Tag: quick response codes

QR codes with nutrition information added to Nestle packaging

| February 7, 2013

QR Codes NestleThe barcodes will be launched for use by consumers in the United Kingdom, first.

Nestlé has just announced that it is updating its packaging to provide a more mobile friendly experience through the use of QR codes that will provide consumers with nutrition and other relevant information.

Scanning the barcode also reveals the social and environmental impacts of the company’s products.

The first consumers who will have access to these new packages that feature QR codes will be those in the United Kingdom. They will be available on the multipacks of the Kit-Kat two finger chocolate bars in Ireland and England. Consumers will be able to read more about the ingredients that make up the product and how they can be enjoyed as a part of a balanced diet and more healthy lifestyle.

The QR codes also reveal how the chocolate bars were produced to bring them to their store shelves.

The Nestlé product QR codes will direct consumers to mobile friendly websites which contain farm more information than could ever be printed onto the actual product labels on the packaging. The company intends to spread the use of these quick response barcodes across all of the products that it has to offer, and is only getting started with the U.K. and the Kit-Kat bars.

The goal is to help its customers to enjoy its products through more informed choices about what they are purchasing and eating. According to the head of strategic business units, marketing, and sales at Nestlé, Patrice Bula, “We hope that consumers, wherever they are in the world, will use these QR codes to learn more about our products.”

Bula went on to say that “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.”

A simple scan of the QR codes using a smartphone or tablet that has a free scanning app will allow consumers to obtain added information about how to live a healthier lifestyle in general, even with the occasional treat such as a Kit-Kat. It includes guidance about proper portion control, healthier recipes, and the role that all of this plays in a balanced overall diet and lifestyle.

QR codes designed to be nearly invisible by Israeli startup

| January 30, 2013

Nearly invisible qr codesVisulead has just unveiled its brand new technology to fade out the appearance of the standard 2d barcode.

Though marketers have fallen in love with QR codes because of their cost efficiency and the fact that consumers can use them very easily through a regular smartphone, ad and graphic designers have struggled with these black and white squares that aren’t all that appealing to the eye.

A startup company has just released its latest technology to help overcome that issue.

Visulead, a startup based in Israel, has now produced a technology that can “fade” the look of typical QR codes in order to make them more visually likeable in printed marketing materials. The hope is that it will help to grow their popularity even further, and to encourage more people to use them.

This technology from Visulead is still evolving so that nearly invisible QR codes will be more attractive with time.

The standard black and white squares can currently be seen on virtually everything, ranging from product packages to billboards and poster ads. However, these QR codes stand out as blocky and can often not be well suited to the ad that they accompany.

With the new technology from Visulead, the typical appearance of the QR codes can fade out by up to 70 percent. This is the second generation of its design, which is patent pending at the moment. However, the evolution hasn’t stopped there, as the third generation is expected to be released within the next few months. That even newer technology, says the startup, will fade the barcodes even more, until they look like very little more than a box that can be scanned.

The CEO and co-founder of Visulead, Nevo Alva, explained that “We think of our product as the ultimate marriage of QR code and image recognition technologies; essentially, an invisible QR code.” The latest version of the nearly invisible barcode is meant to be used by marketers and advertisers. However, it is still possible for individuals to head to the company’s website and create their own.

The free QR codes do come with an intermediary short landing page before the user is directed to the actual destination of the scan. Small businesses choosing this option can opt to have that middle step removed for a per-code fee.