5 Popular Tamper-Proof Labels & How to Design for Them

Unless you're manufacturing over-the-counter medicine, you'll likely never be required by law to provide tamper-resistant packaging, but taking the extra step to ensure customer safety goes a long way.

Tamper-evident seals show your consumers that you care about their safety, value their trust, and want to guarantee a positive customer experience.

You have a few different options when it comes to packaging seals that identify tampering, so let's explore why they're important, your packaging options, and how to design them.

About Tamper-Evident Packaging

Tamper-evident packaging (TEP) provides a stress-free experience for your consumers, as well as for you as the business owner. These labels and seals will show if any of your products have been opened before purchase and provide a worry-free experience to ensure nothing has been added or removed.

This extra step shows your customers that you care about their interaction with your goods and that you put in the extra effort to protect them.

Types of Tamper-Evident Packaging

There are a number of ways you can protect your consumers. Below, we list four of the most popular methods for small businesses.

Jar & Bag Seals

Labels that wrap around the top of your product show customers that your product has not been opened, and provides them with peace of mind for their purchase. Add this strap from one side of your jar to the other, or use it to seal a bag closed.

This extra label space also gives you more room to promote your brand, provide ingredients, offer recipes, direct people to your social media, and more – anything extra you feel would add value to your customers.

You can purchase jar and bag seals either blank or printed, and in various colors and materials to suit your product and brand style. Popular options are narrow rectangle labels and lollipop labels, though you can use just about anything – circle labels, square labels, etc. Barbell labels are another suitable choice for this application.

Check out some of our favorite free jar seal pre-designed templates:

Safety Tabs

Consider adding a perforated safety tab to your product labels. This type of cautionary seal involves adding extra label material that overlaps with the lid or opening of your product. It's attached using a perforation that will rip from the main label once opened.

This type of packaging is often found on lip balm labels, but can be added to any product. It's popular as a very clear way to help users identify if the product has been opened prior to purchasing.

If you are labeling lip balms, we have several tamper-evident lip balm labels as part of our standard size offerings. They work for both round and oval lip balm tubes and can be purchased in various colors or materials to fit your product style, needs, and branding.

Void Labels

Another option, which covers a wider range of products, is a silver void label. This label material is designed to look like a plain metallic silver label, but once removed, it leaves behind a secondary layer which reads "VOID."

It comes in hundreds of shapes and sizes so you can find the best fit for your application. They're relatively familiar to consumers and can still be used to add marketing messages, dates, and more.

Shrink Sleeves

Shrink sleeves, or shrink bands, are popular products that won't obscure or add to your branded packaging. They can be purchased in clear or a variety of colors and finishes, and applied using a standard hair dryer or heat source, but we recommend this option for businesses that work with a co-packer, or own/have access to a shrink tunnel. Like the other products listed above, they must be removed before customers can use your product, so they're a good indication of first-use.

Shrink sleeves are especially popular with cosmetic, food, and medical products.

How to Design Tamper-Proof Packaging

Building your safety-inspired packaging into your overall design is a great way to add professionalism to your product and brand.

Use the same label color, background, and design to help it blend in – or choose something completely different to help it stand out! Marketing your protective measures may instill consumer confidence among your customers.

Safety Seal Content Ideas

• Use-by dates, production dates, etc
• Serial numbers, lot numbers, etc
• Company logos
• "Safety seal"
• Name of inspector or packager
• Safe-handling instructions
• Barcodes
• Company contact information
• Product name, details, or ingredients

Keep in mind that if your tamper-evident packaging will be removed after opening, it shouldn't include any information critical to the use of your product! You don't want your customers throwing away the only instance of your logo, use instructions, etc.

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Businesses large and small are investing in ways to keep their customers safe. Should you be doing the same?