Finat launches #LABELicious

International label association Finat has launched officially launched #LABELicious, a competition to attract fresh, creative and enthusiastic industry talent.

The launch of #LABELicious follows the finding of the latest Finat Radar industry survey that discovered how challenging it is for the industry to attract a newly skilled next generation workforce

Finat’s aim is to increase awareness among students and young professionals about the creative, technical and leadership skills involved in shaping tomorrow’s labels and label sector. The goal is to educate students and young professionals about the exciting and challenging opportunities the industry offers and how their innovative spirits can make a difference.

The #LABELicious competition features three categories:

  • Brand Design, where the winning entry will demonstrate how in 2025 a branded label will create an outstanding experience, competitive advantage and added value for a brand in its own product category;
  • Smart/Intelligent/Multifunctional Labels, with the winning entry to demonstrate how technology adds value to a label through new functionality, other than branding alone; and
  • Out of The Box, where the winning entry will demonstrate how out-of-the-box-thinking, combining both creative design and technology, offers new applications and added-value possibilities in product labelling. This could also present a vision of the entrant’s future work environment in the industry.

The launch of #LABELicious follows the finding of the latest Finat Radar industry survey that discovered how challenging it is for the industry to attract a newly skilled next generation workforce. The competition also marks the association’s 60th anniversary.

As further details and rules for the competition are being developed, the project is designed to demonstrate how the label profession is evolving, how labels and adjacent technologies are key to the success of brands and industry processes, and ultimately, why the label industry is an attractive work option for young talent.

Finat plans to develop this project throughout 2018 and 2019. It will work with a wide range of partners and stakeholders including companies in the label industry, national associations, national and international media, and partners from vocational educational institutions and universities. Labels & Labeling and Labelexpo, along with The Label Academy are strongly supporting #LABELicious.

The international winners of the competition will be announced during Labelexpo Europe 2019 where a #LABELicious pavilion will showcase all winning entries.

Finat president Chris Ellison said: ‘We are also delighted to officially announce our cooperation with Labelexpo and the fact that Labels & Labeling and The Label Academy have joined #LABELicious as international media partners.’

The launch of #LABELicious comes a decade after the forming of the Finat Young Managers Club (YMC).

Read a review of this year’s Finat ELF in Labels & Labeling issue 4, and here