The Craft Beverage Label Checklist

Every craft beverage label has two jobs: earn the pick-up on shelf and pass inspection. Most redesigns get the first job right and leave the second to the final proof, where mandatory copy gets crammed into whatever space is left. This Field Note lists the federal and BC requirements to plan for before the first sketch.

This is a planning checklist, not legal advice. Confirm the details with the CFIA and your liquor board before you go to print.

The checklist

1. Use the right common name. Standardized drinks such as beer, cider and wine have prescribed common names, required for anything sold across provincial lines. For beer, alcohol content decides it: extra light beer, light beer, beer, strong beer or extra strong beer. Your style name sits alongside it, not instead of it.
2. Name the flavour. If a beer uses a flavouring preparation, the flavour becomes part of the common name, for example “beer with blueberry flavour”. Plan for that longer name in the type hierarchy from the start.
3. Put alcohol content on the front. Any drink at 1.1% alcohol by volume or more must declare it on the principal display panel. Formats such as “5.2% alc./vol.” or “alc. 5.2% vol.” are accepted, and both count as bilingual.
4. Design for English and French. Mandatory information, including the common name, must appear in both official languages. Set the French at full length in the first layout. Squeezing it in at proof stage is where good labels get cramped.
5. Declare allergens, gluten and sulphites. Beer is exempt from an ingredient list, but it must still declare allergen sources such as wheat, gluten sources such as barley, and added sulphites at 10 ppm or more. Without an ingredient list, that means a “Contains” statement.
6. Know whether you need a full ingredient list. Standardized drinks like beer, wine and cider are exempt. Unstandardized products, such as ready-to-drink cocktails, are not and need a complete ingredient list. Check which side of the line a new product sits on before the brief is written.
7. Show net quantity and who you are. Like any prepackaged food, the label needs the net quantity in metric units on the principal display panel, plus the name and principal place of business of the company responsible for the product.
8. Watch the loaded words. “Light” on beer is tied to alcohol content. “Non-alcoholic” and “alcohol-free” mean under 0.05%, and “dealcoholized” means under 1.1%. A nutrient claim, such as a calorie claim, can also trigger a Nutrition Facts table.
9. Keep it returnable in BC. Alcohol containers in BC carry a 10-cent deposit, and depots check returns by barcode and label. Shrink sleeves, wraps and fully printed cans all need a barcode that stays clear and scannable.
10. Check with your liquor board. Provinces can add requirements on top of the federal rules. In BC, confirm current requirements with the BC Liquor Distribution Branch before final art, especially for a first listing.

Putting it into the design process

• Write the mandatory copy before the concept round, using the real alcohol content, net quantity and allergen information.
• Place the required front-panel items first, then design the brand moment around them.
• Proof every language and every size in the range, not just the hero can.