Spotlight on East West Label

Spotlight on East We

East West Label is one of the sponsors of the 2022 M a long history with the mushroom growers in the Ken

est Label Co.

Mushroom Festival and has ennett Square area

East West Label is a family-based business.

By Monica Fragale Contributing Writer

If you’ve ever bought a container of mushrooms from a supermarket, or if you’re buying fresh mushrooms at the Mushroom Festival this year, chances are good you’re looking at a label that East West Label Co. has printed.

East West Label is one of the sponsors of the 2022 Mushroom Festival and has a long history with the mushroom growers in both the Kennett Square area and in Berks County. The Conshohocken-based business prints many of the labels that area mushroom growers put on their products, according to Christina Wilson, the third generation of Wilsons to work in the family-based business.

The partnership between East West and the mushroom growers is a unique one.

“We support the industry and the growers,” Christina said. “Without them we wouldn’t be where we were today. We can be traced back to the late 1970s, after East West Label, its three employees and one printing press had relocated to Conshohocken.

“We had a friend who was selling corrugated cardboard in Kennett Square, and he said there was a market for the overwrap,” Christina said.

When East West began transitioning from pricing labels into areas like prime labels (that feature multiple colors and appear on things like produce or meat), according to Chris, “Growers in Kennett Square were transitioning from canned to fresh. We just happened to be at the right place at the right time.”

In the 1980s, East West Label began printing on adhesive overwrap.

“We actually were one of the original ones to start printing on adhesive,” Chris said. “Because the film was clear, the consumer when they unwrapped it would see the nutritional information on the back (of the label).”

hope to continue our partnership for years to come.”

“They’re not just customers,” said Chris Wilson, president of East West Label and Christina’s father, “they’re personal friends.”

East West Label began in 1973 in Sharon Hill, Pa., and was started by Bill Wilson, Sr., Chris’ father and Christina’s grandfather.

“Our original premise was to make pricing labels” for supermarkets, Chris said.

According to the East West website at ewlabel.com, “What started out as a supplier for local markets – supplying equipment, store signs and marketing labels – quickly evolved into a full-fledged print shop. From there, through word of mouth, referrals and reputation, the company started servicing the supermarket’s produce suppliers too.”

The partnership with the mushroom industry

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East West Label Co.

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These days, the company has 33 employees and 11 printing presses and new digital press, according to Christina. East West specializes in high-end flexographic printing, converting and rerolling, serialization and custom coding, among other things, according to the company’s website.

“We are 100 percent in-house,” according to the website. “From conception through production, we are there with you every step of the way.”

When an order comes in, the journey begins in the in-house art department.

“Pretty much all images, specifications, nutritional facts, distributed-by statements, country of origin … all of this has to be gone through with a fine-toothed comb,” she said.

The next step is prepress and the plate-making department, and after plate making it goes right to the Flexo printing process and finishing inspection. Production begins when the plates get affixed onto the print cylinders, and the ink is mixed and prepared for the run.

“Some labels are very simple, and some are very complex (with multiple colors,)” she said.

Shipping and receiving is the last stop. The finished products are

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East West Label Co.

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then driven by East West employees to businesses within about 150 miles of its location.

“Our slogan is ‘Service Separates,’ and that’s what separates us from our competitors,” Chris said. “We are a service-first organization. Price is important, but service is way more important.”

Just as with mushroom growers, holidays are among the busy seasons for East West Label.

“Our employees are well-aware that we have to be ready to react,” Chris added. “The reason we’re so successful in the prepack produce industry is we understand the industry, and our employees who are our No. 1 asset understand the industry as well.”

East West Label will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year. It will be a bittersweet one, according to Christina, because her grandfather, who founded the business, and her uncle, Bill Wilson Sr. and Jr., have passed. Bill Jr. was the vice president, and he co-owned the company with Chris.

The company will also mark decades of being involved with the Mushroom Festival and its growers and suppliers.

“It’s a special friendship when you deal from one small business to the next,” Christina said, adding that she liked that many of the mushroom farms were family-owned. “The industry has always supported us over the last 40-plus years.”

“Our service and our location makes it very advantageous to deal with a lot of growers in Chester County and Berks County,” Chris said. “It’s a really tight community.”

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