Will you need new packaging for the UK and EU? Stickers, inserts and multilingual labels
By Drew Cooper, Founder & CEO · Last reviewed: 30 October 2026
Most brands do not need new packaging to sell in the UK or EU. In our experience the changes are nearly always to the information on the pack, not the materials: contact details, claims, warnings, units and language. Existing stock can usually be covered with an over-sticker, and the changes go into your artwork at the next print run.
Over-sticker, insert or new artwork?
| Product type | Over-sticker | Insert or leaflet |
|---|---|---|
| Food, drinks and food supplements | Yes, if it is attached to the pack and does not hide other mandatory information | Not for mandatory information. It must be on the pack or on a label attached to it. |
| Pet food | Yes, on the same basis as food | Not for the statutory labelling information |
| Cosmetics | Yes | Only in limited cases where certain information cannot practically fit on the pack, and the pack must point to it |
| Other consumer products | Yes | Instructions and safety information often go in the box. In the EU, contact details can go on the packaging or an accompanying document where they cannot go on the product itself. |
Multilingual packs for the EU
Each EU country sets the languages its mandatory information must appear in, usually its official language: German for Germany, French for France. One pack can carry several languages, which is how most brands cover several markets with one print run. If you sell a multipack, the outer pack the customer buys is where the mandatory information goes, so small inner bottles or sachets don't have to carry every language. Peel-and-reveal labels are another option where space is tight.
Some countries add their own marks. France, for example, requires sorting information on household packaging (the Triman logo and Info-tri).
What usually changes
- Contact details. The UK and EU business responsible for the product.
- Claims. Wording allowed in the US often isn't allowed in the UK or EU, especially for food, supplements and cosmetics.
- Warnings and mandatory statements. Each category has its own.
- Units. Metric quantities.
- Language. English for the UK, local languages for each EU market.
What usually doesn't
Materials and formats. Cardboard, plastic and glass are all fine to sell in. Packaging materials mainly affect your packaging EPR fees: the more recyclable the packaging, the less you pay.
A sensible order
- We review your current labels and tell you what has to change.
- Existing stock gets an over-sticker where that is allowed.
- The changes go into your artwork for the next print run.
- We check the new artwork before you print.
Questions we get asked
Will we have to change our production line? Very rarely. The changes are almost always to printed information, not to the product or its materials.
Can one pack cover the UK and the EU? Yes, if it carries both the UK and EU contact details, meets both sets of rules and includes the languages each market needs.
Can the extra information go on an insert? It depends on the product. For food, supplements and pet food, mandatory information has to be on the pack or a label attached to it.
How Lantara helps
We review your labels for the UK and EU, write the exact changes, check your stickers and new artwork, and put our name and address on the pack as your responsible business. See UK product compliance and labelling, or start with a free readiness check.