What are the key legal issues for launching a consumer product?

Launching a new consumer product is exciting, with a great deal of attention going on the branding, packaging, and every touch point of the consumer experience.  But behind the scenes, it is important to pay just as much attention to the legal issues if you are to maximise value from this new product in the long term.

The excitement and desire to launch a consumer product can sometimes lead to shortcuts or failures in addressing legal issues, often because the regulatory requirements are not reviewed in good time ahead of launch, or because legal advice has not been budgeted for. This can lead to problems down the road, and unexpected costs to the businesses afterwards if found in non-compliance. In the worst case scenario, you could face having to issue a product recall.

Aside from ensuring that you have all the appropriate legal documentation, you may also need to:

• ensure good protocols are in place;
• implement systems to ensure you will not miss critical registrations with authorities or regulators;
• organise appropriate training for employees;
• designate experts in certain areas;
• complete due diligence on partners and suppliers; and
• much more, depending on your product.

It is always worth conducting a detailed review of the product and all applicable laws in ample time ahead of any soft or proper launch.

One of our strengths is working with a business to understand the product and your objectives, so that we can identify and consider all the different areas of law that may need to be looked at. Here are some of the most common areas.

Consumer laws

The two key pieces of legislation applicable to consumers and sellers of consumer products are the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. These laws are designed to protect consumers from unfair selling practices, and they give consumers more rights in certain dealings such as rights to cancel, rights of recourse and the right to expect a certain standard of service or quality.

Not only should you familiarise yourself with these laws, but parts of them may need incorporating in documents such as your terms and conditions or implementing within your website and e-commerce system. For example, the right to a cooling off period (if it applies) should be stated clearly in your terms and conditions. Alternatively, you must make clear that you do not need to give customers the right to cancel once a perishable product has been dispatched.

Equally important is also knowing if any exemptions may apply to your particular products. Getting advice on any applicable exemptions from the consumer laws could save you money and make your product launch easier and quicker.

Identify laws specific to your product

Depending on the type of product you are launching, there will inevitably be other more product-specific laws you will need to research and comply with. For example, a food product will need to adhere to current food labelling regulations, a beauty product will also have industry specific regulations for safety and labelling purposes, and electronic or child safety products also have rigorous certifications and testing requirements that will need to be addressed.

Laws in your target market(s)

If you intend to sell your product abroad, the regulations and rules applicable in those target countries will also require further legal advice.

Brand protection and intellectual property

Another specialist area of law to consider for your products will be intellectual property, including brand protection. Perhaps your product requires or warrants a patent or protection of its design, or you want to obtain one or more trade marks, or even copyright protection if your product is digital content based. These are all protective measures which will benefit from an experienced legal professional.

Intellectual property is very much about protecting your product development, your methods and your brand, so that you can build value in the long term. Having the proper protections in place can also serve to add credibility with your consumers (and investors) as it shows you have considered the value of your unique products.

Data protection laws

Protection of your consumers’ data is a topic in itself but, needless to say, this is one of the primary and most important areas of law any retail product launch needs to ensure compliance with if selling direct to consumers.

A deep understanding of target areas of sale, types of data that will be processed, and whether sensitive data will be handled are just a few examples of how legal advice is needed to ensure a robust data protection protocol is put in place in your business. This extends beyond having the correct documents in place such as privacy policies and data processing agreements, as you also need to understand the requirements and ongoing obligations your business may have. Legal advice in this area could also entail providing training to your employees.

Payment providers

If you are launching your product online or selling at a distance, you may need to ensure you work with a reputable payment provider. Not only should your third party payment processor be compliant with all current and applicable data protection laws, but the way you set up your e-commerce infrastructure should protect the consumers against cyber-attacks, loss of data, and poor service. For example, since 2023, payment institutions have been bound by a new ‘consumer duty’ to increase the standard of care they provide when dealing with consumer payments. Since these institutions are governed by the Financial Conduct Authority, it would be prudent to know if your preferred payment processor is bound by the same.

How we can help

The above are of course not exhaustive but a selection of the most common areas where compliance is necessary. We understand that launching a retail product is not simple and there are many threads to the legal framework your business must navigate.  Our team of experts can, therefore, really understand your product in order help you put in place all the required documents, measures and protocols to give you peace of mind that your product launch can proceed smoothly, thus mitigating any aftershocks.

For further information, please contact Ian, Richard or Kirsty in our corporate and commercial team.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.