08 Feb 2013 Food giants launch smartphone packaging scanning
The world’s two biggest food and fast-food players are leading the way again. Nestlé and McDonald’s have launched QR codes on their labels and packaging designed to provide customers with smartphone access to information about the nutritional profile and environmental and social impacts of their products.
Nestlé has chosen the UK for the start of its global launch – thus after or before buying a two-finger KitKat chocolate bar in the UK and Ireland, shoppers with smart phones will be able to scan its packaging to discover its ingredients, how it was produced and dietary advice.
The information will be delivered using a Quick Response (QR) code that will take consumers to digital sites which supply a wide range of information that cannot be found on the packaging.
Patrice Bula, Nestlé’s head of strategic business units, marketing and sales, said: “We have a wealth of information about the nutritional value and the environmental and social impacts of what we produce, and it makes sense to share that with consumers.”
“We hope that consumers, wherever they are in the world, will use these QR codes to learn more about our products.”
A QR code is a barcode consisting of small black blocks arranged in a square pattern against a white background. The firm plans to launch the QR codes across its portfolio in both emerging and developed markets, with the aim of helping “people make more informed choices about what to purchase or consume.”
In addition to information about ingredients and manufacture, consumers will also be able to discover “how the product fits into a healthy lifestyle”, including portion guidance and recipe ideas.
Information on the products’ sustainability will include facts about their impact, such as how much water or energy is used in their entire life cycle.
In 2006, Nestlé launched a ‘nutritional compass’ on its packaging, designed, said the firm, to be “an informative guide to help consumers choose between products”.
Most of the QR codes will appear on packs on a space within the nutritional compass. The compass is used on 97% of Nestlé products worldwide, it claimed.
McDonald’s does similarly
Simultaneously, McDonald’s has unveiled new packaging designs that include QR codes on all its carry-out bags and beverage cups.
This initiative is the latest step in the company’s ongoing commitment to provide consumers with information to help them make informed choices. The launch has begun in the US and will continue rolling out worldwide through 2013, with the text being translated into 18 different languages.
Says McDonald’s: “As a company that has provided nutrition information for more than 30 years to its customers, the new packaging is designed to communicate brand stories in an engaging and modern way. A blend of text, illustrations and a QR code will deliver interesting facts about the brand and make nutrition information easily accessible from mobile devices.”
Both companies are on the button here – middle-class consumers the world over are increasingly less concerned about where their next meal comes from, or if it may make them sick, and rather increasingly curious about foods’ nutritional profile and how it made it to their plate.