What is a Batch Number and Why Does it Matter for Product Labeling?

Thousands of businesses all over the world rely on batch numbers and batch management to handle and track their products as they move through different stages of the production and distribution process. Let’s discuss batch numbers, the type of information they include, why they’re important, best practices, and how you can add them to labels. 

Batch number on product label

Understanding Batch Numbers 

According to the FDA’s Code of Federal Regulations, a product batch number is a distinct combination of numbers, letters and symbols detailing a product’s manufacturing, processing, and distribution history. 

With batch numbers, you assign a code to a group of products that were manufactured together during a single production run.The data in a batch number allows manufacturers and distributors to keep track of products as they move through the supply chain. 

Information That Batch Numbers Typically Include 

Your batch number should contain information that allows distributors and manufacturers to uniquely identify products in one production run. That means each code needs to include information like: 

  • Manufacturing Date: When was the product manufactured? Most batch numbers use the Julian Date format, which is written as YYDD. This helps you trace when the product was manufactured, which is important to know during recalls. 
  • Production Time: Some industries, like the food and beverage industry, mention the production time in batch numbers. This detail allows them to maintain better quality control while managing shelf life and expiration dates. 
  • Location: Companies that have different production sites commonly include the location in batch numbers. Adding this information allows precise traceability for product batches at different stages of the manufacturing process. 
  • Product Code: Batch numbers often include a product code, which corresponds to a specific Stock Keeping Unit (SKU). It helps distributors distinguish between different product varieties and types, such as regular and sugar-free versions. 
  • Serial Number: In industries where several batches are made in a single day, serial numbers are added to batch numbers. It helps manufacturers and distributors distinguish batches produced on the same day or during the same shift. 
  • Expiration Date Or Shelf Life Code: Batch numbers in some industries like cosmetics and food and beverage often include codes for shelf-life and expiration dates. 

Why Batch Numbers Matter For Labeling Products 

So, why add batch numbers to your product labels? The ISO 9001:2015 lays out best practices for traceability. It requires businesses to use batch numbers to track products and ensure quality control across different production stages. 

Here are some of the reasons to use batch numbers: 

Improves Traceability

When you’re adding batch numbers to product labels, you get precise traceability for your products. You can trace the lifecycle of an entire batch from manufacturing and processing to distribution and store shelves.  

Ensures Regulatory Compliance 

When you operate in an industry that’s exposed to strict regulations, such as food and pharmaceuticals, you need precise record-keeping. Not to mention, regulatory bodies like the FDA require batch numbers for food products, beverages, infant formula, and pharmaceuticals. 

Allows Better Inventory Management 

Your business can keep an accurate track of current inventory and anticipate demand. This reduces the risk of stockouts or overstocking. 

Efficient Product Recalls 

In the event of defects or safety concerns, your business can quickly identify the issue affecting a specific batch. You’ll be able to implement recalls much faster.  

Best Practices For Batch Number Placement And Printing  

Regulations surrounding the placement and printing of batch numbers can depend on your industry. However, guidelines usually include printing the batch number in a clear and prominent location. For instance, the FDA requires that you print the batch number somewhere it’s accessible, like the information panel on the label. The font size should be big enough to ensure readability, so about 1/16th of an inch for smaller labels, as detailed by 21 CFR §201.15. 

Creating And Managing Batch Numbers 

Whether you’re managing operations at a small or large scale, most companies leave managing batch numbers to specialized software. 

For smaller-scale operations, common options include Craftbase, Unleashed Software, and QuickBooks Enterprise. For larger-scale operations, common options include NetSuite, SAP’s ERP suite, BatchMaster ERP, and Inciflo. 

Integrating Different Batch Numbers Into One Label Run 

For businesses that print batch numbers onto labels, integrating different batch numbers into a label run is a common scenario. That’s where labeling solutions like variable data printing comes in.

Variable data printing allows you to change elements like graphics or text for labels quickly adding several different batch numbers into a single run for a cost-effective and efficient solution. 

Add Batch Numbers to Labels for Better Traceability and Compliance

Ready to put together a strategy for printing batch numbers in a single label run? Our experts can help. Learn more about variable data printing, get a sample pack, or request a quote!

Restaurant Stickers: How Food Labels for Delivery and Takeout Orders Can Benefit Your Business

If you run a business where people order takeout or delivery, quality, consistent packaging is a must. However, it can be easy to overlook a valuable piece of the delivery and takeout puzzle – a food label.

No matter whether you call it a label or sticker, these markers can make a difference for your business. Here are three notable reasons why you should invest in food labels for your takeout and delivery orders.

Food Labels Can Provide Useful Information

A good label is a blank canvas for potential information, both for you and your customers. A single sticker is an easy way for you to share key business information with every container – and in a very professional, attractive manner as well. For example, the following details could prove useful to your customers:

  • Restaurant hours
  • Phone number
  • Website
  • Social media pages
  • Locations (if applicable)

Even though you’ve already completed a transaction, after an order, it doesn’t hurt to remind people how and where to contact you for their next order. Listed information can also prove useful for a new customer who had no idea they could follow you on social media or that you had a location near their mom’s house.

In addition to details like your phone number, stickers can also help you share information that’s custom to every order. A takeout label can easily include a blank space that’s designed for helpful features that would improve a customer’s experience. For example, a customer with a big order would probably appreciate it if each container had a sticker that listed what is in the container and when it was packaged. Sure, you could write it directly on a box, but labels look much more professional and act as a great way to include quality branding.

Food delivery and takeout labels being printed.

Food Labels Make for Extra Marketing Opportunities

Speaking of how labels make for more professional packaging, let’s talk about a key benefit of a good restaurant sticker: branding. Every takeout or delivery container is a marketing opportunity. Takeout and delivery labels are prime spaces to include your logo, color themes, and any other details that will resonate with customers. Any restaurant can slap a boring white sticker on a package and call it a day. Only yours can emblazon each order with your brand and get people excited before they open the container.

Another benefit of utilizing branded takeout labels is that it helps create a cohesive image for your business. From takeout containers to menus and signage, unified presentation is big for business. How big, you ask? One study estimates that consistent presentation of a brand can help increase revenue by 33 percent, so investing in some branded container labels can be a greater financial boon than you think. In fact, diehard fans may even appreciate an extra sticker or two in their bags – it never hurts to have your customers stick your brand in new places.

Food Labels Make Food More Secure

A good sticker offers do more than just look good and provide information. Restaurant labels can serve as tamper evident seals for delivery and takeout orders. That simple seal over the flap of a container can help protect food from devious delivery drivers. That’s a key safeguard with more people turning to delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats, especially since a 2019 study by U.S. Foods found that 28 percent of deliverers admitted to taking food from an order.

Even if you don’t rely on outside delivery people and trust your staff, the vast majority of customers still appreciate a tamper evident seal. That same study found that 85 percent of people would like restaurants to use some form of seal to protect their food. A simple seal can give your customers some peace of mind – and that’s something you can’t put a price on.

An assortment of food label stickers laying on a table.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Takeout and Delivery Stickers

Even a single sticker can make a notable impact on your packaging. Of course, that doesn’t mean you need to settle for basic labels for your restaurant. Every takeout or delivery label is a chance to educate and impress your customers, so it’s best to get the most out of these miniature marketing tools.

At Blue Label, we can help you enhance your labels without breaking the bank. If you really want to impress your customers, we can laminate to protect your artwork and add a textural element to your packaging. We can even utilize variable data printing technology to randomize certain elements – like different food items, slogans, or maybe pictures of your other menu options – of your labels and really spice up your sticker game. No matter what route you want to take, our experts can help you invest in stunning food labels for your to-go orders. Even better, our digital printing technology allows you to order labels in small quantities without sacrificing on quality and order flexibility.

Ready to amp up your takeout and delivery orders? Contact us today to talk to one of our experts about how we can help you improve your packaging.