SmartLabel: Bringing the Future of Shopping to Consumers

Today’s consumer is asking more and more about the food, beverage and consumer products they buy, use and consume. They want to know what is in the product, how to use it and what is in its packaging. They want to know who benefits from the manufacturing and how. And it doesn’t stop there.



The question is how CPG companies can meet this consumer demand when there is no way all of this information would fit on a package label.



The answer is SmartLabel, a transformative initiative that leverages digital technology to address this growing consumer thirst for knowledge. It enables consumers to get all the information they want to know about what they are purchasing – and when they want to know it.



SmartLabel enables companies to easily share key details about their products. This includes more than 350 food, beverage, personal care, household and pet care product attributes with information on items such as nutrition, ingredients, allergens, genetically engineered ingredients, third-party certifications, social compliance programs, usage instructions, advisories and safe handling instructions and company/brand information.



It’s important to know that SmartLabel does not replace the package label; it is an extension of the label. SmartLabel™ can be updated in real time and without having to tackle limitations presented by size, shape or standards. It is a modern way for companies to provide the additional information consumers seek building on the information already available on packaging. Ultimately, SmartLabel™ helps consumers make more informed choices about what they purchase.



A leading example of the future of information to meet consumer priorities, SmartLabel can be accessed in many different ways. This includes by scanning a QR code on the package; through a web search using a search engine; by visiting a participating company’s web site; calling an 800 number and, eventually, through a SmartLabel app. In addition, most retailers will help consumers access this information in their stores.

This means that SmartLabel information is available no matter where a consumer is – whether they are in a store, at home, at work, or whether they are using a smart phone, land-line telephone, tablet or desktop computer. It also means that it is available to anyone with an internet connection or a phone, accounting for more than 300 million people today across the U.S. It has been designed so that consumers can easily access a wide variety of information that goes well beyond labeling requirements. SmartLabel enables the consumer to hone in on a specific question they have on an ingredient or product in just one or two clicks.



SmartLabel is tailored to how people are shopping today, paying particular attention to the new-found assistance of and reliance on technology. My daughters shop differently for their families than I did at their age, and SmartLabel is a modern capability that uses technology that is ubiquitous in their lives and daily routines.



It features a uniform and consistent format and appearance across all brands and products that grants consumers access to information as simply as scanning barcodes in the self-checkout lines they use at home in their neighborhood grocery store.



What’s more is that research confirms its appeal: People like the easy and instantaneous access to ingredient information. Research by the Benenson Strategy Group shows that consumers believe SmartLabel™ will deliver the information they need and want, with 75 percent of consumers surveyed saying they would be likely to use it.



Developed by more than 325 people from 90 different companies – manufacturers, retailers, trade associations and service providers – SmartLabel has been created as a way for companies to grant consumers easy and instantaneous access to more information about products. And it is already off to a strong start. More than 30 of the nation’s major food, beverage and consumer products companies already have committed to the initiative.



Products using SmartLabel™ are just beginning to reach the market, and more and more products using it are expected in the months ahead. Projections are that by the end of next year, nearly 34,000 food, beverage, personal care, household products and pet care products will be using SmartLabel. And, early estimates indicate that within five years, more than 80 percent of the food, beverage, pet care, personal care and household products that consumers buy will be using SmartLabel.



SmartLabel directly responds to the desires of consumers for detailed information – and it does so in ways that reflect the changing ways that people live and shop. Any CPG company that is interested in connecting with consumers and meeting their desire for more ingredient information should consider SmartLabel as a way to do just that.



Pam Bailey is the president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association.