UK leaves the single market and takes control of CE Mark with new UKCA mark launched last month.
The CE Mark has been a symbol of trust for decades and demonstrates a product has met EU requirements in health, safety or environmental areas.
As the UK leaves the single market and looks to implement its own law, the new UKCA mark will be a powerful symbol to anyone looking to launch a product in to the UK Market.
SME’s are feeling the pressure
The new UKCA mark was launched on 1st January 2021, whilst an extension has been granted to allow businesses to transition between marks, many fall outside of this extension and will be liable for costs on packaging and testing.
The CE mark can continue to be used on any product launched in to the market prior to the 1st January 2021. This allows sell through time and for the new mark to be phased in. If, however, you make to order like many SME’s do, you are not covered by the extension and will have to change over packaging and obtain new testing to use the new UKCA mark.
There is also financial pressure if you require tooling to make the change. By 1st January 2023, the logo will have to be added to physical product and not just packaging which will require tooling for certain types of products.
Selling in multiple markets? You’ll need a mark for both
Brands selling in both UK and European markets will now be required to gain marks for both and will need to build that cost and time in to any products they wish to sell.
For any brand owner that has recently printed packaging or sales and marketing material, this change will have knock on effects which will force them to increase prices to buyers.
It’s not all doom and gloom
Whilst the change has appeared to come with no appreciation for the financial implications for SME’s, many feel the UKCA will provide a strengthened proposition for both domestic and international markets. Anyone wanting to sell on the UK market will need to gain the UK mark. At present it is not known if standards will change or remain similar to the current CE Mark but one thing is clear, SME’s need to keep up to date with changes to ensure they don’t incur unexpected charges.
How can we help?
We understand these changes have far reaching implications for your business. If you would like to talk through the changes, need help replacing labels or tags quickly, need to re-print marketing material or want to make a plan to phase the changes in over the coming year, we can help.
Four decades of experience goes in to every label, tag, nameplate and sticker we make.