Why Won’t Generic Coding Work For Custom Bottling Solutions?

This is How We Helped Oregon Co-Packing In Their Mission to Help Small Brands With Big Futures

Have You Heard of Oregon Co-Packing Before? 

Usually we would say that it’s not great to keep things bottled up, but that’s not the case for Oregon Co-Packing who happens to bottle up spices for a living. There’s obviously a little more to it than that; Oregon Co-Packing was founded back in 2021 and it specializes in offering a low-minimum custom bottling solution for blended spice businesses. 

Their goal is to help start-up companies focus on business development and sales, while they focus on the manufacturing aspect of it all. So, what manufacturing aspects are being handled through Oregon Co-Packing? Aside from bottling and standup pouch filling, the company will also case and palletize whatever product it is you’re wanting to distribute and send it to either your warehouse or your client’s distribution center. 

Just like we here at Sneed Coding Solutions know there’s no one-size-fits-all solution whenever it comes down to coding and marking, Oregon Co-Packing knows that the same applies to packaging. Their main priority is making sure that their customer’s concerns are being addressed accordingly; they even state on their site, “We are glad to discuss custom work, sample pack creation, and shipping options.”

What Coding and Marking Challenges Were Being Faced? 

Justin Freeman, founder of Oregon Co-Packing, mentions that the biggest challenge they had was adding date codes and lot codes to the bottom of their bottles. What are lot codes and why do manufacturers include them on their labels? According to Unleashed, 

• “A lot number is a unique code that manufacturers assign to a batch of goods they’ve produced in the same run using the same ingredients, parts or materials.” 
• “These codes help manufacturers identify information about their products, like which materials were used to make them, where they came from, when they were produced, and if they’re perishable items – when they will expire.”   

Now when it comes to date codes, regulations may vary depending on the state you’re distributing, selling, and buying in; according to an article by Real Simple, 

• “There’s no standardized system for food dating in this country… Approximately 40 states require dates on some perishable foods, like meat and dairy, so nowadays you’re likely to see your groceries labeled.” 

While date code regulations might vary, here are some of the date codes that you’re bound to see on the goods you’re purchasing. 

• Date Code: 
• The day, month and year on which the consumer product was manufactured, filled, or packaged. 

• Use-By: 
• Is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality; it is not a safety date, except for when used on infant formula as described below. 

• Sell-By:
• Tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management; it is not a safety date. 

• Best-By: 
• Indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality; it is not a purchase or safety date. 

Did The Meenjet M6 Pull Through? 

After hearing about Oregon Co-Packing’s coding dilemmas, we knew that the Meenjet M6, now the Titan T6, would be the coder to get the job done right. According to Justin Freeman, 

• “After purchasing the Meenjet M6, setting it up was a breeze, so much so that we were up and running within 15-minutes; we now use this printer daily and it’s producing thousands of lot and date codes, per week, on the bottom of our bottles and corrugated cases.”   

Our thermal-inkjet coders are not only maintenance free, but there’s no technician required to set your equipment up; you can do everything in house by watching our YouTube videos, reading through our manuals, or even reaching out to our technical support team. While the Meenjet M6 might have only been a step toward automation for Oregon Co-Packing, Mr. Freeman goes on to say, 

• “The Meenjet M6 provided a quick, low-cost, low-expertise way for us to serve our customers and enter a new market. We will certainly outgrow it, but even as we scale and move towards an automated bottle coding system, we’ll still have use for the T6 in case coding, coding small lots of bottles that don’t meet the minimum for our automated line, R&D and as a backup for emergencies. We look forward to working with Sneed on that larger automation project as well!” 

Your first steps toward #KeepingCodingSimple are closer than what you would think and once you decide to take them, fully automating your production line is not far behind.  

Are coding dilemmas drawing your focus away from growing your business? 

Why not let the experts help you automate your existing workflow lines?  

All it took was a Meenjet M6 to help Oregon Co-Packing on their mission to help small businesses succeed.   

Like always, we’re #KeepingCodingSimple