Packaging · labels · category reviews

Retail-ready packaging, labels and line reviews

A product that sells well at a market stall can still fail at a big-box retailer if the box can’t be shelved quickly, the label is missing a required statement, or it arrives outside the window when the buyer is reviewing that aisle. This sheet covers those three hurdles.

1. The label: federal basics

For most household consumer goods, the federal baseline is the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA). The Federal Trade Commission’s summary of its rules lists three basic label requirements:

Who enforces it depends on the product: the FTC says the Food and Drug Administration administers the FPLA for foods, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices, while the FTC covers other consumer commodities used up in the household. So a hot-sauce maker answers to FDA labeling rules, while a candle maker is in FTC territory. Product-specific rules — for example the children’s-product tracking labels described on Sheet 04 — sit on top of this baseline.

2. The case: shelf-ready packaging

Large retailers move enormous volumes, and in-store labor is expensive. Shelf-ready packaging (also called retail-ready packaging) is packaging “optimized for efficient stocking and sale”: the shipping case is designed so staff can put it straight onto the shelf without unpacking individual units. Done well, it cuts in-store labor and packaging costs and helps a product stand out to shoppers.

Typical design points include cases that are easy to open and prepare, with intuitive perforations and tear tape — box cutters are often discouraged in stores. The same thinking scales up to display stands and end caps that forklifts can place without assembly. Costco, Target and Walmart each publish their own packaging specifications, which are similar but not identical, so a maker selling to two chains may need two case designs.

Packaging questions to settle before a buyer meeting

• How many units per inner pack and per master case does the retailer want?
• Does the case need its own barcode? (A GS1 Company Prefix can identify cases and pallets; a single GTIN can’t — see Sheet 03.)
• Will the product hang on a peg, sit on a shelf, or ship in a display? Each implies a different package.
• Can the case be opened without a blade, and does the front face the shopper when opened?
• Is the label compliant (identity, net quantity in both units, business name and place)?

3. The timing: category management and line reviews

Many large retailers manage their assortment by category: groups of related products, each run like a small business unit with its own sales or profit targets. The phrase “category management” is credited to Brian F. Harris, and the approach started in grocery before spreading to DIY, pharmacy and other retail.

The widely used eight-step model from The Partnering Group runs:

1. Define the category
2. Define the category’s role for the retailer
3. Assess current performance
4. Set objectives and targets
5. Devise the overall strategy
6. Devise specific tactics
7. Implement
8. Review — and loop back to step 1

Retailers’ supplier documents use the term product line review for a scheduled look at a line of products and the suppliers behind it. Lowe’s supplier FAQ explains the timing: its Product Line Reviews and RFPs are driven by contract expirations and new business initiatives, not by sign-ups on its supplier portal. In other words, registering puts you in the file; a line review is when the file gets opened.

Category captains

Many retailers nominate a “category captain” — usually the supplier with the largest sales in the category — to help analyze it. The captain invests time and often money in the category and in return gains influence and sometimes greater access to the retailer’s data. A small maker is unlikely to be captain, but it helps to know the big incumbent may be shaping the recommendations. Suppliers are generally expected to propose shelf changes (planograms) only when they benefit total category sales or profit and shoppers — so frame your pitch around what your product adds to the category, not just your own sales.

Putting it together