What to Put on Your Label

You've spent weeks, maybe months, perfecting your product. The formula is right, the container is sorted, you’re ready to go. Then someone asks what's going on the label, and you realize you've been so focused on what goes inside the container that you haven't fully worked out what goes on the outside of it.

It's more common than you'd think. And it's way easier to sort out now than after you've printed 500 labels with your home address listed as your company headquarters.

Here's what actually needs to go on your product label, the basics that apply to everyone, and the stuff that varies depending on what you're selling.

Start With the Stuff Every Label Needs

No matter what's in the container (hot sauce, hand lotion, industrial degreaser, artisan dog treats) certain elements belong on every single label. Here’s the non-negotiables:

Your product name

"Serenity" is a lovely name. It is also the name of a candle, a face mist, a sleep supplement, a lotion, and a boat somewhere in Florida. Your label should make it immediately obvious what the product actually is. If your customer has to guess, the label isn't doing its job.

Your brand and company name

This one feels obvious, and it is, which is why it's remarkable how often it gets buried or forgotten entirely when someone goes deep into compliance requirements. Your name and logo belong on the front, prominently. Before the ingredient list. Before the net quantity. Before anything else. That's the whole point of all this.

Net quantity

How much product is in here? Ounces, grams, milliliters, count? Pick the right unit, be accurate, and make it readable. In the U.S., this declaration needs to appear in the lower 30% of the principal display panel. Yes, there's a specific percentage. No, 'roughly the bottom half' doesn't count. The FDA wrote an entire document about this, and anybody that takes the time to do that, really cares about enforcing it.

Contact information

Name, address, website, phone number. Customers need to be able to reach you. Regulators need to be able to reach you. A QR code is a great modern option here. A street address works fine. A MySpace URL may be an option if you’re feeling nostalgic.

Ingredients or contents

If your product has ingredients, list them in descending order by weight. This applies to food, cosmetics, and most things in between.

Directions for use (if applicable)

If there's a right way and a wrong way to use your product, say so. People really do appreciate knowing what to do before they do it wrong, and your future customer service inbox will appreciate it even more. “Do not apply directly to eyes” seems obvious until it's in an emergency room conversation.

Batch codes, lot numbers, or expiration stamps

They are not the glamorous part of product development. They will not be photographed for your packaging reveal. But when something goes wrong (and occasionally, something goes wrong) they are the only reason you know which batch to pull. Make room for them before you finalize the design.

The Product Label Requirements That Depend on What You're Selling

Here's where product label requirements get more specific, and where a lot of first-time founders get surprised. Depending on what you're putting in the container, different federal agencies have opinions about what goes on the outside of it. Strong, documented, enforceable opinions.

Food products

Food labeling in the U.S. falls under the FDA, specifically 21 CFR Part 101, which is a document that exists if you want to read it. You do not want to read it, but you do need to follow it. The short version: you'll need a Nutrition Facts panel, a full ingredient list, and allergen declarations covering the Big 9: peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, and sesame, which joined the list in 2023. Undeclared allergens are consistently one of the top reasons food products get recalled. The FDA's food labeling guide is dry but thorough, and worth bookmarking before you go to print.

Cosmetics and personal care

Cosmetics are also regulated by the FDA, and the ingredient naming conventions alone are enough to make someone rethink their product. Your ingredient list needs to use INCI names (the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) which is a standardized system that turns “shea butter” into Butyrospermum Parkii and “water” into Aqua. Sounds like a spell from a fantasy novel, but it isn’t. This is how cosmetic labels work and how ingredients are recognized internationally.

If you're launching a new cosmetic brand in the U.S., you also need to know about MoCRA (the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act) passed in December 2022. It added facility registration and product listing requirements that didn't exist before.

Chemicals and cleaning products

These fall under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard, which aligns with the GHS (the Globally Harmonized System) of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals. Your label needs a signal word (either "Danger" or "Warning") the appropriate hazard pictograms, and specific hazard and precautionary statements. This system was built to communicate real safety information clearly, and it does.

Not sure which regulations apply to your specific product? That's a good reason to call us. Our packaging consultants have worked with products across a lot of categories and can help you figure out what you're dealing with before you commit to a design.

A Few Things Worth Knowing on the Design Side

Once the required elements are covered, a few practical design considerations will save you from problems that are entirely avoidable and deeply annoying.

Your label needs to survive your product's environment. A paper label in a shower is quite literally money down the drain. Does your product get wet? Sit on a bathroom shelf? Get handled constantly, thrown in a bag, or stored in a freezer? Your label material needs to match your product's real life, not just its photo shoot. If you're getting into the weeds on file prep, print specs, and you’re worried your Fiver designer is making fun of you behind your back, we also have a piece on JPEG vs PNG vs SVG for packaging design.

If it's going to retail, it needs a UPC barcode. Quiet zones, bar height, module width, contrast ratio, a barcode that doesn't meet these specifications is a barcode that doesn't scan, which is a product that doesn't sell.

Stay consistent with your brand. You spent months on your formula. Don't let Comic Sans be the thing people remember. Same fonts, same colors, same visual language across your label as everything else you put out. That consistency is what makes someone recognize your product on a shelf before they even read the name.

Need help getting your label print-ready?

Container and Packaging's Labels & Printing services handle pre-press file review, print coordination, and the kind of detail work that prevents expensive surprises at the printer. We also partner with Avery to help customers print professional labels whether you're running a small batch or scaling up. Ask your packaging consultant about it.

The Product Labeling Checklist

Before anything goes to print, run through this. Print it out if you want. Put it on your wall. Laminate it. Show it off to friends and loved ones.

• Product name — clear, descriptive, tells people what it actually is
• Brand and company name (on the front, not hiding on the back)
• Net quantity — weight, volume, or count, in the lower 30% of the front panel
• Contact information — name, address, website
• Ingredients or contents — descending order by weight, INCI names for cosmetics
• Directions for use — if applicable (and when in doubt, include them)
• Warnings — if applicable
• Category-specific requirements — FDA food labeling, FDA cosmetics / MoCRA, or OSHA/GHS depending on your product
• Space for batch codes, lot numbers, or expiration stamps
• UPC barcode — if going to retail, and tested to actually scan
  

Your Label Is More Than Decoration

It's your customer's first impression. It's how regulators know you're operating correctly. When done well, it's a reason someone picks your product over the twenty other options sitting next to it.

This will most definitely shock you: we think we're a pretty good resource for the exact thing you just read about on our site.

If you're still sorting out your container, your label design, what should go on it, or just where to start, browse our container catalog or give us a call at (866) 245-4952. We have actual humans on the other end who will ask about your product before making recommendations.