86 | Quirky Beverages CompanyQBC added shrink sleeve labels for its new products printed on HP Indigo Digital printing enabled QBC to add new label designs“Start-ups should always standardize the processes and not always focus on low cost. Do your research before putting out a product. Once your reputation is formed in the market, it is too diffcult to remake it”the product on them. He says that the company has adopted a few new policies this ‘We sat there for around 12 hours and came up with one design. year. It will have fve vendors for each service because relying on a I was very happy with them at that time. Now, if I look at those single vendor might cause delays. designs, I would not have approved them. But it used to sell, which He also adds that label converters need to educate start-up was crazy.’ businesses who need guidance through the process. Today Sonar and his team understand the aspects of designing. ‘As a start-up, we have one thing in mind – it should be cheap; The company now hires professional designers and design agencies. everything else is secondary. Before that, let’s talk about substrates; Sonar learned several elements of design and color, including the not everyone knows relevant vendors and details about the design process, Pantone colors, standardization of materials, bottle substrates in terms of gsm, strength, coated or uncoated and sizing and costing. material sourcing. You cannot change your label later on because customers get used to them. For me, the biggest learning as a Knowledge sharing start-up was if the material is available locally or can be sourced Sonar added that resources and knowledge on packaging, from multiple suppliers.’ technology, and vendors are not readily available on the internet. For start-ups, he says: ‘You should always, frst of all, standardize For a start-up or layman, typing in a search engine for what they the processes. You should know what you want exactly and do not need is the endpoint. always focus on low cost; it might turn expensive later on. Once the ‘Good vendors don’t show up on the internet. They are like cat is out of the bag, it cannot be put back in. So do your research Illuminati – behind the shadows.’ before putting out a product and research packaging. Make a When Sonar came across digital technology, he was surprised to checklist of all the things that could go wrong and keep a check on see its capabilities. it because once your reputation is formed in the market, it is too ‘How come I did not know about this back then? Things would diffcult to remake it.’ have been massively different,’ he says. ‘But I guess everything The company has a plant in Chandigarh and is setting up new takes time, and it is important as a learning curve to network and plants in Goa, Gujarat, Guwahati, Delhi and South India. The sites connect to the correct guys. That’s how you grow. You have to visit have been fnalized and will be operational by 2023. exhibitions on packaging printing and understand every aspect of The response to QBC products has been ‘overwhelming,’ and it and meet the right partners. You have to go out there; nobody is Sonar gives most of the credit to branding, design and packaging. coming to tell you.’ ‘Nothing has changed other than packaging. The product and What can technology providers and converters do to help recipe are the same as four years ago. What has changed is the start-ups? For starters, says Sonar, they need to improve their perception of how people see a brand.’search engine optimization and clearly mention the services they offer. They should be available on Google to be visible in the search results. A handful of vendors appear in search results despite the For more information on Quirky Beverage Company, market being full of them. visit www.quirkybev.comlabelsandlabeling.com