The words, warnings and advisory statements on food and beverage labels are often of the utmost importance and rightly demand attention. However, sometimes a producer can wind up in trouble for other, more general aspects of their label, especially if it overshadows the rest of the product’s packaging. Recent events have seen Jody Scheckter of South Africa, once a Formula-1 star, wrestle with assertions from consumer groups over a beer he’s produced. It’s also due to the product’s beer labels, which opponents say appeal to children.
It all seems to stem back to Scheckter letting his young son draw and design the label for his Laverstoke Park Farm ale from Hampshire, UK. As the BBC reports, the label depicts a farmer in a colorful childlike style. It has reportedly been in circulation for years now, but in 2012 complaints began to surface that this made the beer appear to be aimed toward children. The fact that the same label is used on a range of other, non-alcoholic beverage products made under the same brand most likely added to the claims confusion.
An influential consumer body known as The Portman Group has instructed stores to stop selling Scheckter’s beer, after he allegedly pursued legal action that cost him 30,000 pounds. Despite his objections to the group’s decision, it appears that Scheckter will now keep the label, even with all of the financial damage this may do him, as it would supposedly be too expensive to change.
Decisions that may seem innocuous to a producer at a certain point in a brand’s life may prove to eventually be the source of trouble in a different context. While it’s impossible to foresee every possible complaint anyone might ever have with particular drink or food labels, this situation illustrates the possible advantages to having a color label printer on hand for the purposes of a hasty redesign, especially when a major piece of property rides on the line.