Casa Chocolates brings labeling in-house

Casa Chocolates, a San Antonio-based producer of small-batch, bean-to-bar fine chocolates, has installed two Epson ColorWorks CW-C6000A color label printers with automatic cutters, bringing its product labeling in-house and eliminating reliance on outsourced label production.

The investment was driven by challenges with the previous approach, including poor print quality, label adhesion issues and minimum order quantities that resulted in unused labels and wasted expenditure. With ColorWorks, the company now prints front and back labels on demand for each batch, covering product type, tasting notes, ingredients, barcodes, expiration dates and FDA requirements.

The on-demand model gives Casa Chocolates the flexibility to update recipes, launch new varieties and produce seasonal and limited-edition lines without committing to large pre-printed label runs. The company has also used the capability to create co-branded labels for wholesale clients.

'By using ColorWorks, we can update barcodes, add expiration dates and print exactly the labels we need for each batch,' said Derik Swee, co-owner of Casa Chocolates. 'If we update a recipe or launch a new bar, we can adjust the label immediately.'