Following the recent insights shared by our Commercial Director, Ashley Simpson, on the challenges facing the cosmetics industry, we’re now turning our attention to the world of vehicle care.
Our Business Development Manager, Tim Mallender, shares his unique perspective on how the need for detailed safety and technical information is changing the way automotive after-care products are labelled. From simple Sunday morning washes to the complexities of GHS compliance, here are his thoughts on why automotive labelling is more complex than ever.
From the early days of simple Sunday morning car washes on the drive, the market for vehicle care and maintenance products has grown at a fast rate, driven by increased ownership and consumer awareness.
With the ever-changing complexities of today’s vehicles and materials, the demand for high-quality after-care products is higher than ever. As with all formulations, however, it is essential the consumer is fully aware of any potential hazards to themselves and their vehicles, especially when dealing with today’s intricate paint finishes.
This focus on care also extends to the fluids and lubricants. These consumer products are often an offshoot of the same high-specification products used during professional servicing and repair.
Car product labelling has developed from simple hazard, and mostly non-standardised, warnings using hazard pictograms (e.g., skull and crossbones). In 2017 that all changed to the internationally recognised GHS (Globally Harmonised System) labels. This universally accepted label format features the red-diamond-shaped pictograms and more detailed hazard information. This also helped hugely to ensure a greater consistency in communicating chemical hazards globally.
In the main, consumers have become savvier, wanting to know and understand more about a product’s ingredients and any associated hazards and/or environmental considerations we need to be aware of.
This is where product labelling has become increasingly important – in short, we want to know what we are putting on our cars before we buy. The same can be said of oils, lubricants, and fluids. We want to know and understand the benefits, have clear instructions for use, and be aware of any potential hazards or side effects to my vehicle if used or dosed incorrectly.
Crucially, these increasing consumer and regulatory demands simply cannot be met by a standard single-page label.
Over the years, Denny Bros has been invited by numerous automotive brands to aid their messaging on pack by innovating labels for a wide array of primary packaging, including those challenging trigger spray shaped bottles.
Our multi-page formats, including our flagship Fix-a-Form® and our peel-and-reveal labels, are widely used within the automotive sector because they solve the problem of limited space while offering unique functional benefits:
We use varying adhesive substrates and laminates to ensure supreme durability. Your label remaining on the primary packaging is essential for consumer safety, especially in the automotive sector where products face heat, oils, and chemicals.
Our multi-page format provides the ample space needed to present complex GHS data, usage instructions, and multilingual translations clearly and legibly.
You can count on Denny Bros to accurately and consistently replicate your brand’s colourways.
Our purpose-built manufacturing site in Bury St. Edmunds is well-appointed to bring your design off the drawing board and create a format suited to your needs, one that is fully GHS-compliant and a stand-out in the competitive automotive sector.
Please contact the team at Denny Bros and we’d be happy to discuss your specific labelling requirements in more detail. Thanks for reading.
Tim Mallender, Business Development Manager
