Please be aware that the end of the Brexit transition period will mean label changes are required for organic products.
The Soil Association has issued a guideline document on the expected label changes from 1st Jan which provides further details.
Label templates (for UK products) have been updated on the Nutribl trade system for your convenience. Further guidance for the products being sold in the EU is available at the above link.
We would like to take the opportunity to remind you that all clients selling organic products (labelling them as organic and using the Soil Association logo) need to get their label artwork approved by the Soil Association before print.
There are a number of ways our clients can sell our certified organic products as their own label and you should assess your licence requirements by contacting the soil association.
As a basic summary if you are selling:
- B2C you don't need a license (unless selling via Amazon) - Use Scheme 2
- B2C via amazon - you require a full Soil Association license. Use Scheme 1
- B2B - you require a full Soil Association license. Use Scheme 1
SCHEME 1 - Full License
Please contact the soil association goorganic@soilassociation.org and apply for a license. The application can take 4-6 weeks including an inspection. Please let them know that you are a client of Troo Health Care Ltd (Licence number: DA272220).
Once the license is granted you should send the product SIPS (we can provide a template) and artwork to for review. The products will then be added onto your soil association schedule. Cost on application to the Soil Association.
Please also let us know if you follow this route.
SCHEME 2 - 'Symbol User Agreement'
This is not an organic license but a scheme of reassurance which allows you to use the soil association logo on your products. Labels still have to be approved by the soil association before print.
The "Symbol User Agreement" is aimed at brand holders who source fully-packed and labelled products from SA-certified suppliers, have the SA symbol applied to their products, sell direct to consumers only, and do not carry out purchase of ingredients or manufacture. These companies do not require a license by law, but they can apply to this scheme to benefit from the additional reassurance to their customers, and any enquiries to SA regards their approval status can be answered without reference to the certification of their manufacturers/suppliers (i.e. they are not legally required to hold certification, but have explicit approval from SA to use the SA symbol for sales direct to consumers). On successful verification the brand holder will be issued a certificate and schedule confirming their brand is permitted to use the symbol on the named products. This certificate and schedule is not documentary evidence that the brand holder is certified to the EU organic regulations – it is regarding use of the SA symbol only. This scheme has a cost of £206/year.
Please contact the Soil Association if you would like to use this scheme noting you are a client of Troo Health Care Ltd (Licence number: DA272220).
NO SCHEME (Using the Troo Healthcare Registration)
It is useful to note that even without 'symbol user agreement' B2C retailers can use the logo because they are Troo Health products and are pre approved. Your labels will still need to be checked by the Soil Association under our Troo Health license but there is no charge for this from the Soil Association.
Please contact us if you would like to use the Troo Healthcare registration in this way and we can refer you into the soil association to get your labels approved.
We would respectfully ask all clients, using the soil association logo or claiming 'organic', to make sure they have the right organic 'license' in place if needed. If in doubt please contact the Soil Association direcly to discuss with them.
Regardless of the route you take, ALL organic artwork requires approval by the Soil Association and our design team will need proof of approval before print moving forward.