from Vermont and 75 percent of the butter itself must also be made in the state – churned by hand or not. If a company does not conform to these standards and still wishes to use the Vermont name or state, it must also disclose on the front of its package that it is not entirely made in-state.
The fervor over a major company like Cabot changing their label clearly shows that a product’s labeling and brand image is synonymous with the identity of the product and company. If businesses wish to create their own custom labels that will give them a persona and image amongst consumers, they may want to invest in a Primera LX900 series color label printer.