Fruit Labels and Stickers｜PLU Codes, Barcodes, and Freshness-Preserving Labels
Have you ever noticed the small stickers attached to individual fruits in supermarkets?
These are commonly known as fruit labels, fruit stickers, or produce labels. Although they may look like simple decorative stickers, fruit labels can serve several purposes, including branding, product identification, barcode scanning, PLU code identification, and even freshness preservation when functional coatings are incorporated.
Japan is well known for its high-quality apples, with Aomori Prefecture being one of the country’s major apple-producing regions. Popular varieties such as Fuji and Orin apples are widely associated with Japanese apple production.
Even within the same variety, apples can differ in sweetness, acidity, firmness, size, cultivation method, and grade. These differences may affect both product positioning and retail price.
So what exactly are fruit labels used for?
Enhance Product Appearance and Brand Recognition
A fruit sticker can function almost like packaging for an individual piece of fruit.
Premium fruit is often sold without conventional outer packaging, so a small, well-designed label can provide an immediate visual identity. Metallic foil, embossed details, specialty papers, and distinctive graphics can help premium fruit stand out on supermarket displays.
For imported apples and other high-value produce, the fruit label may communicate the brand, origin, variety, or premium positioning before the customer even reads the product information.
Fruit labels therefore serve not only a practical purpose but also an important role in produce branding and packaging design.
How Barcodes on Fruit Labels Are Used
Some fruit labels are printed with barcodes so that individual pieces of fruit can be scanned directly at checkout.
Consumers do not always purchase fruit by the full box or bag. Individual fruits may be sold separately, especially in supermarkets, convenience-oriented retail environments, or premium produce sections.
By printing a barcode directly on the fruit label, retailers can:
scan individual fruits at checkout;
identify specific products more quickly;
reduce manual product lookup;
support inventory and retail management.
For this reason, fruit barcode labels can combine branding, product identification, and point-of-sale functionality in a very small format.
What Do PLU Codes on Fruit Labels Mean?
Have you noticed the four- or five-digit numbers printed on some fruit stickers?
These numbers are known as PLU codes, or Price Look-Up Codes.
PLU codes are mainly used by retailers to identify loose fresh produce. Depending on the assigned code, they can help distinguish produce by commodity, variety, size, and growing method, making checkout and inventory management more efficient.
PLU codes are not the same as a complete traceability or production-history system. They are part of an international produce identification system managed by the International Federation for Produce Standards (IFPS).
For example, in the PLU code 94129, the leading digit 9 indicates that the produce is organically grown.
The remaining four digits, 4129, represent the standard PLU assigned to the corresponding produce item.
It is important to note that PLU codes should not be interpreted digit by digit. The four-digit code is assigned as a complete identification number rather than as a sequence in which each individual digit has a fixed meaning.
What Is a Freshness-Preserving Fruit Label?
In addition to branding, barcode scanning, and product identification, fruit labels can also be designed with freshness-preserving functions.
A functional coating can be applied to the label so that, once attached to the fruit or its packaging, the label may help influence the surrounding microenvironment and delay deterioration.
Ethylene is a naturally occurring plant hormone closely associated with the ripening process of many fruits. As fruit ripens, ethylene production may increase and accelerate further ripening and senescence.
Some freshness-preserving materials are designed to adsorb, decompose, or inhibit ethylene, helping slow the ripening process. The actual performance depends on the coating formulation, active material, fruit type, storage environment, and application method.
Depending on the technology used, freshness-preserving labels may help:
delay fruit ripening;
reduce premature deterioration;
extend effective shelf life;
reduce food waste during transportation and retail.
Holo Solution also provides narrow-web coating services for freshness-preserving agents and other specialty functional coatings.
If you are developing fruit labels, functional stickers, specialty coatings, or other value-added label applications, please contact us to discuss suitable materials and processing options.
