A success story of innovation and cooperation: Beontag’s PP Thermal Label with Różak Etykiety and Lucre

Overview

Lucre, a dynamic Polish meat processing company founded in 2015, has quickly established itself as a key player in the industry with its flagship meat and cold cuts brand Koneser Smaków. Leveraging decades of family expertise in traditional meat production, Lucre challenges a market dominated by large retail chains, expanding its own retail network to 13 stores in Wielkopolska and supplies wholesalers nationwide. To stay competitive and stand out on the store shelves, they needed operational flexibility and resilience for their product’s label application.

Beontag was enlisted to support Lucre and its long-standing print partner Różak Etykiety Printing House, a leading label printing company renowned for high-quality, innovative solutions and rapid order execution. The objective was to enhance label durability in what can be demanding manufacturing and shipping conditions. The resulting PP Thermal label, introduced into Różak Etykiety’s offering and Lucre’s supply chain, delivers a wide range of significant and far-reaching benefits to overall operational efficiency in retail. Most notably, its enhanced durability outperforms thermal paper by maintaining integrity on wet, cold, and humid surfaces even under fluctuations in temperature and or high humidity. This is paired with a stronger, thicker label design which adheres to a wide variety of substrates including corrugated cardboard, low-surface-energy materials like polyethylene, and non-polar surfaces.

By printing on film, the labels achieve higher print quality with sharper details and a premium finish. PP Thermal labels can now be found on Lucre products in butcher shops, slaughterhouses, food packaging, logistics, e-commerce, and retail settings, where it will not wrinkle, soak up water or peel even under the harshest of conditions.

The Challenge

As outlined, the PP Thermal label sets out to address a range of complex problems faced by more traditional solutions in the packaging industry. In transportation and distribution of a range of products, Lucre products are often stacked on top of each other, which can cause friction between the labels and packaging. Traditional paper labels, while durable, would often be affected by this process, running the risk of the label becoming unreadable.

That is where thermal film comes in, offering superior resistance to friction and moisture which helps maintain their quality. This makes them the ideal solution for products that need longer lasting and high-quality labels.

The Solution

Beontag’s PP Thermal material (ScandSynTherm SSP 50N HG0), when combined with advanced 8-color UV flexo printing and cold stamping, delivers high-quality labels designed for compatibility with both direct thermal and thermal transfer printers.

Some of its key characteristics include:

·         Durability in Challenging Conditions: Thermal Film performs significantly better in chilled environments, including wet or covered surfaces and under conditions of fluctuating temperature and humidity.

·         Consistent print quality: Thermal film delivers better and more stable print color, maintaining the same shade over time.

·         Recyclability: When applied to a polypropylene (PP) package, the entire packaging includes the label that can be recycled, supporting sustainability initiatives.

·         Application: The film label is thicker than the paper label and especially for the bottom labels of the product is easier and faster labeling.

 

Beontag’s PP Thermal label is ISEGA-approved for direct contact with dry and moist non-fatty foods. It complies with regulations for indirect food additives (FDA 175.105, BfR XIV) and has been tested and approved for toy and packaging applications. Additionally, it meets heavy metals regulations, including EN71-3 (Safety of Toys) and the UK Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 1998.

Results and Benefits

Thanks to this multifaceted partnership, the introduction of this new label delivers a range of significant and far-reaching benefits to overall operational efficiency. These include:

·          Stronger Construction: It is especially suitable for bottom labels on products that are prone to sticking and damage when stacked.

·          Superior Print Quality: Better color quality and maintains color stability and overtime.

·         Full recyclability: Both the package and label are entirely recyclable, streamlining the recycling process and supporting a circular economy for packaging.

·          Reliable Adhesion: Excellent performance in cold and moist conditions.

 Looking ahead

“Partnering with Lucre gave us a powerful opportunity to showcase the value of our PP thermal labels,” says Brian Olesen, EMEA Commercial Director of GLM. “By preventing damage and preserving label appearance in cold environments, we are proud to help eliminate costly returns and ensure products always look fresh and ready for retail.”

“Implementing PP Thermal labels into our products has been a game-changer. Packaging is an extension of our product, and a high-quality label reinforces the strength, reliability, and value of what’s inside. We are excited to deliver this innovation to our customers and showcase the excellent work Beontag and Rozak Etykiety have done to make our labels more durable during transportation and daily use,” says Piotr Koczorwski, owner of Lucre.

" This collaboration reaffirms that our customers should be our partners. Their needs guide the evolution of our products, proving that simply having a product on the market isn’t enough, it must truly meet the market’s demands. This partnership highlights the future direction of the meat industry label market, giving us the insights needed to develop even better, customer-centric solutions—like Beontag’s PP Thermal material," adds Maciej Różak, owner of Rozak Etykiety.