Supplement label design and artwork

Supplement label design from regulatory review to the packing line

British VitaTech's supplement label design takes each label from regulatory review to the packing line, for brands selling custom and private label supplements in the UK, the EU and the US. We review every word, claim and image against each market's rules before design sign-off, then design the artwork, specify the label materials and finishes, and manage proofing and print with specialist label printers in our partner network. You approve the artwork, our QA signs it off under a version number, and only the approved version is applied at packing in our Leicester facility.

What our label review checks in every market

A label error found after print means a reprint; found after sale, it can mean a recall. As of October 2026, our review checks that each label carries:

• Every required statement. On UK and EU labels, from the name "food supplement", the daily portion and the required warnings to each nutrient per daily portion, with vitamins and minerals as a percentage of their reference values.
• Claims you can make. Authorised claims only, in the register's exact wording with their conditions of use. Botanical health claims are still on hold in the UK and EU, so we build the health message on authorised vitamin and mineral claims, as our guide to claims, evidence and regulation by market explains.
• A compliant pack. Nothing that suggests a medicinal effect, images and icons included; allergens that stand out in the ingredients list; mandatory text at the minimum x-height; and the right operator or importer address for GB, the EU and Northern Ireland.
• A US label of its own. "Dietary supplement", or a form such as "calcium supplement", in the product name, a Supplement Facts panel, a US address or phone number for adverse event reports, the major food allergens, any required warnings and FDA's disclaimer linked to each structure/function claim.

Label verification on every batch is the critical control point in our HACCP study, CCP-01, and every batch is tested by accredited partner laboratories as part of every order. British VitaTech is ISO 9001, HACCP and GMP certified by BSI, and FDA registered.

Artwork for labels, cartons and sachet film, built on a dieline

Our artwork service designs labels, cartons and printed film for custom and private label supplements, including sachets and stick packs. You bring brand guidelines, logos and the claims to lead with. We lock the approved label text first, so every layout carries words that have passed review.

• Dieline first. Label size follows the container chosen in supplement packaging development, with clear space for the lot code and best before date printed on the line.
• A system for the range. One layout grid runs across flavours, strengths and markets, so a new variant changes text and colour, not the design.
• Small packs. The carton carries the full label, and each stick or sachet carries what keeps it traceable on its own: product name, batch code, date and dose. A stick sold singly needs the full label.
• Print on the label, not the bottle. Under the UK's recyclability rating for 2027 (RAM 2027), direct print on PET bottles, and on clear or white HDPE or PP, rates red unless it is the batch code or expiry date.
• Barcodes. Every retail unit carries a GS1 barcode, and outer cases carry product, quantity, batch and best before for warehouses. GS1 aims for tills to read 2D barcodes, which can carry batch and expiry, by the end of 2027; we print those at packing, alongside the linear barcode.

Your formula is yours. So is your artwork: you receive the print-ready files for every approved version.

Paper or film: label stock, finishes and recyclability

A label has to survive the filling line, a humid bathroom and the recycler's wash. Paper looks natural but softens in moisture; polypropylene film resists water and oils; polyethylene flexes with squeezable bottles; clear film gives a no-label look. Finishes include varnishes, foils, embossing and tamper-evident seals.

We test the label on the pack, not on the sheet: adhesion on the real container, including in cold and humid storage, rub resistance of the print, barcode scanning and legibility at the required text size. Labels also go on the stability samples, to the end of shelf life.

Designed for recycling

As of October 2026, the UK's RAM 2027 recyclability rating, which drives household packaging EPR fees, looks closely at labels, so we specify:

• adhesives that release the label in a standard 70 to 90°C hot wash, because rigid plastic packs otherwise rate red;
• on PET bottles, labels and sleeves lighter than water, which float away in the recycler's tank while PET sinks; non-PET labels denser than 1 g per cm³ rate red;
• on HDPE and PP, no PVC, aluminium, metallised PET or metallised PS labels, which rate red;
• labels and sleeves of another material covering no more than 60% of a rigid plastic pack, because more rates amber;
• inks made to the European Printing Ink Association's charter, because other inks rate the pack red.

Print on food contact film

Sachet, stick and pouch film is printed on the side away from the food, and food contact rules limit what may transfer from the ink to the food side, including by set-off when printed film is wound on a reel. So we specify low-migration inks for these films.

Packaging data

Labels count as packaging under UK packaging EPR, so each label's material and weight goes into the packaging specification for your EPR returns. EU packs will carry a harmonised material label from August 2028 at the earliest, so new designs keep space for it.

Three proofs and a barcode check before anything prints

1. Text proof. The approved text for each market, with its review.
2. Design proof. The artwork on the dieline, checked line by line.
3. Colour proof. Brand colours proofed on the chosen material, since one ink reads differently on film and paper.
4. Barcode check. Each barcode checked against the GS1 specification.
5. Sign-off. You approve the artwork, and our QA signs it off under a version number.
6. Print. Specialist label printers in our partner network print to our specification, and the first labels off the press are checked against the approved proof.
7. Packing. Delivered labels are checked against the approved version and verified on every batch in Leicester under our contract packing and co-packing controls, and obsolete versions are destroyed so they cannot reach the line.

Digital print suits short runs and language variants; flexographic print suits long, stable runs. When a formula, claim or rule changes, the label goes back through review and proofing, and the old labels are counted out and destroyed.

When one design serves the UK and EU, and why the US differs

• UK and EU together. UK and EU labels share their core statements, so one design can serve both when it carries both operator addresses, claims authorised in both registers and the languages each market needs.
• EU languages. Each member state can require one or more official EU languages, and one label can carry several; pack size and text height decide how many fit, and booklet labels add space (see supplement manufacturing for EU brands).
• The US. A US label is a separate document, with a Supplement Facts panel, Daily Values and US units: 25 µg of vitamin D is 500% of the reference value on a UK or EU label but 125% of the Daily Value on a US panel, written as 25 mcg. See custom supplement manufacturing for US brands.

We guided one UK pouch brand, a client since 2023, through regulatory and compliance checks as it expanded into Europe, the USA and Mexico.

For your next product, lock each market's label text before design starts; our supplement regulation watch tracks the rules each quarter. To brief us, Start your project.

References: Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003 (2003); Directive 2002/46/EC on food supplements (2002); Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers (2011); Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims (2006); Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006 on good manufacturing practice for food contact materials (2006); 21 CFR Part 101, food labeling (2026); GOV.UK, RAM 2027 materials assessment guidance (2026); GS1, 2D barcodes at retail point-of-sale implementation guideline (2025).