Why You Need a UPC Bar Code to Start Your Business

Guest post is provided by Food Trade Consultants, a consultation service offering seminars and packing of small orders to entrepreneurs in the food industry. Visit www.foodtradeconsultants.com for more information.

It is profoundly common to use a bar code in the food industry, so common that you really can’t do without it. Whether you sell your food with retailers in stores or participate in the food service industry by opening up a restaurant, you will need to get a UPC for each product you want to sell. Some stores require two or three bar codes for each product you want to sell.

They will want one for each unit you are selling for the product label. They will need another one for purchasing the unit in cases for wholesale stores like Costco, Sam’s Club and Smart & Final. Lastly they may need a third for pallet sized purchases. If you can score someone who will buy by the pallet, that is a huge account for you and an indicator of your direction towards success.

Your wholesale customers will want to track everything for their inventory and using a UPC code helps them get things done faster. If you don’t obtain a UPC code, that means a potential account for you may be passed by because your product is too inefficient to catalog. You are usually sent payments through this barcode system.

Food trade consulting firms usually provide guidance regarding UPC code acquisition and usage. Most likely it will be a free service included in their consulting charges to you. Be sure to sign a Non-disclosure Agreement with any consulting or testing firms to protect both you and the firm protection against intellectual property theft or lawsuits. Consultants can help you with a variety of other questions you may have about starting up a food business.