Packaging today has gone past the job of just covering and protecting the food. Today, brands can interact with customers through packaging in so many ways.
According to research from Smithers and Deloitte, between US$5 trillion and US$10 trillion worth of consumables are sold around the world every year and most by far of them are packaged, producing a packaging business worth of US$424 billion. Smart packaging, hence, has the capacity to bring about disruption to conventional business models and create value.
Smart packaging involves printing a dynamic QR code onto the item’s physical packaging. Through the QR code, brands you can interact with your customers in real-time and boost customer engagement.
And with so many QR code generators available online, you can easily develop an attractive QR code design for your packaging.
What Is Possible With Smart Packaging
Smart packaging has developed as a way for F&B manufacturers to communicate with purchasers, and tools like readable QR codes can transform physical packaging into something that’s interactive and of value.
To Increase Sales by Offering Convenience
The best example for this is when Tesco (Home Plus) needed to enter the South Korean market and climb up to position #1 without physically building more stores. Tesco identified the work habits of the people living there and realized that they don’t have any time for grocery shopping!
To provide a solution to those people who are always on-the-go, Tesco set up virtual grocery stores at bus stops and metro stations!
They created virtual presentations of their store and displayed it in subways and bus stations. They gave each product a QR code – when scanned the product would be automatically added to the customers online shopping cart. The intention was that people could tick off things like ‘buy milk and eggs’ from their to-do list while they waited for their metro or bus.
In 4 months, 11,000 visited the online store, 65,000 individuals had scanned the QR codes and sales reached up to $28,000 every week. This prompted Tesco Home Plus to overtake the rest of the competition and reach the no. one position in the South Korean landscape.
To Increase Engagement by Offering Entertainment
QR codes are gaining back its popularity as social media platforms are now beginning to adopt them on their platforms as well. Social media apps like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, and now even Spotify – all have some type of default QR code designed for its users.
Not long ago, Pepsi deployed the ‘Get it while it’s hot’ campaign with Snapcodes. Consumers scan the snapcode using the Snapchat app – after which they had access to fun social geofilters, lenses, and a Pepsi game to win prizes.
To Increase Awareness
Tetra Pak, a food processing and packaging solutions company, recently announced its new smart packaging idea beverage packaging in India.
The idea lets producers print a dynamic QR code on each package, which can be scanned with a smartphone.
Dynamic QR code technology allows manufacturers to be transparent about their processes and give consumers complete knowledge about their items.
Organizations can likewise boost engagement through consumer engagement programs via smart packaging. For example, a scratch and win contest or loyalty rewards.
Smart packaging also gives organizations the ability to educate its consumers about the closest recycling centers
Advantages of Smart Packaging With QR Codes
For Producers
Smart Packaging has opened new doors for manufacturers. It won’t just intensify their reach in the modern digital world but also help resolve issues related to the manufacturing processes. Smart Packaging will also help them build a powerful supply chain management framework.
With smart packaging, producers can improve their production processes with end-to-end traceability, have complete authority over the quality, and make the supply chain process as open and transparent as possible.
A producer now has the capacity to track and follow the history or location of any package. This makes it possible for producers to measure the performance of the product in the market as well.
Producers can also leverage smart packaging by promoting their brand and enhancing customer engagement programs.
The packaging can be a superb method to launch consumer engagement programs like quizzes and content. Through this, a customer feels connected with the brand as they get a customized experience.
For Retailers
Because of the degree of transparency Smart Packaging brings, retailers can get improved insights in real-time because of better visibility when it comes to the supply chain. This enables retailers to follow their stock-flow and get notified when any issues occur.
It gives the retailers to stock their inventory with the most relevant product by simply following the consumer purchase trends.
For Consumers
Smart packaging seems to benefit the customers the most amongst all.
Smart Packaging can permit the consumers to get data, for example, about the legitimacy of a brand and also opens up avenues for cool new experiences with the product. The consumer will simply need to scan the dynamic QR code to get to information, for example, – where and when the item was made, including data about the factory from where the brand sourced the raw materials.
Also, Smart Packaging can help consumers that are environmentally conscious find the closest recycling center.
Customers can unlock unique experiences like quizzes, promotions, brand and product origin stories, online games, and so much more!
What’s more, the Dynamic QR Codes guarantee that the experience is a customized one because the brand is communicating with the individual, and not to a group or an entire market segment, like in the case with static codes.
How to Use QR Codes on Packaging
All shoppers need is a smartphone camera to scan a QR Code. Around 80 percent of Americans own a smartphone, so it’s not astonishing that the F&B industry has adopted QR codes in its packaging.
Let’s take a look at how some brands are using smart packaging to stand out from the competition and attract the attention of its customers.
How Pizza Hut Revolutionized Their Takeaway Boxes
In Hong Kong, the unassuming pizza takeout box has been changed by Pizza Hut into a versatile film projector. In an attempt to revamp their pizza box, Pizza Hut’s group chose to deliver a projector lens along with the pizza and added a small window on one side of the box. The box also had a QR code printed on it which when scanned would unlock movies for them. After that, all the customer had to do was place their phones inside the box to project the movie on a nearby surface. And they could watch the movie as they enjoyed their pizzas!
Giving Nutritional Information Through QR Codes on the Packaging
In 2012 McDonald’s attempted to shift the opinion about the nutritional value of their fast food. A key piece of this campaign included adding scannable codes to soft drink cups and takeout packs. By scanning these codes, customers could, in a flash, get some answers concerning the calories or fat substance in their meals.
You can easily do this using a PDF QR Code.
Engaging Customers and Boosting Brands
As a rule, QR codes have become native on American food packaging, and an initiative called Smart Label is responsible for its popularity.
More than 30 different F&B manufacturers have come together because of this initiative and so have several shampoo and beauty brands. Like the McDonalds’ app, it gives the consumers data about ingredients used, calories intake, allergens, etc – giving clients more power over what they eat and drink.
It just shows that QR codes can be utilized in so many ways, with the possibility to secure the brand’s image against scandals and assist tech-savvy consumers with their shopping simultaneously.
Final Thoughts
The advantages of these QR codes on the packaging isn’t confined to just big brands. In fact, SMBs stand to benefit the most from smart packaging. Because as a new brand in the market, you’re constantly trying to get ahead of the competition and stand out from the rest. And a QR code helps you do just that!
QR code on package -DepositPhotos
