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LABELS&LABELING |109<br />
Putting Africa on<br />
the labels map<br />
THE TARSUS GROUP has run a Label Summit in Africa for the first time. Danielle Jerschefske and<br />
Andy Thomas report on a highly successful event<br />
The inaugural Label Summit Africa last<br />
March attracted over 300 delegates,<br />
including converters, brand owners<br />
and label designers, to the Cape Town<br />
International Convention Centre (CTICC).<br />
The African market for PS labels is still<br />
relatively small, given the current size<br />
of the consumer market. South Africa,<br />
the continent’s powerhouse, has a<br />
population of only 50 million.<br />
According to the AWA Labeling Report<br />
for the Africa and Middle East markets,<br />
presented at the conference, PS labels<br />
have a 38 percent share of the overall<br />
African labels market, while wet glue<br />
accounts for 40 percent. Of the PS labels<br />
used in Africa, around 86 percent are<br />
prime labels, with VIP labels only eight<br />
percent. This can be accounted for by<br />
the low stage of development of the<br />
continent’s logistics networks. AWA sees<br />
this as key future growth areas for PS.<br />
In comparable developing markets like<br />
India, VIP for logistics accounts for half of<br />
PS usage.<br />
Shrink sleeves currently hold a<br />
respectable eight percent market share<br />
and growing, while AWA’s Cory Reardon<br />
told delegates that in-mold labels have a<br />
good growth potential from a low base of<br />
around one percent.<br />
Xeikon’s Filip Weymans identified<br />
a big opportunity for digitally printed<br />
PS labels in combating counterfeiting.<br />
To illustrate the scale of the problem,<br />
Weymans said that over one quarter of all<br />
medicines sold in Africa contain no active<br />
ingredients.<br />
is imperative. There can be no<br />
contamination issues when it comes to<br />
developing more sustainable packaging,<br />
and sustainable packaging must<br />
maintain its functionality. Our primary<br />
goal, for now, is to simply reduce<br />
packaging at the beginning of the design<br />
process.’<br />
Building on the sustainability theme,<br />
Jean DuToit, managing director of Boland<br />
Cellar in Paarl, South Africa, explained<br />
how the company had adopted the<br />
sustainability framework outlined by the<br />
Business Social Compliance Initiative<br />
(BSCI).<br />
Boland Cellar is one of South Africa’s<br />
top 20 exporters, and sells the majority<br />
of its product into Europe where many<br />
retailers use the BSCI framework. DuToit<br />
told delegates how the company had<br />
reduced the carbon footprint of its<br />
‘Flutterby’ merlot and sauvignon blanc<br />
wines, sold in Europe in 750mL PET<br />
bottles, by bulk shipping then bottling<br />
and labeling closer to local retail outlets.<br />
This also saved money, as PET is more<br />
costly in South Africa, and meant the PET<br />
was more likely to be recycled.<br />
Delegates later heard that over two<br />
thirds of the wine exported from South<br />
Africa is now bulk shipped.<br />
Another interesting take on the<br />
sustainability question came from the<br />
event’s keynote speaker, Jay Gouliard<br />
of Avery Dennison label and packaging<br />
materials, who looked at the benefits<br />
of eco-friendly label systems and why<br />
increasing sustainability maximizes<br />
profitability.<br />
Grant Watson, from Rotolabel, outlined<br />
the benefits of digital printing with his HP<br />
Indigo equipment. Watson said around<br />
70 percent of the company’s work is<br />
below 1,500m run length, and as well<br />
as labels, he has printed 10 micron film<br />
sachets in short runs which are then<br />
transferred to conventional when the job<br />
size increases.<br />
Continuing the digital theme, Dr Adrian<br />
Steele of the UK’s Mercian Labels<br />
Group gave a case study on how online<br />
marketing transformed a short run label<br />
printing business model.<br />
Other highlights saw a panel of<br />
leading converters address challenges<br />
and opportunities facing the industry<br />
in South Africa and beyond, including<br />
Callie de Wet, managing director of<br />
Paarl Labels; Jeremy Ferrow, managing<br />
director, Ferroprint; Leal Wright, general<br />
manager, Labels and Packaging<br />
Division, Uniprint; and Sachen Gudka,<br />
CEO Interlabels Africa.<br />
A wine producers’ panel showcasing<br />
Boer & Brit and Haskell Vineyards looked<br />
at engaging consumers through clever<br />
product promotions, and led to the<br />
plea for label paper suppliers to make<br />
the same materials available in South<br />
Africa as in Europe. A move away from<br />
manually applying wet glue labels and<br />
towards applying PS labels automatically<br />
was a key trend identified. Roger Pellow,<br />
MD of the Tarsus label and packaging<br />
group, said the Summit will return to<br />
South Africa on 10-11 March 2014.<br />
RETAIL DRIVEN<br />
Trends in the retail sector largely drive<br />
label industry developments, and an<br />
extremely interesting panel discussion<br />
brought together representatives from<br />
leading retail chains Shoprite, Clicks and<br />
Woolworths with input from branding<br />
specialist Calibre Brand Solutions.<br />
Shoprite is one of the biggest grocery<br />
retailers on the continent of Africa with a<br />
presence in over 16 countries. It makes<br />
about 25 percent of its profit on sales of<br />
private label goods.<br />
Mark Anley, the company’s packaging<br />
technology manager, called on label<br />
converters to partner with Shoprite<br />
to develop new, more sustainable<br />
packaging options. ‘Innovation<br />
DELEGATES network at a wine mixing event at the Zevenwacht estate<br />
JULY 2012 | L&L
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