It used to be that home chefs only had cookbooks to rely on for recipes and instructional techniques. However, the advent of food media has changed all of that. From popular cooking shows to food blogs with cult followings, recipes, tips and ideas aren’t hard to find in 2015. Nevertheless, some bakers still rely on the cookie recipe on the back of the chocolate chip packaging. Labels provide a convenient, reliable spot for food companies to show consumers how to use their products.

This is a feature that touches every area of food and beverage labeling. A bag of flour might sport a quick instructional guide for simple biscuits. While a bottle of gin could explain the steps to crafting a specialty cocktail. If your customers encounter your product as a “raw” ingredient, giving them some pointers about turning it into something homemade is handy. Sometimes it can also provide an opportunity for engagement with customers.

In 1925, the famous Dole recipe for pineapple upside-down cake was crowdsource

“More than 60,000 people sent in recipes, and the top 100 were publish in a book call Hawaiian Pineapple as 100 Good Cooks Serve It. Explains Health Castle. “The winning recipe was sent in by Mrs. Robert Davis of Norfolk, Virginia. More than 2,500 of the recipes sent in were for pineapple upside down cake. But hers was judge to be the best, and is the one that survives to this day.”

The baker who depends on that label recipe for upside-down cake might always. Buy Dole pineapple because he or she knows the recipe works from experience. When devising your brand’s food labeling strategy, consider lending some direction to struggling cooks who need a foolproof recipe.