labels Salsa label suggestions needed

salsalady

salsalady

eXtreme Business
Hey, y'all.  Time for another label critique/suggestions thread for Texas Creek Salsa!
 
I need to streamline production for the salsa and maybe launch into some new markets.  This salsa has been made and sold for about 20 years.  The Chile Pepper Guy and Gal have been on the label since the very beginning.  They were sketched by tattoo artist Tim Sconce with colored pencils on a plain piece of white paper.  The original sketches were lost when the original print shop went out of business and pitched the hard copies. :(  (a big regret of mine). 
 
 
There are several things going on here so please bear with me as the items are addressed.
 
Here's the scenario-
I have one basic label that is used on all salsa tubs and then each tub gets a flavor sticker with  "Mild Medium Hot Scorcher". 
 
Right now, the rectangular label is applied to every tub and then the Flavor dot is applied.  I've looked at getting printed tubs (with a minimum of about 48,000) and that would only be for the basic label and each flavor dot would still have to be applied by hand....or do 4 runs x 48,000 for the 4 flavors..... :eek:....[maybe next year~~~]
 
 
So I'm back to looking at getting printed labels that would be hand applied.  4 different label versions for the front panels and one label for the back which would have NIP, bar code, ingredients, contact, etc.  I can get 5 separate labels printed fairly economically compared to doing a LARGE run of printed tubs. 
 
Here's the basic label and the 4 flavor dots-
IMG_4958.JPG

 
Because a rectangular label is applied to a tapered tub, it doesn't lay out even on the tub (the ends of the straight label curve up following the contours of the tub), but it is what it is.... the flavor dots are applied to the right of the main panel and covers the stem of the GreenGal chile.
IMG_4957.JPG

 
 
Basically, I'm looking at getting some custom die-cut labels which would have a camel hump top-center where the flavor graphic would be so I don't have to apply each individual flavor sticker on each tub.  What you see below is mock-ups using my current labels.  When I say Flavor Dots, it would no longer be a separate sticker applied by hand, it would be printed on the label.
 
My questions for y'all are----
 
The original flavor dots are round and oval.  Should they stay round and oval as required by the length of the words or should they all be oval?  Literal Cut-n-Paste examples- Oval Medium and 2 options for HOT, one original round and one oval-
IMG_4965.JPG

 
 
Should the Flavors be aligned STRAIGHT atop the main panel or should they by slightly off-kilter like they all are on the hand applied dots that we've been doing for 20 years?
 
IMG_4960.JPG

 
IMG_4961.JPG

 
 
 
I remember about 15 years ago when my dad was helping label a batch and he was spending a lot of time making sure the flavor dots were all nice and straight and I told him to just stick 'em on there!  I like that they aren't straight!  It's part of the hand made thing~~~ but...that's just me~  If I print a run of several thousand labels with off-kilter flavor dots....will it fly or flop?
 
Recap-
should the yellow flavor dot graphic be oval and round or all oval?
should the flavor dot graphic be aligned straight with the rest of the text or can they be printed slightly off-kilter to make it look more like hand applied stickers?
 
The main logo graphics will be adjusted a liitle outward and shallower to accomodate the flavor dot at the top.  All the other S-n-S (sheet-and-schtuff) will go on another label either on the back or the top.  Haven't decided which would be faster for packaging.  ~
 
Thanks for your opinions.  Hope this makes sense.
 
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I don't like the tilted look.  It's doesn't match the rest of the label.  So I say oval (for consistency) and level, not off-kilter.
 
I also like Homemade more than Premium.
 
It also bothers me that the "medium" is pushed to the left and not centered and that there is not enough space between the bottom of the oval and the text below it.  But then again, there is probably medication available that would help me ignore it.   :P  
 
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For the mild (NO peppers) why is there a red pepper screaming and sweating, wouldn't that be for Scorcher?
 
This may be one of those things you've been doing so long you didn't notice. But it stands out to me. If I bought mild which has no peppers I'd feel misled. Like those sauces with extreme type labels that have no heat.
 
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Food for thought - you can also overlap over the bubble: 
 
156286_10153754182390340_4851392149039221013_n.jpg

(just a hastily-done example) 
 
It looks a little more unified and less disjointed that way.  Subtle, but effective.  
 
And looking at them all, I don't like the off-kilter look at all. The horizontal text fits the rest of the label. 
 
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The green chile is Mild (not sweating) the red chile is Hot, both together are the logo and cover the range of heat levels.  As you say, it might be one of those things that's been that way for so long I don't see it.  The chiles are the salsa label.  I don't min]d not having them on all the other bottled products, they just don't "work" for all the different sauces.
 
 
pepperdaddy- These mock ups are cut ups of the exisitng label so things are not aligned exactly.  I'd have the graphics people reduce the height of SALSA, fudge the peppers out, skooch the bottom text down, maybe do a rounded corner rectangle for the flavor instead of an oval (looks less like an egg yolk  ;)  )
 
I'm going to have to take a look at the other brands to see how they do their flavors.  The hand applied stickers have been off-kilter for 20 years, thought I'd try to keep a bit of that hand applied look. 
 
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salsalady said:
The green chile is Mild (not sweating) the red chile is Hot, both together are the logo and cover the range of heat levels.  As you say, it might be one of those things that's been that way for so long I don't see it.  The chiles are the salsa label.  I don't min]d not having them on all the other bottled products, they just don't "work" for all the different sauces.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah the red is first and the Mild has no peppers, the green guy is a pepper too. I do get it's your logo, but it reads, left to right... HOTTTT!!!!!!
 
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Speaking visually as well as left to right comprehension... at a glance, basically.
 
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